Re: Hi

Meet Members

Hi

wombatron 04-23-2008, 3:39 PM
I'm assuming that this is the intro board, so...

Hi. I'm 18 years old, and an avid Ayn Rand fan. I'm not an Objectivist (more an Aristotelian liberal/libertarian), but Rand is one of my favorite authors, and I agree with her in many areas. I also read science fiction, fantasy, and horror. I am looking forward to some interesting conversations!

Re: Hi

solo 05-06-2008, 6:07 PM
Hello Wombatron,

Nice to see someone new on the site. As you can see things here have not been very active lately. The last post was by me on 4/23/08. I'm starting to wonder if anyone else is still alive.
I am orthodox Objectivist, 30 years study and radical.
Pick your topic.

solo

Re: Hi

tweaker 08-13-2008, 12:40 AM
Here's a topic:

Both Ayn and Nathaniel were hypocrites by simultaneously preaching the virtue of integrity and violating their marriage vows to their respective spouses (i.e., Frank O'Connor and Barbara Branden).

That they asked the consent of their partners to violate their vows of integrity to the marriage is irrelevant: there are no marriage vows that specify "I'll be faithful to you up until the time I get the hots for someone else, in which case I will ask your permission before being unfaithful." In fact, the request for their partners' consent was simply cruel psychological manipulation, just as hurtful as concealing an infidelity. Had Barbara and Nathaniel not been married but only living together, there would have been no legal contract to worry about...and the infidelity, with or without Barbara's consent, would have been just as real and just as immoral.

That the originator and lead proselytizer of Objectivism were hypocrites when it came to the issues of sex and marriage means either that they were both deeply flawed people, or that the ethics they espoused cannot be practiced in principle.

Or it means that the ethics were merely for "public consumption"; they were meant to apply to everyone else, but not to them personally. "Do as we say, not as we do."

It would be interesting to hear from women on this. Is an infidelity any less of an infidelity if the disloyal partner seeks the consent of the other partner? Is the original contract -- both the emotional bond and the legal -- not still breached?