The Objectivist Center hosted its twelfth annual summer seminar from June 30-July 8 at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown. "It was great," said Jennifer Baker, a seminar faculty member who is seeking her Ph.D. in philosophy at University of Arizona. "It was a really nice group of people. It was very relaxed. Every single person was interesting, every single person had many things to teach you."

The week-long seminar kicked off on Saturday afternoon with a faculty lunch and registration period. Following these, first-timers gathered at the center's newcomers' reception, where the new attendees could mingle with the center's staff, some previous participants, and many members of the seminar faculty. Next came the traditional opening-day cookout, held under a tent on the college green and highlighted by brief remarks from the center's executive director, David Kelley, and director of administration, Jamie Dorrian.

Objectivism
At the heart of any TOC gathering, naturally, is the philosophy of Objectivism. Immediately prior to the seminar, TOC held its Advanced Seminar in Objectivist Studies for scholarly explorations of the philosophy. But the seminar itself also offered two, week-long, six-session courses for students at different levels. William Thomas's course, "The Essence of Objectivism," distilled Ayn Rand's philosophy for those new to Objectivism. Said Joanne Shaw: "Will conveyed the essence of Objectivism with animation and excitement, and it was contagious. Now, I'm better prepared to express the principles of Objectivism to others." Running opposite Thomas's introductory course, and intended for more advanced students, were David Kelley's sessions on "the perennial questions of Objectivism." Kelley discussed five such questions—the interplay of reason and emotion; the relationship between virtue and self-interest; the connections between survival versus flourishing; the debate over government and anarchy; and the arguments for freewill and determinism. On Friday, Kelley reviewed the week's material and took questions. "It's hard to put a topic as complex as some of the ones we've been discussing into a one-hour talk," said Tufts University graduate student Jason Walker, "but David does a good job at summarizing the essentials of the debate and making his own position very clear and accessible to a general audience." In addition to those two series on Objectivism, mathematician David Ross, who has recently left Eastman Kodak to join the faculty at the Rochester Institute of Technology, explained the philosophy's core concept of "objectivism" and gave a workshop on the practice of thinking objectively.

Philosophy
In addition to courses about Objectivism, the summer seminar always offers participants lectures proposing Objectivist approaches to traditional philosophical fields. This year, the seminar gave a platform to three speakers who discussed a field that has not been much explored by Objectivists: the philosophy of history. Rockford College philosophy professor Stephen Hicks outlined the major approaches to the philosophy of history and then put forward the perspective that Objectivism provides. James Lee Brooks set forth the seven stages of a civilization proposed by Carroll Quigley in The Evolution of Civilizations and then showed in detail how the Greek, Roman, and modern Western civilizations fit the pattern, before offering some speculations about the future. James Jeck, drawing on his business and sales experience, offered his own analysis of cultural change and proposed concrete strategies through which Objectivists might act to change the course of history.

Turning from the philosophy of history to the history of philosophy, Fred Seddon suggested that Plato probably did not hold many of the views that latter-day philosophers have ascribed to him, and Jennifer Baker explained how ancient Stoic philosophers argued that a virtuous life is the only way to achieve a good life. "I thought Jennifer Baker's talk on stoicism was very good," said Karl Zachary, an assistant professor at Eureka College. "It was very informative and clear about what was supposed to be going on there and why we should take some heed of it."

Politics
Given Objectivists' ardent advocacy of free societies, no summer seminar would be complete without numerous talks covering the field of politics and individual liberty. In 2001, many leaders from libertarian think tanks came to Johnstown to address TOC's audiences. The Cato Institute's director of regulatory studies, Ed Hudgins, lectured on the contradictory attitudes many people have towards freedom; Reason Foundation founder Robert Poole spoke on taxation and the new economy; Chip Mellor, president of the Institute for Justice, explained how public authorities are using eminent domain to benefit of private companies; and Sam Kazman, general counsel of the Competitive Enterprise, related the role of automobile to expansions in human freedom.

Among the summer seminar's other lecturers on politics was the ever-popular Madeline Cosman, who explained how "whistle-blower" lawsuits encourage envious competitors, fired employees, or divorcing spouses to "report" innocent people to the Justice Department, either for revenge or in hopes of collecting a percentage of whatever fines and penalties the government extracts. Another regular was Capital University professor of law and history David Mayer, who gave a two-part lecture on the liberty of contract. "I love David Mayer," said Portland State University philosophy and economics student Joe Coon. "I enjoyed his talk thoroughly. It was a wealth of information." University of Michigan's director of the Space Physics Research Laboratory, R. Paul Drake, explained the proper realm of government in funding research, arguing that it is somewhat larger than most Objectivist suppose.

Life Skills
Though governments may not act as they should, Objectivists strive to, for the moral is the practical, in Ayn Rand's phrase. Those who preach Rand's philosophy therefore feel a special need to demonstrate its practicality. As a result, TOC's summer seminars always offer a large number of courses on "living it." This year, David Kelley began the parade of such courses with his annual "The State of the Culture" address, which examined the attitudes put forward in best-selling self-help books of the past and the present. In earlier decades, he showed, mainstream Protestant and Catholic religious advice dominated American self-help literature. Today, though New Age spirituality occasionally intrudes, the lists of best-selling self-help books are more likely to draw inspiration from the success-oriented techniques of business. To that extent, Kelley concluded, the culture has become far more favorable to Rand's philosophy: People are far more likely now to be looking for the pro-life attitudes and skills that Objectivism has to offer.

Among the many other classes on life-skills were Nell Robinson's two-part workshop on the use of acting techniques for personal growth, and her two sessions on how to live authentically. Carl Rogers's client-centered therapy was the focus of Marsha Enright talk, while Helen Hobbs conducted a workshop on the F. M Alexander technique, which involves "the use of self" and postural behavior. Exploring interpersonal life skills, Amy Hayden examined the ways in which Objectivism can be applied to romantic relationships, and Diana Mertz Hsieh suggested how the philosophy could provide a rational basis for forgiveness and redemption. "Diana Hsieh's class was excellent, very well-organized, very clear," says Eureka College professor Karl Zachary. "It didn't take any shortcuts, it went ahead and laid out what the issues were, in all their complexities, where they sit with respect to each other, and it took the whole issue very seriously."

Also offering advice in the "how to" field were Larry Abrams, who spoke about investing for one's future, and Charles Tomlinson, who explained "how to have kids and not regret it." "Charles gave some good advice in a humorous and memorable way," said Texas investor Gralee Parr. "If I ever have children, I'm sure this talk will come to mind."

Several talks on life-skills crossed over into other fields as well. Like David Ross's workshop on objectivity, Phillip Coates's lectures on "concretization" involved that hybrid philosophical-pscyhological field that Ayn Rand termed psycho-epistemology. Of Coates's talks, Patrick Reasonover remarked: "The principles discussed cut across my body of knowledge, providing a means of connecting far-flung ideas to one another and reality." Taking participants from thinking skills to communication skills was Susan McCloskey's two-part writing workshop, while Ed Rankin—founder and CEO of the human-resources consulting firm PeopleSolutions—took people from thinking skills to working skills, through his discussion of the Internet economy and its relationship to such Objectivist values as productiveness and independence. One of the most unusual and best-received talks of the week was Madeline Cosman's "Weapons and Women," which explored life-skills by means of history and demonstrated how the women of many eras have used weapons to protect themselves. Said Jason Walker: "Madeline Cosman is one of the best orators I've ever seen."

Arts
As the "Sightings" section in the month's Navigator indicates, art is a fast-growing field of interest within the Objectivist movement, and TOC's summer seminar has been responding to that interest. Douglas Wagoner gave a two-part lecture on how to appreciate classical music and used works to illustrate historic developments of musical structure. Robert Campbell presented a two-part lecture on jazz in which he argued that the genre is designed to express individualism. John Kerns offered a beginner's guide to enjoying ballet and used numerous videotaped examples to illustrate his thesis that ballet integrates dance, theater, and music to create a unique means of expression.

In the field of literature, Michelle Fram-Cohen discussed Victor Hugo's Ninety-Three in the context of nineteenth-century Romanticism. (A version of this lecture will appear in a future issue of Navigator.) On the first day of the seminar, Linda Abrams gave a dramatic reading of of Berton Braley's poetry, which touches on various aspects of business, industry, and daily life in the first half of the twentieth century.

Given the centrality of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead in the literature of Objectivism, architecture is almost always on the menu at TOC's summer seminar and this year it was represented by two talks. In "Tidings of Comfort and Joy: A Realist and Romantic View of Architecture," John Gillis discussed the reason that a building needs to be unified in purpose, with no split between function and art, while Fred Stitt discussed the decay of recent architectural theory and the emergence of a new architecture of the Enlightenment. "Like organic architecture, the lecture was well constructed around organizing principles," said Saulius Mulialis.

In the visual arts, both painting and sculpture were represented. Lindsay Wilcox gave a slide lecture illustrating the basic principles of visual representation in sculpture and design, and Michael Newberry returned to demonstrate how a viewer can make value judgments in art. Using a dozen pieces of famous artworks—plus one of his own paintings—he illustrated how values emerge from a work, how the relationship of subject to setting, body language, the use of lighting, and so forth help an artist express his values through his creation. In the opinion of Michelle Fram-Cohen: "Newberry managed to tackle value judgments without being judgmental." (Once again this year, Newberry also held a pre-seminar course for artists on all levels, instructing participants in technical fundamentals of form, composition, color theory, and expression.)

Participant-Sponsored Sessions
Throughout the week, a number of seminar attendees took advantage of the center's offer to provide rooms at 3:45 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. for the presentation of their own lectures, the so-called participant-sponsored sessions. Among these presentations were: one on the martial arts, given by TOC intern Damian Moskovitz; a exhibition of simultaneous chess, in which Larry Abrams faced off against seven players; a discussion of independent film and music production by actor and singer Steven Schub; as well as a number of sessions on politics, economics, anarchy, and the free-market movement.

TOC's staff also hosted several sessions during these time slots. Robert Bidinotto (director of The Atlas Society) and Shawn Klein (manager of TOC's Web sites) discussed current activities of The Atlas Society. David Kelley, Klein, Patrick Stephens (the center's manager of current affairs) and the Navigator's editorial staff, Roger Donway and Donald Cooper, fielded questions on the center's public outreach programs. The center's manager of research and training, William Thomas, organized two career panels—one for students interested in academic professions and one for students interested in professional careers.

Road Trips
After Kelley's and Thomas's July 4 sessions on Objectivist education, seminar participants departed either for a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater or for an excursion to Altoona's Horseshoe curve. The tour of Fallingwater, led by John Gillis, gave participants a better understanding of why Ayn Rand admired Wright. Horseshoe Curve was both an engineering marvel and the key to completing the first rail line across the Allegheny Mountains; today, the site features a museum, theater, railroad bookshop, and state-of-the-art funicular to shuttle visitors up the steep slopes of the curve. This tour, led by Michael Sensor, was highlighted by a lecture Sensor gave on the history of Horseshoe Curve.

Closing Celebrations
On Thursday evening, TOC Sponsors gathered at the Laurel Mountain Ski Resort to celebrate the center's achievements. Overlooking the Laurel mountain range in scenic western Pennsylvania, attendees enjoyed a cocktail hour that allowed them to meet and mingle while listening to the music of a string quartet. After cocktails came a dinner prepared by one of the area's top chefs and a post-dinner program in which the center's staff spoke about the Objectivist movement's past and present.

The following night, all attendees gathered for the seminar's annual closing banquet. Emceed by Charles Tomlinson, the banquet was a night of celebrating the week past. The seminar "was an amazing experience," said Steven Schub, "and I think that the social aspect is as key as any of the intellectual content, just to find people who share the same essential perspective. Some of the brightest, smartest, coolest people I've hung out with in quite some time were here." Added Joe Coon: "I met lots of wonderful people. I made friends right off the bat that I hung out with all week. I hope to keep in contact with them when I leave."