Next Meeting: Tuesday April 18th from 6:00pm - 8:00pm

"The Esthetic Vacuum of Our Age," is what we are covering this week.
This week's essay is much shorter than the last several weeks. This will allow us to really dig in to the material!

We meet in our usual spot and we'll likely go out afterward. Below are 17 questions. Once again, I always make more questions than we'll need. Try and look over them all anyway. We have a lot to discuss this week!

Also, if you're still making lists of your favorite movies, and novels please bring them in and remind us all to discuss those.

See you all on Monday!

The Esthetic Vacuum of Our Age

1. Paragraph 1: Why has the dominant belief in mankind’s history been that he is determined by outside forces? Why did the change in literature occur during the industrial revolution?

2. Paragraph 1: Why does holding the premise of determinism mean one cannot “project what might happen to men,” only what did happen to them?

3. Paragraph 2: What does it mean to “[project] the choices men ought to make?”

4. Paragraph 4: What does it mean to “project abstractions?”

5. Paragraph 4: Why does it follow that if a literary writer records what happens around them, they cannot pronounce value-judgments?

6. In paragraph 5 Ayn Rand discusses the problem of reverting back to the literary principle of the chronicle after having developed the novel. That now, the Naturalists must present a chronicle that is invented. Why must a writer even worry about “what to regard as important?”

7. In paragraph 6 Ayn Rand gives a few example of journalistic answers to the question “What is man?” Can you think of films, plays, or books that exemplify what she is discussing?

8. (A sub question to Q7): What is different about The Fountainhead? Couldn’t one say this story “is what the architects are in New York, from 1922-1930s?”

9. Paragraph 7: How is art the integrator of metaphysics? Think of examples.

10. Paragraph 8 illustrates a logical progression of what happens when one wrongfully substitutes what one sees around one for metaphysical value-judgments. Read this section carefully, it is very important. We will discuss it thoroughly in our meeting.

11. Paragraph 12: Why is the basic premise of naturalism anti-man, anti-mind, and anti-life? Also, how is Naturalism an outgrowth of the Altruist morality, thus leading it to attempt to “escape from moral judgment?”

12. Paragraph 13: What is Symbolism?

13. Paragraph 16: Why does presenting man as a loathsome monstrosity give people the hope and demand of a moral blank check? What is a moral blank check?

14. Paragraph 17: Think of examples of various types of art that is lauded as good because it cannot be understood, thus it is profound. In music, painting, literature, etc.

15. Paragraph 19: Do you think Ayn Rand is against documentaries?

16. Paragraph 21: How is art the sum and barometer of a culture, and how does modern art demonstrate our bankruptcy?

17. What is the esthetic vacuum of our age?

Next Meeting: Tuesday April 4th from 6:00pm - 8:00pm "What Is Romanticism?"

This week we are discussing Ayn Rand's essay "What Is Romanticism?"

Britannica explains romanticism as the "rejection of the precepts of
order, calm, harmony, balance, idealization, and rationality that
typified Classicism in general and late 18th-century Neoclassicism in
particular. It was also to some extent a reaction against the
Enlightenment and against 18th-century rationalism and physical
materialism in general. Romanticism emphasized the individual, the
subjective, the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the
spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental."


In one college book on literature Romanticism is defined through a
list of characteristics: "sensibility; primitivism; love of nature;
sympathetic interest in the past, especially the medieval; mysticism;
individualism; romanticism criticism; and a reaction against whatever
characterized neoclassicism."


In many online dictionaries it is defined as: "An artistic and
intellectual movement originating in Europe in the late 18th century
and characterized by a heightened interest in nature, emphasis on the
individual's expression of emotion and imagination, departure from the
attitudes and forms of classicism, and rebellion against established
social rules and conventions."


Ayn Rand would not define such an important concept as Romanticism by
such superficial means, however.
Her definition is: "A category of art based on the recognition of the
principle that man possesses the faculty of volition."


Though many definitions explain one aspect of Romanticism is the
individual, they also specify it as a category of "emotionalism." Why
does Ayn Rand give free-will primacy in her definition? How can we
properly understand Romanticism as a broad category? And how can we
understand Ayn Rand's own fiction within this category?


Discuss this and much more this coming monday on the Auraria Campus
from 6-8pm. And, as usual, we will be hanging out downtown after the
discussion.

Next Meeting: Monday March 21st from 6:00pm - 8:00pm

This week we will be covering Ayn Rand's essay entitled "Basic
Principles of Literature." We will be discussing questions such as
"What makes a novel a novel?" "What attributes give rise to literature
in all its forms?" (e.g. plays, film, novels, etc). "What exactly does
Ayn Rand's term "Plot-theme" mean? And much more.

In light of our discussion this week I thought it might be helpful to
have everyone attending watch a film beforehand. My recommendation is
"McLintock!" with John Wayne, directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. You of
course do not have to watch this, but it will add to the discussion.
The film can be found streaming on Netflix and possibly other online
locations.


Also, as another optional exercise, I suggest re-watching a favorite
film of yours and summing up the abstract theme in accordance with Ayn
Rand's theory of theme as an abstract summation of the events in a
story.


Again, this is optional.


I hope to see you all on Monday March 21st.


We'll be in our usual location. Just go to the Direction tab to the left.

Also, RSVP on our facebook EVENT

Thanks,
Kirk

Next Meeting: Monday March 7th from 6:00pm - 8:00pm

This next monday we will be covering Ayn Rand's essay "Art and
Cognition," where she describes how art affects us emotionally and
why. In this essay she discusses all of the major forms of art, and
what she considers secondary (though not less important) arts.

Next Meeting: Tuesday February 21st from 6:00pm - 8:00pm "Art and Sense of Life"

Our last meeting was a great success! On top of discussing the concept of Sense of Life we also analyzed a few classical paintings to gain a sense of how an artist guides a viewer by the concept "important."

At our next meeting we are discussing Ayn Rand's essay "Art and Sense of Life." We'll be discussing the nature of Art and how an artists Sense of Life will determine the type of painting he will create - and how a viewers Sense of Life affects his reaction.

Come join us February 21st at the auraria campus. You can find exact directions on the "Directions" tab to the left.

We'll see you then! And don't forget, we always go out for drinks afterwards and you're more than welcome to join us!

-Kirk

Next Meeting: Tuesday February 7th from 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Our next meeting is February 7th and we will be covering Ayn Rand's Essay on esthetics "Philosophy and Sense of Life"

You can join in on the discussion whenever you'd like. The essays are available in the book The Romantic Manifesto which can be purchased at any bookstore or online for around $7.

For more information on the topics and our schedule of discussions for the semester click HERE.

Next Meeting: January 31st (monday) 6-8pm

Have you ever read The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged? Have you ever wondered about the Philosophy of Art behind the books? If so join the Auraria Campus Objectivist Club for a bi-weekly discussion starting on January 31st (Monday). We will be discussing Ayn Rand's Esthetics.

We will be covering questions like, what is the nature of art? What is its function or role in human life (i.e., what does art do)? And: why does art have such tremendous psychological power? Among many other questions.


Our first meeting of the Spring semester will be Monday the 31st of January. We will be covering Ayn Rand's essay "The Psycho-Epistemology of Art." It is found in The Romantic Manifesto. Click HERE for purchasing details (it's about $6) and for the Spring semester schedule of topics.

Also, click HERE for directions to our weekly meetings.

Next Meeting: Tuesday November 23rd from 6:00pm - 8:00pm

This week we will be covering Ayn Rand's essay "What Is Romanticism?"

Romanticism is a category of art based on the recognition of the principle that man possesses the faculty of volition. - Ayn Rand


You can find the readings in the Romantic Manifesto by Ayn Rand or The Ayn Rand Reader pgs 460-477

Next Meeting: Tuesday November 9th from 6:00pm - 8:00pm

This is a special meeting because we will not be covering an article by Ayn Rand, but one by Alex Epstein. Alex will be speaking on the Auraria Campus on November 8th on his topic: "Vitamin 'O': America's Healthy 'Addiction' to Oil." You can RSVP To that talk by clicking HERE to go to our facebook event page.

The article we will be covering was written by Alex for The Objective Standard and it is entitled: "Vindicating Capitalism: The Real History of the Standard Oil Company.

It is an amazing article that blows away all the myths about Rockefeller as a supposed "Robber Baron."

It is available for free on The Objective Standard website. You can access it by clicking HERE
Also you can click HERE for the audio. The Audio version is somewhat long to listen to, but you can download it and listen to it whenever you want!

This is also a reason I've changed the schedule, we won't be meeting on the 2nd to give you time to look over this article.


Here is a description of the article:
It examines the inception and rise of Standard Oil, demonstrates that the company’s immense success was the result not of so-called “anti-competitive” practices or “predatory pricing” but of its superior efficiency and productivity, and does long-overdo justice to one of the greatest producers of life-serving values in history: John D. Rockefeller

It should make for a great meeting because Alex will be talking about Oil on the 8th. We should have plenty to discuss. Plus I'll be using some of Ari Armstrong's questions from his Liberty On the Books.


Please note the schedule change because I've made the meetings every other week instead of every week. It seemed people were having difficulty coming every time and we had sporadic showings, this should make it easier on everyone.

Thanks all!
I'll see you in a few weeks
-Kirk Barbera

Next Meeting: Tuesday October 19th from 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Our next meeting is on a small portion of John Galt's Speech on Anti-Altruism. At the bottom of this post I explain where you can find this article.


It is often said that we “sacrifice” short-term fun for long-term career ambitions, or “sacrifice” personal enjoyment for the sake of raising beloved children. Actions like these are clearly noble, but do they really involve sacrifice? What is sacrifice, and are there grounds for thinking it is moral? What does the consistent surrender of values really mean for human life and happiness?

In this week’s discussion, we’ll discuss Ayn Rand’s analysis of the code of self-sacrifice, and examine why she regards it as incompatible with genuine moral values and self-esteem.

. . .

“Why is it moral to serve the happiness of others, but not your own? If enjoyment is a value, why is it moral when experienced by others, but immoral when experienced by you? If the sensation of eating a cake is a value, why is it an immoral indulgence in your stomach, but a moral goal for you to achieve in the stomach of others? Why is it immoral for you to desire, but moral for others to do so? Why is it immoral to produce a value and keep it, but moral to give it away? And if it is not moral for you to keep a value, why is it moral for others to accept it? If you are selfless and virtuous when you give it, are they not selfish and vicious when they take it? Does virtue consist of serving vice? Is the moral purpose of those who are good, self-immolation for the sake of those who are evil?
—John Galt in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, pg. 948

Material to be discussed:
• “Anti-Altruism from Galt’s Speech”
o Pp. 94-102 in *The Ayn Rand Reader*
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0452280400
o or pp 944-951 in *Atlas Shrugged*
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0451191145

Next meeting Topic: The Meaning of Sex, and Of Living Death and Free Pizza!!!

Our next meeting is Tuesday October 12th from 6-8pm, we will be covering "The Meaning of Sex,' and "Of Living Death."

Where? Auraria Downtown Campus, click HERE for directions

We will also be having a "PIZZA PARTY" afterwards. So come join us for a great discussion and free pizza and drinks! Anyone is welcome! (We will not be going to Old Chicago after the meeting this week, but anyone is welcome to stay after the meeting and enjoy great conversation and Pizza!)

Where to find the readings for this week:
They are both available in The Ayn Rand Reader. And "Of Living Death" is also available as an audio online for free: http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reg_ar_oflivingdeath

The Meaning of Sex is also found in Atlas Shrugged, it is Francisco's talk to Rearden about the Mind-body relation in regards to sex. This is a very short two and a half page excerpt.

Of Living Death (more explanation below) identifies the connections between the Catholic Church's basic philosophy and its view of sex. This is found in The Ayn Rand Reader or you can listen to a lecture (which is a bit expanded but has a great Q&A session as well) here: http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reg_ar_oflivingdeath

Overview of what we are covering and why:

To this day virtue is thought of as identical to chastity, and virginity is equated with a kind of moral purity. Many people today do not concern themselves with this kind of virtue or purity, but concede that it *is* virtue or purity.

At this week’s meeting, we will examine Ayn Rand’s essay “On Living Death,” which analyzes a Catholic encyclical calling for believers to abstain from contraceptives and non-procreative sex. Rand argues that it is the premise that sex is base, rather than a moral end in itself, which results in this doctrine and its destructive consequences.

“The motive of the church's doctrine on this issue is . . . psychological: if man is forbidden to regard sexual enjoyment as an end in itself, he will not regard love or his own happiness as an end in itself; if so, then he will not regard his own life as an end in itself; if so, then he will not attain self-esteem.

It is not against the gross, animal, physicalistic theories or uses of sex that the encyclical is directed, but against the spiritual meaning of sex in man's life. . . . It is not directed against casual, mindless promiscuity, but against romantic love.”
—Ayn Rand , “Of Living Death.”

Many of those who oppose abortion rights claim to do so in the name of the “sanctity of life.” By this they mean the life of the fetus, not the life and happiness of the mother. Why do they regard the first kind of life as sacrosanct, but the second as dispensable? How can those who oppose abortion on these grounds also advocate the right to “the pursuit of happiness” for adults?

“This issue is not confined to the Catholic church, and it is deeper than the problem of contraception; it is a moral crisis approaching a climax. The core of the issue is Western civilization’s view of man and of his life. The essence of that view depends on the answer to two interrelated questions: Is man (man the individual) an end in himself?—and: Does man have the right to be happy on this earth?”
—Ayn Rand , “Of Living Death.”

Next Meeting: Tuesday October 5th from 6:00pm - 8:00pm

This week we will be reading "Roarks Speech" and "Why Selfishness" in the Ayn Rand Reader (pages 71-83). We will be meeting in the same location; building 1020 in 9th street park by Einsteins on the Auraria Campus. If you don't have The Ayn Rand Reader yet, make sure to read atleast Roarks Speech in The Fountainhead.

Roark's Speech:
What is the source of human progress? Do the greatest human achievements come from those who devote their lives to serving others? Conventional wisdom says that they do. Is conventional wisdom correct? And since when do we look to conventions to find wisdom?

This week’s discussion will focus on the climactic courtroom speech by Howard Roark in Ayn Rand’s novel, The Fountainhead, in which Roark breaks with tradition and asserts the primary role of the independent egoist in human history, and his moral right to exist for himself.

“Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision. Their goals differed, but they all had this in common: that the step was first, the road new, the vision unborrowed, and the response they received—hatred. The great creators—the thinkers, the artists, the scientists, the inventors—stood alone against the men of their time. . . . But the men of unborrowed vision went ahead. They fought, they suffered and they paid. But they won.”
—Ayn Rand , The Fountainhead

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And, Why Selfishness:
We'll also be discussing Ayn Rand’s essay titled “Why ‘Selfishness’?”, in which she explains her choice of the word ‘selfishness’ to denote a virtuous quality.

At the beginning of the article when Ayn Rand is asked why she uses the word selfishness, her response is: “For the reason that makes you afraid of it.” Read this essay and come to this discussion to learn what she means by this.


See you all there!

-Kirk

Next Meeting: Tuesday Sept 28th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm - Philosophy Who Needs It

The topic for our next meeting this Tuesday is philosophy itself. We are going to discuss Ayn Rand's essay Philosophy: Who Needs It, and the shorter essay Introducing Objectivism.

Philosophy Who Needs It is available as the first essay in the book by the same name, it's also in one of the pamphlets we handed out for free at Fall Fest (by the way, we got a mention in an article about Fall Fest in The Advocate, go Kirk and Yuriy! Here is the link: http://www.ucdadvocate.com/news/fall-fest-brings-students-closer-1.1641727 ). The essay is also available online as an audio at the ARI site: http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reg_ar_pwni.

The second much shorter essay, Introducing Objectivism, is available at the ARI site as well: http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_intro

We are going back to our regular meeting location, building 1020 in the 9th street park by Einsteins which is number 26 on this map: http://www.ahec.edu/campusmaps/AHEC3D.pdf

See you all on Tuesday, and as usual we'll go out for beers and dinner afterward.

Next Meeting: Tuesday Sept 21st from 6:00pm to 8:00pm - Roark and the Dean

For our next meeting tomorrow (Sept 21st) we will discuss Roark and the Dean, an excerpt from the beginning of The Fountainhead. You can read it on The Ayn Rand Sampler (we have free copies of those), on The Ayn Rand Reader (pages 3-17), or on The Fountainhead itself (pages 15 - 27).

For this week only, our location is going to be the Golda Meir house right next to St Cajetans, it's building number 18 on this map: http://www.ahec.edu/campusmaps/AHEC3D.pdf (note: we normally meet in building 1020 in the 9th street park by Einsteins which is number 26 on the map, it will only be this Tuesday that we are meeting in a different location, and this location is close to where we normally meet.)

We'll meet from 6 to 8, and then we'll go to Old Chicago for dinner/drinks.
See you all tomorrow!

Next Meeting: Sept 14 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm - The Goal of My Writing

Great turnout for our first meeting this week!

For our second official meeting of the semester, we will be discussing Ayn Rand's essay "The Goal of My Writing". This essay was first published in The Romantic Manifesto, where Ayn Rand presents her theory of aesthetics, but you can also find it in The Ayn Rand Reader, and in the free booklet The Ayn Rand Sampler.

According to the synopsis in the website of the Ayn Rand Institute, in this essay "Rand articulates the goal of her own fiction writing as 'the projection of an ideal man, as an end in itself'—and explains that she originated her philosophy as a means to this end."

Most of the readings for this semester can be found in The Ayn Rand Reader, so it would be a good idea to get it, you can currently get it used from Amazon for about $1.

Next Meeting: September 7th from 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Our first official meeting will be watching and discussing a short (30 minutes with quick Q&A) video by Dr. Leonard Peikoff entitled "Why Ancient Greece is My Favorite Civilization."

Here's a quick synopsis:
In this heartfelt tribute to Greek culture, Dr. Peikoff names its essential virtue as man-worship. Greece, he says, was the only fully secular civilization in history—the "only conceptual-level culture ever."

This talk offers profoundly original identifications, such as: the significance of the Olympic Games; the Greeks' attitude toward male nudity and toward homosexuality—and its parallels with the Founding Fathers' attitude toward slavery; the difference between the Greek and the Enlightenment views about emotions

Next Meeting: August 31st from 6:00pm - 8:00

Our first meeting of the semester will be Tuesday the 31st of August. This meeting will primarily be a planning meeting to decide upon the course we will take in studying the ideas of Ayn Rand. Feel free to join and pitch in any ideas. We will have lots of materials to look over and pick from.

click HERE for directions.

It's building 1020 room A. The building is located on the Auraria campus' 9th street park.

See you all there!

Next Meeting: Tuesday June 8th from 6:00pm - 9:00pm

We will be covering lecture 3. Our room is in North Classroom building room 1316 at 6pm.

Click HERE for the schedule.

Next Meeting: Tuesday June 1st from 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Our next meeting will be June 1st (Tuesday). We will be listening to Lecture 2 and discussion will follow.

Again, Click HERE for the weekly schedule and details of the lecture.

Click HERE for a map and directions.

If you Have questions e-mail johngalt.ucd@gmail.com

Next Meeting: Tuesday May 25th from 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Our first meeting for the summer lecture series will Tuesday May 25th on the Auraria Campus. We will meet at the North Classroom (NC) room 1321.

We will be going over Understanding Objectivism. Our first session will begin with a short meeting to help organize the rest of the summer's meetings.

Click HERE for a description of the lecture series.

Click HERE for directions, including a parking map, and a general map of the campus.

We will meet every tuesday at 6pm. But, for now, we don't have one room throughout the entire summer. I am still working on getting one.

e-mail me at johngalt.ucd@gmail.com