SOURCE MATERIAL FOR THE STUDY OF OBJECTIVISM Some of the authors cited here are not Objectivists, nonetheless many of their ideas are excellent expressions of Objectivist principles. * General Philosophy * Epistemology * Psychology * Morality * Ethics * Politics * Economics * Esthetics * Education * Science Fiction as an introduction to the study of Science * Science Fact * Books and Movies in the Romantic Art Form * Miscellaneous good stuff Most of this stuff can be purchased from: LAISSEZ FAIRE BOOKS 938 Howard St #202 San Francisco 94103 Write and ask them for their catalog. The lectures are on cassette tapes. For more information on any of these subjects, contact: David King 58 Spring Valley Drive Milford WY 82520 * General Philosophy THE VIRTUE OF SELFISHNESS - Ayn Rand & Nathaniel Branden (Signet book #AE2931) ATLAS SHRUGGED - Ayn Rand - Random House THE OBJECTIVIST NEWSLETTER, THE OBJECTIVIST, THE AYN RAND LETTER, THE OBJECTIVIST FORUM A series of monthly journals published from 1962 to 1985 by Rand et al. BASIC PRINCIPLES OF OBJECTIVISM - 20 lectures by N. Branden FOR A NEW LIBERTY - Murray Rothbard - Libertarian Review Foundation An excellent application of libertarianism to all aspects of social existence. Everything is nicely explained by detailed reference to the non- aggression principle. * Epistemology PRINCIPLES OF EFFICIENT THINKING - 10 lectures by Barbara Branden 1984 - George Orwell - New American Library (Signet) 451 CY688 This is the most prophetic book of the 20th century. Orwell's concepts of Newspeak and Prolefeed are indispensable to an understanding of the development of American culture during the last half of this century. A thorough knowledge of Newspeak, as it has been implemented in America, is the best means by which one can avoid an immense quagmire of faulty thinking. INTRODUCTION TO OBJECTIVIST EPISTEMOLOGY - Rand - Ed. by Binswanger and Peikoff - Penguin 452-01030-6 EVIDENCE OF THE SENSES - David Kelley - Louisiana State Univ. Press L-261 TRUTH AND TOLERATION - David Kelley * Psychology PSYCHOLOGY OF SELF-ESTEEM - Nathaniel Branden - Bantam 23449 If you haven't read this book, you don't really know what psychology is. In this work Psychology has found an Aristotle to organize its material, systematize its problems and define its fundamental principles. THE DISOWNED SELF - N. Branden - Bantan 22794 ROBIN AND MARIAN - James Goldman - Bantam T2772 Is the screenplay for the movie starring Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn (the story of how Robin Hood died). The introductory essay, on the subject of heroes, is magnificent. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ROMANTIC LOVE - 16 lectures by N. Branden * Morality HOW I FOUND FREEDOM IN AN UNFREE WORLD - Harry Browne - Macmillan Practical procedures for achieving as much personal freedom as possible in an authoritarian society. * Ethics LIBERTARIANISM - John Hospers - Nash, 1971 (out of print) LIBERTARIANISM IN ONE LESSON - David Bergland - Orpheus Publications Clearly shows the fundamental differences among the Liberal, Conservative, and Libertarian ethical views. EVOLUTION OF COOPERATION - Robert Axelrod - Basic Books Explains how cooperation can emerge among self-seeking individuals when there is no central authority to police their actions. Not surprisingly, the most practical way of dealing with the Prisoners' Dilemma is to use a technique based on the libertarian ethic. (Axelrod is not a libertarian.) MARKET FOR LIBERTY - Morris and Linda Tannehill - Laissez Faire Books, 1970 Contains some excellent statements of principle, but all else consists of the WouldChuck argument. THE ENTERPRISE OF LAW contains the proof for the principles presented in this book. FOR A NEW LIBERTY fills in the principled basis. * Politics CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE - Henry Thoreau (in "Walden and Other Writings", Bantam 21246) A classic portrayal of the anarchist principle. ENTERPRISE OF LAW - Bruce Benson - Pacific Research Institute There is a lot of sloppy thinking in this book, but nevertheless it is a very good documentation of the historical rise and development of government law, the present disastrous state of government law, and the present nature of private law. This book is a good answer to the question "What is government?" A strong case is made that government in the USA is a tool of coercion used by special-interest groups to effect wealth transfers. THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS - Robert Heinlein - Berkley 0 425 06262 7 A colony on the Moon is Earth's "Botany Bay." The central managing computer becomes a conscious entity and it, along with a few of the humans, stage a revolution, freeing Luna from Earth's control. The best SF story ever written. It contains some of Heinlein's best political philosophy. THE GREAT EXPLOSION - Eric Frank Russell - Avon (Equinox) 23820 Includes a portrayal of a society without government VOYAGE FROM YESTERYEAR - James P Hogan - Ballantine Del Ray 29472 Portrayal of a society without government THE SYNDIC - C.M. Kornbluth - Avon (Equinox) 20586 The government has been driven out of America, and the country is ruled by a consortium of the Mafia et al. THE PROBABILITY BROACH - L. Neil Smith - Ballantine 28593 What would America be like today if the Whiskey Rebellion had been successful, Washington executed, the Constitution abolished, and the political ideals of the Anti-Federalists implemented? * Economics HOW YOU CAN PROFIT FROM THE COMING DEVALUATION - Harry Browne - Arlington House, 1970 (out of print) Despite its unfortunate name, this is an excellent textbook on economics. ECONOMICS IN ONE LESSON - Henry Hazlitt - Harper & Row This book is an excellent refutation of many economic errors. But that's all it is. The entire work is a criticism of economic error and an apology for the institution (government) that perpetrates that error. He nowhere proposes what might be the proper course of economic endeavor. I think this would make a good primer - something that would clear away the mistaken beliefs in a person's mind. CAPITALISM THE UNKNOWN IDEAL - Rand et al. - Signet E9227 HOW THE WEST GREW RICH - Nathan Rosenberg and L.E.Birdzell, Jr. - Basic Books This is a fascinating and illuminating history of the economic growth of our society, from the demise of the feudal system of the Middle Ages to the beginning of the 20th century. This book is an excellent starting point for a study of economic history. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AMERICAN BUSINESS - Ed. by John Brooks - Doubleday PANICS AND CRASHES - Harry Schultz - Pinnacle Books 230516 This is an excellent history book, with lots of fascinating documentation, but not much at all in the way of principled guidance. THE ECONOMIC TIME BOMB - Harry Browne - St. Martin's Press, 312-92133-0. Browne argues that the larger danger in a crisis situation is not the crisis itself but the potentially destructive effect of any legislation that might be enacted to deal with it. This applies not only to real crises, but also to imagined ones. As such "non-problems" as the trade deficit, stock market declines, and America's new status as a debtor nation are exploited as excuses for more government, the probability of catastrophe increases. Another aspect of this analysis is that government might already have taken actions (prior to the crisis) that preclude an alleviation of the crisis. For example: Environmental laws passed prior to the California earthquake made it illegal for Route 1 to be repaired. PUBLIC GOODS & MARKET FAILURES - Ed by Tyler Cowen - Transaction Publishers Only the third section of this book (Case Studies) has any real value. But it is pricelessly valuable! It consists of examinations, in the real world, of situations contemplated theoretically in the first two sections. It clearly shows the tremendous difference between the fantasy of economic theory and the reality of economic fact. TRIUMPH OF CONSERVATISM - Gabriel Kolko; Quadrangle Books, Chicago 1967 Shows how a political-industrial complex came into being in America during the early years of the 20th century as businessmen tried (successfully) to use the federal government as a tool of coercion in the marketplace. This book is good for background but not as a primary source. It corroborates the "special- interest" thesis in THE ENTERPRISE OF LAW. FREE TO CHOOSE - Milton & Rose Friedman - Avon 52548 The best - and really the only useful - parts of this book are chapters 7 and 8, where the Friedmans critique government intervention in the marketplace. These two chapters have a lot of useful historical analysis. * Esthetics THE ROMANTIC MANIFESTO - Rand * Education Home Schooling is really quite easy in the state of Wyoming. A law passed in 1986 (Wyoming Statute 21-4-101) specifies that parents desiring to home- school their children need merely inform the local school board of their decision and, each year, specify the curriculum they will use. Private schools in Wyoming are not required to register nor be accredited in order to operate. They may award their own diplomas, and are not required to have certified teachers. The Rutherford Institute is a service that monitors state schooling regulations throughout America. Information on any state can be obtained from The Home Education Reporter, Box 510, Manassas VA 22110. HOME EDUCATION MAGAZINE Box 1083 Tonasket WA 98855 AERO-GRAMME, 417 Roslyn Rd, Roslyn Heights NY 11577 (516)621-2195 TAKING CHILDREN SERIOUSLY - Sarah Williams, 23 Whitley Road, London N17 6RJ A bi-monthly British journal on home schooling and other parenting issues. DR. MONTESSORI'S OWN HANDBOOK - Maria Montessori - Schocken SB98 For working with children aged about 3 to 6. LIBERATING SCHOOLS - ed. by David Boaz FAMILY MATTERS - David Guterson SUPER PARENTS, SUPER CHILDREN - Frances Kendall HOW TO RAISE A BRIGHTER CHILD - Joan Beck HOMESCHOOLING FOR EXCELLENCE - David and Micki Colfax CAPITALISM FOR KIDS - Karl Hess THE OX CART MAN - Donald Hall - Viking Penguin Press A children's book portraying free enterprise. * Science Fiction as an introduction to the study of Science One of the best ways to engender an interest in science in the minds of young people is to introduce them to it through works of good science fiction. Arthur Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and James Hogan are authors who combine science fact with thoughtful scientific speculation into well-written, intelligently imaginative stories. These seven books are by James P. Hogan. (All are Ballantine Del Ray books.) All are a rare combination of excellent science and excellent fiction. INHERIT THE STARS - #31792 \ THE GENTLE GIANTS OF GANYMEDE #32327 - a Trilogy GIANTS' STAR #32720 / THE GENESIS MACHINE #30576 THE TWO FACES OF TOMORROW #32387 THRICE UPON A TIME #32386 CODE OF THE LIFEMAKER #30549 RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA - Arthur C. Clarke - Ballantine #345 24175 4 The investigation of an uninhabited space ship wandering through the Solar system. Excellent science exposition in this book. THE SENTINEL - Arthur C. Clarke - Berkley #6183 THE DEEP RANGE - Arthur C. Clarke - Bantam #28925 TRUE NAMES - Vernor Vinge - Bluejay #94444 For computer programmers, hackers, and those interested in Artificial Intelligence. ROBOT VISIONS - Isaac Asimov - Penguin #45064 An integrated collection of both science essays and robot stories. Many of the stories are parables illustrating the problems in logic encountered when dealing with machine intelligence, and the essays deal with the idea of computer intelligence and its significance to human society. THE PAST THROUGH TOMORROW - Robert Heinlein - Berkley #10223 * Science Fact Isaac Asimov has written dozens of volumes of science essays. I know of no better way to get a broad general education in science than by reading those essays. THE INTELLIGENT MAN'S GUIDE TO THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES - Isaac Asimov Pocket Cardinal #95004 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Box 3186 Harlan Iowa 51593-2377 $34.97 per year RELATIVITY FOR THE MILLION - Martin Gardner - Macmillan, 1962 This is a clear and simple exposition of the Special and General Relativity. WHEELS, LIFE AND OTHER MATHEMATICAL AMUSEMENTS - Martin Gardner - W.H. Freeman & Co., 1983 TIME TRAVEL AND OTHER MATHEMATICAL BEWILDERMENTS - Martin Gardner - W.H. Freeman & Co., 1988 THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE - George Gamow - Bantam #5863 QED - Richard Feynman - Princeton Univ. Press. A non-mathematical presentation of Quantum Electro-Dynamics (the way in which light interacts with matter). RANDOM HOUSE BOOK OF 1001 WONDERS OF SCIENCE This one is for children. * Books and Movies in the Romantic Art Form I will begin by naming the principle that underlies those works of literature that I, as an Objectivist, find esthetically appealing. The thing they all have in common is a manifestation of VALUES; to be precise: a striving to achieve important values in the face of great adversity. The defining characteristic of Romantic Art is that it portrays Man as a volitional being whose choices are significant determining factors in the course of his life. For a full philosophical explanation of what values are and why they are a fundamental necessity of life, you should read Ayn Rand's essay "The Objectivist Ethics", which appears in her book THE VIRTUE OF SELFISHNESS. When a person strives to achieve great values - and is successful - that person is a HERO. Indeed, it is precisely this behavior that is the defining characteristic of a hero. So, to put it quite simply, since I am a man whose life is built around very firmly and explicitly held values, I love stories about heroes. Stories which show me, in symbolic form, the achievements of others and thus help give me the spiritual strength to work toward my own goals. For a magnificient description of heroes - and why we don't have them anymore - you should read James Goldman's screenplay for ROBIN AND MARIAN. There is one more attribute a good story should have: it should be a well- told story: a story that consists of a believeable world - one that is internally coherent and can induce in the observer an appropriate mental frame-of-reference. J.R.R. Tolkien described this attribute as a condition of "...literary belief, the state of mind that has been called 'willing suspension of disbelief.' What really happens is that the story-maker proves a successful 'subcreator.' He makes a Secondary World which your mind can enter. Inside it, what he relates is 'true': it accords with the laws of that world. You therefore believe it, while you are, as it were, inside. The moment disbelief arises, the spell is broken; the magic, or rather art, has failed. You are then out in the Primary World again, looking at the little abortive Secondary World from outside. If you are obliged, by kindliness or circumstance, to stay, then disbelief must be suspended (or stifled), otherwise listening and looking would become intolerable. But this suspension of disbelief is a substitute for the genuine thing, a subterfuge we use when condescending to games or make-believe, or when trying (more or less willingly) to find what virtue we can in the work of an art that has for us failed." Tolkien's masterpiece, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, is by far the best example of the sort of Romantic Art described here. It is a magnificient fairy tale about a fabulous land, Middle Earth, where the forces of Good war against and are victorious over the forces of Evil. A land where the Kings have majesty, the Heroes have grace, and even the Villains have stature. DOWN THE LONG HILLS - Louis L'Amour - Bantam #02038 One of L'Amour's best - the hero is a 7-year-old boy. ON THE BEACH - Nevil Shute - Bantam #S3875 THE GIRL WHO OWNED A CITY - O.T. Nelson -Dell (Laurel Leaf) #92893 A plague takes all human adults, leaving only the children. THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA - Hemingway - Scribner #SL104 CYRANO DE BERGERAC - Edmond Rostand - Bantam HT4650 THE MIRACLE WORKER - William Gibson - Samuel French, Inc. How Annie Sullivan taught the child Helen Keller to be a human. One of the very few works of literature that have an explicitly epistemological theme. ANTHEM - Ayn Rand TOILERS OF THE SEA - Victor Hugo WATERSHIP DOWN - Richard Adams Here are some of the movies that are excellent portrayals of heroism (I think it unfortunate that many of them have a setting of war and violence, but human society being what it is, this context is what gives rise to much of the heroism in fiction): Black Stallion Firefox Spartacus Man From Snowy River Dam Busters Great Escape Muppet Movie Swiss Family Robinson Dark Crystal High Noon Train Philadelphia Experiment Dark Victory Lassiter Raid on Entebbe Somewhere in Time Dragonslayer Last Unicorn Watership Down Benji the Hunted These three movies I take special note of, because they portray a rarely- encountered hero - a strong-willed, self-assertive woman: Conan the Barbarian Time Rider Yentl * Miscellaneous good stuff FULL CONTEXT - a monthly journal from The Objectivist Club of Michigan. 2317 Starr Rd. D-1, Royal Oak, MI 48073 Institute for Objectivist Studies 82 Washington St #207 Poughkeepsie NY 12601-9768 IOS issues a bi-monthly journal written by David Kelley and his associates. Cato Institute 1000 Massachusetts Ave NW Washington DC 20001 Cato is a libertarian think tank. ROLLING HOMES - Jane Lidz - A&W Publishers A beautiful picture book - showing how buses and trucks have been artistically converted into handmade houses on wheels. THE VINTAGE MENCKEN - ed. by Alistair Cooke - Random House (Vintage) #V-25 Mencken was one of the greatest masters of the English language. THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY - Ambrose Bierce - Dover #T487 In the form of a dictionary, this is some of Bierce's strange humor. To unlock the power of your computer: The Public (software) Library P.O.Box 35705 Houston, TX 77235-5705 An immense quantity of computer software, both public domain and shareware. Send them $2 for their catalog. Specify MS-DOS or MAC Computer networks: Institute for Global Communications 3228 Sacramento St San Francisco 94115 (415) 9230900 An anarchist computer network. Compuserve, GO ISSUES, Section 3, Library 3 on individualism