Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

In reply to Roderick T. Long. On the view Stephen is defending, I think your questions have straightforward answers: Rand should not have needed any help whatsoever, and Rand’s sympathy for Marilyn Monroe was irrational (as was Marilyn Monroe her…

In reply to Irfan Khawaja. Maybe you went to school with a better class of kids. LikeLike

You are fundamentally right here and Stephen is fundamentally wrong. However, I think it is important to distinguish injustices that themselves presuppose some sort of more-basic harm to the patient/victim (e.g., you harming me gratuitously) and those …

In reply to Roderick T. Long. I don’t think of myself as morally naive, but until I heard the “dog biscuit” story, it had never occurred to me that someone might give someone a malicious Valentine’s Day gift. My mind was stuck a…

In reply to Roderick T. Long. In the introduction to The Fountainhead, Rand credits her husband with helping her to maintain an unbroken spirit “over a long span of years when there was nothing around us but a gray desert of people and events tha…

“her school celebrated Valentine’s Day by having the children in her class exchange ‘secret surprises,’ i.e., gifts exchanged where the recipient would not know the identity of the giver.” The dangers of this experiment were pre…

In reply to Irfan Khawaja. The rancor sounds interesting. Does it come with feeding and care instructions? https://www.starwars.com/databank/rancor LikeLike

Stephen Hicks offers this analysis (a few weeks back) of being wounded by racist talk. To be blunt, his argument strikes me as wildly off base. I’ve numbered each move in the argument for ease of reference. (1) For someone’s opinion to hurt, you first have to value their opinion. (2) Think of it this…

In reply to Roderick T. Long. Mostly hate. Some anger, rancor, and resentment as well. Were you interested in a purchase? LikeLike

In reply to Irfan Khawaja. I didn’t know you ran an online company. What good or service does it produce? LikeLike