Correcting Dr. Peikoff

In answer to his April 13, 2009 podcast, available at

http://peikoff.com/

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Category:

Education

Tags:

• mrcropper
• peikoff
• education
• religion
• atheism
• america
• europe
• evolution

[Attritive]

So why are Totalitarian states so religious throughout history?

[MrCropper]

@Attritive "So why are Totalitarian states so religious throughout history?"

Every single state almost without exception has been religious. That isn't the province of totalistarian regimes. Besides, totalitarianism is a relatively recent occurrence.

[WarVideo]

Why are European governments willing to fund all different sorts of religious institutions with all sorts of contradictory beliefs and ideas? Answer: Skepticism and Multiculturalism.The answer that he gives is right, Americans DO believe in morality, but religion is the only one that seems to offer any answers so thats why they accept it. And also, he points out that America was affected by Pragmatism and Dewey which makes Americans much worse than Europe.

[WarVideo]

I think you are wrong on this point, and I agree with Dr. Peikoff. The deeper and more fundamental question you have to ask is,why does Europe fund religion?Ithink It has to do more with culture than with government intervention, notice that the "native" europeans are less religious than muslims, why isnt Islam going down in Europe along with the other religions? I think its because muslims havent been affected by multiculturalism and skepticism in the same way Europeans have.

[mrrobotica]

@fab006 I'm pretty sure the guy you were responding to was simply mocking Objectivists by pretending to be an idiot who claims to be an Objectivist.

To answer you though, Objectivism is the philosophy of Ayn Rand. That does not include everything Ayn Rand believed. Her views on homosexuality, for example, had nothing to do with her philosophy.

[fab006]

@hyperseauton Hm, so what's your view on homosexuality, then? Peikoff and Rand don't seem to agree, does Rand automatically take precedence? And if so, does Peikoff not understand Objectivism for continuing to hold a view contrary to the "authority"?

[sandb232]

Cropper's argument is not more fundamental than Dr. Peikoff's. Peikoff's argument is that Americans understand the necessity of morality in their lives and their need for guidance. Cropper says people are religious because there are so many churches in this country(!). The question is WHY are there so many churches. WHY did the free market expand religion and not atheism?

[sandb232]

This guy is a creepy weirdo. For actual information of Ayn Rand go to aynrand.org

[Attritive]

I was using Totalitarian in the broader sense. A Monarchy is Totalitarian, for instance. It just wasn't called that. Why is it that so many regimes, oppressive of individual rights, including the oppression of freedom of religion, have been extremely religious in themselves? You explain America's predominance of religion by way of our freedoms. Why is it, then, that so many non-free states are religious?

[greenghost2008]

there is a nice zinger russel used against pragmaticism. was somerhing like pragmaticism isn't useful

[Sam26100]

No, caring about money =/= pragmatism

Pragmatism means not having principles, and caring only with self-interest regardless of any standards, even if it means being a parasite on others.

Just because money is an important issue in one's life, doesn't make you a pragmatist. A pragmatist is a person who basically says: I want to solve my problems now, regardless of any ethics or principles

[Sam26100]

AdsuMudi

You seem to be working with a crooked definition of pragmatism there