Craig Biddle on Ayn Rand's Theory of Rights

http://www.theobjectivestandard.com
What are rights? Where do they come from? And how do we know it? Ayn Rand's answers to these questions form the indispensable foundation of a fully free, fully civilized society. In this talk, Craig Biddle presents the essentials of Rand's theory of rights, showing how its principles are derived from perceptual reality; differentiating it from traditional theories, including "God-given" rights, "government-granted" rights, and "natural" rights; and explaining why advocates of liberty and laissez-faire capitalism must embrace Rand's theory if they wish to succeed in establishing and maintaining freedom.

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[pgnboy2000]

I really enjoyed Mr. Biddles speech as I do his other works. I always wish, however, they wouldn't cut off the question and answer periods to these lectures. I like to hear what types of questions people ask and how the lecturer goes about answering them. Can we get a repost with the question and answer period included? :-)

[TheObjectiveStandard]

@pgnboy2000 Thanks for your interest. We'll post the Q & A shortly.

[mormovies]

Excellent, rational and reasonable! We can't base such an important concept as 'rights' on supernatural premises.

[drjasonjcampbell]

@seanthedonconsidine Thus, it's the "appeal" of the phenomena that supports a statement like 16:32 Our value system, then, is inextricably connected to how we perceive external reality and the manner in which objects generate desires within us. rather than viewing values and desires as innate or products of a weak will, a Randian might say the transformation of our perceptions, through rational deliberation, serves as the condition for any behavioral modification, which for me is dead on. peace.

[seanthedonconsidine]

@drjasonjcampbell Hmmm, interesting. I can't wait to read her work on Epistemology. Thanks for your time! :)

[drjasonjcampbell]

@seanthedonconsidine yeah I think that's fair. Her epistemology really stands completely apart from traditional epistemology for too many reasons to list here, but the main idea is the unique way in which she conceptualized how we arrive at ideas/concepts. videos 18 and 19 of my Rand series discusses this approach. What makes her epistemology powerful in my opinion is the accessibility to observable phenomenon as the ONLY phenomenon, which is itself continually subject to validation.

[seanthedonconsidine]

@drjasonjcampbell Intriguing, I've experienced this myself, with Rand and with B. F. Skinner. What's frightening is even in the Psychology department of The University of Minnesota (the college where Skinner discovered Operant Conditioning) the faculty know next to nothing about him.

From what little I've seen of Rand's epistemology (I have yet to read her book on it) I think it's somewhat similar to Skinnerian Behaviorism, but linguistically classical, in your view is this comparison accurate?

[drjasonjcampbell]

@seanthedonconsidine ..it's not that she's misunderstood, she flat out rejected, primarily because of an inability, in my opinion, to understand her very dense epistemology, which is why I did that rather than Atlas or Selfishness. None of those books make sense without understanding her epistemology and so an in depth analysis of her epistemology grounds everything else that she does. There is so much of her work that could and should be inc. into 21st cen. discourse but isn't. :-(

[drjasonjcampbell]

@seanthedonconsidine ...supporting Rand in philosophy is like defending Creationism in Science, it's a career ender. The idea of selfishness just doesn't go over well with many philosophers. They want employment so everybody trashes her. Me, however, well I think Rand is brilliant!! Her epistemology, absolutely no one takes seriously, and it is a valiant effort . Philosophers are cliquish and she wasn't "in" When I started my channel I had to give her theory the voice it deserved...

[seanthedonconsidine]

@drjasonjcampbell You seem to have a rather strong understanding of Rand's philosophy, and even, may I presume, a somewhat positive view of her, which is surprising given your academic standing.

My question to you is, for what reason do so many academics disregard Rand, primarily by parroting inaccurate common myths about her philosophy? (I'm speaking from personal history here, you may have experienced otherwise).

Thanks. :)