 All right, good evening or here in London. It is evening. I'm looking out the window. It looks like it's sunset Here in London. It's it's actually quite pretty. I'm right in Chinatown in Soho London. It's it was a beautiful day freezing cold. Oh my god I didn't realize it got this cold in London. It was in the in the low 30s today So really really cold coming from Puerto Rico is kind of a shock to the system We'll see if I can avoid getting my getting a cold Getting sick with all the changes in in the weather, but I'm excited to be here in England. I'll be here This is a long trip for for one place. I'm kind of static for for 11 nights Tomorrow I go to oxford. I'll spend two nights In oxford, but other than that, uh, I'll be in London for nine nights Which is longer than I typically stay in one place. Uh, anyway in the world even at home so, um Yeah, it's good to be here. We got a lot of things going on 12 high school talks starting tomorrow with, uh Westminster high school, probably the best, uh, academic high school in in the uk and then, um Going to oxford for two two high schools in oxford tomorrow evening and then uh two high schools north of oxford in the midlands, uh on tuesday and then, um You know, we'll we'll see We'll see now We're gonna do is i'm going to answer questions that were posed by patreon contributors And who are voted on by, um by patreon other patreon contributors. So I think if you give 25 dollars a month or more At patreon.com uran brook show patreon.com slash uran brook show Uh, you can propose a topic for me to talk about And I think if you give more than 10 dollars a month or something like that, I'm not sure exactly You get a vote on them now, uh We'll see we might actually get to cover all the topics But I'm gonna start with the topic that got the highest votes and kind of work downwards so that if if indeed, uh For some reason the, um, uh We don't get through them at least uh, at least we got we got this We got the ones that got the most votes. So, uh, you get some credit for forgetting the most votes all right, um I hope uh, there wasn't a stuttering there in the video. It's it's hard to tell somebody says it's a nice hotel room Yeah, it's a very nice hotel room. I'm at the uh, w hotel in lester square I like w's and and this is a particularly nice, uh, w and they treat me well. So they give me this is a particularly large room for this hotel the standard rooms are tiny and and have Weird configurations this one is is a reasonable Size and actually for the rest of my trip after I come back from oxford. They've given me a suite. So it's um, given that I stay 100 nights a year 100 or more nights a year have for the last, I don't know five six seven years at starwood hotels, which w is a part of They treat me well, you know, they they should I'm probably one of the best best customers in the world All right, let's get down to the questions. I'm not going to following the chat much Just too much going on. Uh, but let's let's start. So the first the first question was asked by ryan And uh, uh, this is the question personal values whims and human values How do personal values differ from whims? How does an individual identity identify his objective personal values? Or can he choose them? And how does he morally pursue them? Particular type of productive effort hobbies, etc How do the values we hold as individuals Differ from the values that we all share as a fact of being human. So that's a great question, right? A great question. So in the sense you've got certain values that are universal values The the values that are good for all human beings moral values moral values are Universal values honesty integrity productiveness reason and rationality these are moral values and they are Consistent for every human being every human being has these values. And how do we know that? By studying what is required for human existence for human beings to survive for human beings to thrive for human beings to flourish All human beings under pretty much any circumstances They must use reason. They must be rational They must be honest and you know, I did a whole show on honesty So so I think you know what I mean by that. So we're not going to talk too much about the kind of universal values the moral values and it's not just The seven, you know, the three cardinal values reason purpose self-esteem It can certainly be certain subsidiary values under those values that are still That are still universal or the same with virtues. So for example In the objectivist ethics courage is not a One of the seven virtues that iron man identifies But I think iron man would say courage is a virtue. It's just a subsidiary virtue Probably under integrity, right? So a person who has integrity Needs to have the courage to to to have the integrity, right? Courage is is necessary in order to achieve integrity. So they are there's a whole set of of universal values Healthy food is a universal value for all human beings Now what is healthy might be different for different human beings depending on your biology Maybe depending on the genome, we don't know exactly the science is still working on that but There's going to be a universal set of things and and think about it the other way around poison Is bad pretty much for everybody everybody suffers if they eat cyanide So those are the universal values. Those are the values that are necessary necessary for the achievement of Uh happiness for achievement of flourishing for the achievement of human success and and a good starting point for what the universal values and virtues are Is the objectivist ethics? It's it's on the value side Reason purpose self-esteem on the virtue side It's it's a seven virtues, but I also recommend reading Tara Smith's the virtuous egoist Where she talks about other virtues and other values and how they are connected to the main ones And to the extent to which they are universal On or or not, you know, so so So that's point number one, but the real question. I think that's being asked Is not so much about there we go. We were stuttering a little bit It's not so much about these universal values, but I think it's about personal values and differentiating between personal values and whims So and I think what you mean, uh, Ryan by human values I think you mean by that values the necessary for all human beings And I would call those kind of the universal human values the things that are universal to everybody to all human beings So what about personal values and whims first? How do we differentiate between personal values and whims well whims Are things that we want But the only reason we want them is because we have because we feel like it That's the essence of a whim. The whims are feeling. There's no thought given to it. There's no consideration. There are no facts being put forward It just you feel like it. So you do it That that's what a whim means. It just means a a a I don't know what the technical definition of where I probably should have I probably should have, uh Thought about that in advance, but it's it's it's instantaneous, it's It's emotional It's not thought out. It's not reasoned. It's not a product of rational thinking Right, so I'd say whims therefore out one shouldn't particularly in anything important when shouldn't Function based on emotion When shouldn't pursue Just things that make one feel good Independent everything else without having thought them through without having figured out are they harmful to me or are they good for me? Because if they're harmful to you Then you're gonna suffer if you just do them If you don't take into account the fact the knowledge That this is harmful, you know, um I feel like I feel like taking the cocaine Right cocaine is gonna give me a high. I feel like getting a high Making the cocaine of value in that Situation is based on whim because what would happen if it was based on reason To be based on reason would say, okay. Yes, I would get a high from the cocaine and that feels good That's not deny the fact that it feels great to to get a to get a sniff of cocaine but What are the consequences? What are the consequences to my health? What are the consequences to my mind? What are the consequences? What might I do when I'm on the high? Uh, what are the consequences if I get addicted to my wallet to my integrity to everything that I do? so a whim is An emotion that is not being thought through That is not being integrated That is the just stands on its own and and and we reject as any kind of value It's just a whim and it should be avoided. All right We've been talking about whims now. What would personal values be personal values of values that you Want the things that you want that you desire that you care for But that have passed the test of reason That you have thought about them that you have Validated them in a sense that they are pro your life that they are life sustaining values that they're not harmful to your life that they're actually beneficial to your life and Consistent and integrate With your other values They're not just disintegrated Based on pure emotions But actually Values that are consistent with your moral values and consistent with your other Non-violent values with the values that you have generally in life the things that you Want the things that you believe in the thing is you desire So personal values of those things you want that are rational That you have properly prioritized in in a sense of a higher care values That you place them within a hierarchy that you've determined How important they are relative to other values That you hold in life They're fully integrated into everything Everything that you do and everything that you believe in and everything that you hold Into all your other values and importantly again importantly you place them in a hierarchy. So You know you want a Ferrari And yeah, there's nothing wrong about wanting a Ferrari and it can be rational to own a Ferrari but How much money do you make? Is owning a Ferrari gonna preclude owning a home and is owning a home more important to you than owning a Ferrari? And again rationally not in terms of which one generates the greatest emotion But which one rationally is more important to you which one rationally will make your life better which one rationally Will enhance your life And if owning a home is more important Than Owning a Ferrari then the home has to be the primary value Not the Ferrari The Ferrari has to be lower in the hierarchy of values and you might never get to it You might never get to it But that's okay, right? That's what a proper hierarchy is and what is the standard for the hierarchy? The standard is you're flourishing the standard of your ability to attain success Your ability to attain happiness your ability to live the best life that you can live That's the standard by which you determine Where in the hierarchy of values each value needs to be So again, you've got certain universal values You've got certain values that are right at the top that are most important. They're most crucial And that Are the values That you must always make sure that everything else you choose must integrate into them So here's a great way to think about it. Your personal values must be values That integrate into the universal values with their universal values. So first and foremost, they must be rational They can't for example, it can't be a value that contradicts Honesty that contradicts integrity Or that contradicts your purpose which for most people is their career So, you know, I I love the beach. I want to go to the beach every day, you know and That could be a whim, but you do love the beach but in the context of Your universal values your cardinal values your purpose your career Yeah, I'll have to find time on the weekend to go to the beach and even then, you know Maybe if I'm in the beginning of the career, I'm working seven days a week Uh, I'm working seven days a week and then I'm gonna have to uh Oops the light went flying Uh, if I'm working seven days a week, I might not be able to go to the beach at all even on the weekend So that is a value that I'm gonna have to delay so You you set the hierarchy based on how important the value is relative To your flourishing relative to your success and relative to The the cardinal values that you hold the the universal values that the the values that are most important and most crucial to your survival right so, um Let's see if I've covered everything How does an individual identify his objective personal values? Well, you've got introspect You've got to figure out. What do I enjoy? But you also can't limit yourself to the things that you know You have to broaden you have to go try things out. Hey, some people really like, um I don't know. What would it be? Right? Some people really like watching sports. I've never really tried it. I don't know So, you know, let me try it. Let me learn the sport. Let me figure it out There seems to be some value. It's people I respect people I you know, I have some respect for they seem to enjoy it and and you go and try it and you go and see Is it for me? Is it something that I really can enjoy and if I learn about it? Will I learn more? So Don't limit yourself to just your experiences. They some people seem to enjoy really really good food Expensive food, you know, maybe once in a while I'll go to a fancy restaurant and see if I can learn to appreciate that It's like it's like but it's like, you know people who like to me I drink wine. I kind of I kind of like it I can't tell the difference between all these wines But they're people who who decide that they want to learn about wine and they go and they learn about wine and and some of them Probably drop off because at the end of the day They sip all the different wines and they all taste the same and it doesn't turn out that it's that important to them They drop on some people really make this a major hobby And they and they really become aficionados at it. So you can learn You know your personal values you can you can try you can experiment You can go out then and figure it out, right? It's just like it's just like music, right? So We all grow up grow up in a certain kind of music But who said that the music we grew up on Whether you grew up in the 80s or 90s or 2000s or whether you like country music or whatever How do you know that that's the best music for you? How do you know that that is the most enjoyable music for you? Because it you grew up with it So it's got a certain place in your heart because you associate it with certain memories of growing up But music is much more profound than that. Music can have much more of a greater impact than that So I would argue that one of the things I don't think people do enough of Is develop develop objective personal values in aesthetics in the arts You listen to different types of music particularly let's say classical music You know, which at least some people say is really really good and really really interesting You've heard people argue that you've heard people say it then then go try take a course in college on about You know about art Try to appreciate it take an art appreciation course a music appreciation course So personal values are not just something you have it's something you can develop It's something you can Learn it's something you can gain you can gain personal values so So again The framework the thing you integrate into always are the universal values Are the values that objectively necessary for human flourishing and then everything else has to be consistent and integrate With those values They have to be common and then you have to put them in a hierarchy. What is most important and what's the least important See you have to have an objective hierarchy of personal values where at the top are your universal values right, so You know family family might be Uh, you know your parents your siblings You know, you might love them. You might care for them. They might be really really important or they might not be You have to decide that rationally you have to assess. Do I enjoy the company? Is it a benefit for my life to be around them? You know, or is it harmful do do they do do they just cause me pain emotional pain? And and therefore I should spend less time around them or not spend any time around them at all so Every single thing every single one of your values you should question ask the questions Why do I like this? Is it consistent with my other values? Is it consistent with my goal to succeed and flourish and be happy with my life? and You know Is it rational? Is it something that really does promote my life? So that's and then of course in terms of your individual objective values personal objective values Go out there and seek new ones. Look at what other people enjoy People who are friendly who are friends of yours who who you admire or respect or are friendly with Check it out. You don't have to accept it because they do. I'm not arguing for second-handedness I'm just saying if other people enjoyed maybe you will go try it Test it out figure it out. All right, so um Technical problems looks like youtube has dropped but uh, so I'm gonna end here We'll try to load just this this single video up on and we will get to the other The other questions that people had On a future show. All right. Thank you. Thanks for listening. Sorry for the technical difficulties This is your on the run book show. You've been listening to living objectivism and You know if you like if you like this if you like these answers if you'd like to ask questions yourself If you'd like to vote on the questions being asked if you'd just like to support the show Then go to patreon.com Slash your on book show patreon.com slash your on book show and Support the show. All right Signing off from london. It's your on book. Bye everybody