Craig Biddle: Objectivist Speaker & Writer

About Me

I live in Laguna Hills, California, with my wife
and daughter. I write and lecture on ethical and epistemological issues from an Objectivist perspective. I’m also the editor and publisher of The Objective Standard.

Lectures

I'm currently offering the following ninety-minute lectures.

Ayn Rand's Morality of Selfishness(An Introduction to the Objectivist Ethics)

Ayn Rand’s morality of selfishness, or rational egoism, is a system of observation-based principles regarding the requirements of human life, personal happiness, social harmony, and political freedom. In contrast to altruism—the idea that one should self-sacrificially serve others—rational egoism holds that one should selfishly pursue one’s own life-serving values. Against predation—the practice of sacrificing others for one’s own ends—egoism holds that sacrificing others is immoral and impractical. In contrast to hedonism—the idea that pleasure is the standard of value—egoism holds that the long-range requirements of human life and happiness constitute the standard of value. And against moral relativism—the notion that “anything goes”—egoism holds that morality is absolute: Nothing “goes” except that which promotes one’s life while respecting the rights of others. This talk introduces the principles of rational egoism, concretizes them with real-life examples, and shows why everyone who wants to live happily and freely needs to understand and embrace them.

Living Purposefully

Objectivism holds that one’s success in life depends on one’s choosing and achieving three cardinal values: reason, purpose, and self-esteem. While much has been said about reason and self-esteem, relatively little has been said about purpose. What exactly is this value? How does one embrace it? What does it mean to live purposefully? This lecture examines the nature and importance of purpose, surveying its place in the Objectivist ethics, its role in both motivation and thinking, its relationship to the virtues, and potential misconceptions of the value (such as the error of freezing “purpose” at the level of “central purpose” or “career”) which can retard one’s life. The lecture aims to expand one’s understanding of this vital concept and thus to enhance one’s ability to live fully selfishly.

The Principle of Purpose in Nonfiction Writing

Although it is not explicitly discussed in books or courses on writing, the principle of purpose properly dictates every aspect of the writing process. To write clearly, concisely, and convincingly, one must know, at every stage, what one is trying to accomplish and how it relates to the other parts of the broader project. From creating a laundry list of ideas to selecting a theme to writing an outline to concretizing an abstraction to structuring a paragraph to punctuating a sentence to editing a draft—the answer to the question “What is my purpose here?” properly determines how to proceed. This lecture examines the omnipresence of this principle in regard to nonfiction writing and explains how understanding and applying it clarifies and simplifies the writing process. Whether you write or want to write articles, op-eds, letters to the editor, business letters, book or movie reviews, presentations, speeches, blog posts, or books—this discussion will help you either to improve your existing skills or to get started on the right track.

If you’d like to host a talk, please email me at info@craigbiddle.com.

Courses

The following courses of mine are available on CD from The Ayn Rand Bookstore.

The Elements of Thinking in Principles

Ayn Rand's cognitive clarity and moral certainty were consequences of her thinking in principles. Thinking in principles is, in essence, a process of identifying and applying relevant fundamentals. This course examines crucial components of the method, including: naming one's primaries, excluding the middle, classifying by essentials, respecting hierarchy, keeping context and dismissing the arbitrary. Using a wide variety of examples, I show how—when properly understood and applied—these elements unify into the whole that is the hallmark of objectivity: the method of thinking in principles. (The course presupposes an intermediate-level understanding of Objectivist epistemology and ethics.)

God Said

Ayn Rand distinguished between a disciple of causation and a disciple of “duty.” The first is reality-oriented and goal-directed; he recognizes that the achievement of every end requires specific means, and he pursues his values accordingly. The second is directed not by goals, but by an inexplicable moral “must”; his actions are unrelated to his values; they are intended to fulfill alleged obligations that have nothing to do with his life. This course examines and elaborates that distinction—offering techniques and standing orders for living as a disciple of causation, and suggesting ways to expunge remnants of the duty premise that might still infect one’s soul. The metaphysical attitude and guiding moral premise of the disciple of causation, wrote Ayn Rand, is summed up in the Spanish proverb: “God said: ‘Take what you want and pay for it.’” This course “chews” the profound Objectivist meaning of this proverb—and shows how to fully embrace it.

The Science of Selfishness

Being selfish—striving to achieve the greatest happiness possible—is the essence of being moral. In one sense, doing so is simple: It is just a matter of thinking and acting accordingly. In another sense, however, being selfish is extremely demanding: It requires the harmonious use of all of one's resources toward a highly complex goal for the span of one's life. Thanks to Ayn Rand, we have at our disposal the Objectivist ethics: an integrated system of principles designed for the purpose of achieving this all-encompassing, lifelong goal. This course examines, concretizes and clarifies the principles of this science, showing their connection to perceptual reality, emphasizing their life-serving purpose, demonstrating their interrelationships, discussing their proper applications and offering techniques for better incorporating them into one's daily life. Attendees of all levels of knowledge will expand their understanding of how to achieve a lifetime of happiness.

Books

My first book, Loving Life: The Morality of Self-Interest and the Facts that Support It, is a highly concretized, systematic introduction to Ayn Rand's ethics. It demonstrates that morality is a matter not of divine revelation or social convention or personal opinion—but, rather, of the factual requirements of human life and happiness. It shows how a true morality is derived logically from observable facts, what in essence such a morality demands, and why it is a matter of pure self-interest.

"Loving Life...is a clear, simple, and—at less than 150 pages—succinct introduction to the essentials of Ayn Rand's ethics."

— Andrew Bernstein

“Based on Ayn Rand's ethics of rational egoism—but assuming no prior knowledge of her ideas or of philosophy in general—this short book argues that 'morality is a matter of the factual requirements of human life and happiness. It is a matter of reason, logic and the law of cause and effect.' The author offers dozens of concrete, everyday examples to illustrate the theoretical points discussed. From start to finish, Loving Life engages the reader with its lively conversational style.”

—The Ayn Rand Bookstore

"The material abundance and individual freedom that is the hallmark of capitalism rests on upon the ethics of self-interest, but today perhaps no code of morality is more misunderstood and maligned. In a profound yet easily accessible text, Craig Biddle demolishes the conventional wisdom that holds sacrifice as a moral ideal and offers a compelling alternative."

— The Center for the Advancement of Capitalism

"...challenging, informative, thoughtful.... Loving Life is a fresh voice of reason.... very highly recommended reading...."

—The Midwest Book Review

Book in Progress

The book I’m currently writing, which is tentatively titled “Good Thinking: The Science of Being Selfish,” is about the principles of rational thinking and the fallacies that are violations of those principles. Whereas Loving Life demonstrates that being moral consists in being selfish, “Good Thinking” shows what being selfish means in the realm of cognition; it is about how to use one’s mind in the service of one’s life, liberty, and happiness.

The Objective Standard

The Objective Standard is a quarterly journal of culture and politics based on the idea that for every human concern—from personal matters to foreign policy, from the sciences to the arts, from education to legislation—there are demonstrably objective standards by reference to which we can assess what is true or false, good or bad, right or wrong. The purpose of the journal is to analyze and evaluate ideas, trends, events, and policies accordingly. Read more here.

Principles in Practice

Visit Principles in Practice, the blog of The Objective Standard, for principled commentary on cultural issues and current events.