Available Lectures
I'm currently offering the following lectures:
Ayn Rand’s Theory of Rights: The Moral Foundation of a Free Society
What are rights? Where do they come from? How do we know it? And what does this imply? Ayn Rand’s answers to these questions form the indispensible foundation of a fully free, fully civilized society. In this talk, Craig Biddle elucidates Rand’s theory of rights, examining its essential principles, showing why it is true, and differentiating it from traditional theories, including “God-given” rights, "government-granted" rights, and “natural” rights. Attendees will expand or fortify their understanding of the source, nature, and meaning of rights, thus enhancing their ability to engage in intellectual activism toward pure, laissez-faire capitalism.
Available live; contact me for details.
Back to topAyn Rand's Morality of Selfishness (An Introduction to the Objectivist Ethics)
Ayn Rand’s morality of selfishness, or rational egoism, is the only morality that is conducive to human life, personal happiness, and social harmony. It is the only moral code that provides people with a system of principles to guide their choices and actions in pursuit of their life-serving goals and values—from career, to love life, to friendships, to recreational activities. And it is the only moral code that provides an objective foundation for the protection of individual rights—and thus for the establishment and maintenance of a fully free, fully civilized society. 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.
Available live; contact me for details.
Back to topCapitalism: The Only Moral Social System
Capitalism is widely recognized as the practical social system because, wherever and to the extent that it is implemented, it leads to wealth and prosperity. But this same system is widely regarded as immoral because it enables people to act fully in their own self-interest—that is, to act on their own judgment and to keep, use, and dispose of the product of their own effort. This talk demonstrates why, far from making capitalism immoral, the fact that it enables everyone to act selfishly and own property is what makes it not only the most practical but also the only moral social system ever devised.
Available live; contact me for details. A version of this lecture is also available for free on the website of Universidad Francisco Marroquín.
Back to topAltruism vs. America: Ayn Rand Solves the Problem
America was founded on the principle of individual rights—the idea that each person has a right to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. Since the country’s founding, however, Americans have increasingly accepted a morality that is incompatible with rights, namely, altruism: the notion that being moral consists in self-sacrificially serving others. This talk examines the nature of and arguments for altruism, shows what the morality means in theory and practice, and demonstrates its stark opposition to the principle of individual rights. It then indicates the nature and objectivity of the only morality that is compatible with individual rights: rational egoism, the morality developed and defined by Ayn Rand.
Available live; contact me for details. A version of this lecture delivered at UW-Madison can be seen below.
Back to topImmigration and Individual Rights
Immigration policy is one of the most controversial aspects of American politics. Liberals call for “amnesty” and open borders, but can’t defend their position on moral grounds; conservatives call for mass deportation and walled-off borders but can’t defend their position on moral grounds; and almost everyone else calls for something in-between and can’t defend their positions either. What is the moral and practical policy here—and why? This talk demonstrates that the principle of individual rights—the basic principle of America—mandates a policy of open immigration. It then debunks several common arguments for prohibiting or limiting immigration on “practical” grounds, shows why all such arguments are invalid, and indicates what Americans must do if we are to reestablish and maintain a moral, rights-respecting, ideologically American immigration policy.
Available live; contact me for details.
Back to topLiving 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.
Available live; contact me for details.
Back to topEpistemology is a Moral Matter
Epistemology, the study of how knowledge is acquired and validated, identifies in principle what a person should and should not do with his mind if he wants to keep his thinking tied to reality. But good thinking is not an end in itself; one does not strive to think well for the sake of being rational. The ultimate reason to think well is to live well; good thinking is for good living. Epistemology, in this respect, is a moral matter; it is the science of the selfish, life-promoting way to use one’s mind. This talk examines the moral nature of epistemology, the principles involved in this integration, and their implications in daily life. (The lecture presupposes an intermediate-level understanding of Objectivist epistemology and ethics.)
Available live; contact me for details.
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