July 4 (Tuesday) Program

8:30 – 9:30 am

Shawn Klein, M.A. – Empiricism, Hold the Skepticism: Locke, Hume, and Rand, Part 3 of 3

(Advanced Morning Course in Philosophy)   

(This is a 3-part course. See the course description for Sunday, July 1).

David Kelley, Ph.D. and William Thomas, M.A. – Atlas Shrugged as a Philosophical Novel 3

(This is a 6-part course. See the course description for Sunday, July 1).

9:45 – 11:00 am

Jay Friedenberg, Ph.D. – An Introduction to Cognitive Science, Part 2 of 2

(Part of the Symposium on Cognitive Science)

This two lecture series will serve as an introduction to cognitive science. The talks will outline the new interdisciplinary scientific study of mind. Cognitive science encompasses a broad array of different perspectives including philosophy, psychology, cognition, neuroscience, evolution, artificial intelligence, and robotics. Although these disciplines have different methodologies and theoretical orientations, they are united in their goal to understand the mystery of mind.

Barbara Branden, M.A. – Rage and Objectivism

It is lamentable but true that a great many Objectivists—although certainly not all—have been very angry people, given to excessive moralizing and condemnations of those who disagree with them. Over the years, Barbara Branden has identified some of the fundamental reasons for this rage, such as the beliefs—as David Kelley has noted—that ideas as such can be evil, that evasion rather than simple error, naivety, or confusion is the predominant source of philosophical mistakes, and so on. Error has become the original sin of Objectivism. In this talk, Ms. Branden will discuss the effects of excessive rage, and will suggest ways in which anger can be addressed and brought into balance with rational judgment and reason.

Barbara Branden is a writer and lecturer. She earned her M.A. in philosophy at New York University. She was Ayn Rand's intimate friend and colleague for eighteen years, was managing editor of The Objectivist. Her writings include The Passion of Ayn Rand.  

11:30 – 12:45 pm

Edward Hudgins, Ph.D. – Individualism and Community

Edward Hudgins willspeakon the tensions between individualism and the collective interaction that creates a community.

Edward Hudgins is executive director of The Objectivist Center. He is a widely published author and has a doctorate in Political Philosophy from Catholic University.

Cancelled: Erika Holzer, J.D. – Fiction Writing: Lessons from Ayn Rand

Program change for July 4, 2006: Erika Holzer will be unable to attend the Summer Seminar, due an unforeseen, non-life-threatening health problem. Her talk "Fiction Writing: Lessons from Ayn Rand" has unfortunately been cancelled. This session has now been replaced by:

New time! Susan Dawn Wake – Overcoming Ethical Relativism in the College Classroom

Before one can convince another of the truth and value of the Objectivist ethics, one must convince them that a rational, objective approach to ethics is even possible.  Unfortunately, many students have given up on the project before arriving in class.  Susan Dawn Wake will address some key causes for this, the specific challenges teachers face in addressing it, and present some solutions that are also applicable outside of class. 

Professor Wake has a B.A. and an M.A. in philosophy. She has taught at several universities in Canada and is currently an Assistant Professor, Adjunct, at Monroe Community College in Rochester, New York.

2:15 – 3:30 pm

Philip Coates – Heroes and Role Models

"What would Francisco D’Anconia do?" Everyone needs "guiding stars": people to emulate who walk a path we want to follow. We desperately need them in real life as well as in fiction. They can take many forms: a mentor, a teacher, a figure in one's profession, someone who lived 500 years ago, a character in a movie. In a culture that finds feet of clay everywhere, there are unknown, unsung heroes. Who and where are they? How can we integrate them and use them in our lives? These are the issues Philip Coates will address.

Philip Coates has taught at the New School for Social Research and at UCLA. He has taught Literature and History and is currently teaching Philosophy and Psychology at a private school.

Jack Criss – Ayn Rand vs. The German Romantics: Reason and Idealism in Literature—How Bad Philosophy Took Hold and How Good Philosophy Might Yet Triumph.

This lecture explores how a highly technical and convoluted philosophic system—Kantianism—was able to take such a strong hold in the culture of the 19th and 20th Century. Jack Criss argues that the poetry and literature of the German Romantics was the conduit through which Kant's philosophy was able to spread as rapidly—and as effectively—as it did. He will examine how Ayn Rand's literature might be able to take hold in the modern culture in a similar way through her works of literature.

Jack Criss is the publisher and executive editor of the Metro Business Chronicle, a monthly business newspaper based in Jackson, MS. He is also the author of the opinion essay collection Ready, Aim, Right! (Quail Ridge Press, 2004). Currently, he is completing the biography of former Mississippi governor, Kirk Fordice, entitled "Steel Will" and the children's book, "The Great Greek Philosopher: Aristotle for Kids".

8:00 pm

Romantic and Jazz Music – Performance and Commentary by Roger Bissell and Ben Di Tosti

Join Ben Di Tosti, pianist, and Roger Bissell, trombonist-vocalist, for a session of heart-felt romantic ballads and creative jazz improvisation. Ben and Roger will explain how rational awareness, far from dampening one’s enjoyment of emotionality and creativity, actually enhances these musical experiences for the performer and the listener. They will place special emphasis on the vital role of melody, showing their audience how the performer can shape the attributes of a melody to give fullest expression to the emotional content of a ballad, and can re-compose the constituents of a melody to provide a more integrated kind of extemporaneous jazz creation.

Ben Di Tosti and Roger Bissell have been performing together since 1985. Their 1992 CD, “The Art of the Duo,” was released in 2003 to much critical acclaim (including from the legendary Dave Brubeck). More recently, they have appeared together on three CDs of jazz and ballad standards by Robert Stovall, for whom Ben is the musical director.