The Objectivist Center's 2nd Annual
Advanced Seminar in Objectivist Studies
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC, Canada
June 28-30 2000
The Objectivist Center is proud to announce the 2nd annual
independent meeting of our Advanced Seminar in Objectivist
Studies, to be held June 28-30 at the University of
British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C. This year, the
Advanced Seminar features six fascinating presentations of
new work spanning the range from metaphysics to politics.
The relationships of epistemology to metaphysics and
rights theory are special themes.
Applications are now
available, and are due by April 21, 2000.
The Advanced Seminar is a special meeting of students and
scholars interested in applying Objectivist methods to
technical philosophy, in order to expand Objectivism and
to examine other philosophical approaches critically. This
year's Advanced Seminar is composed of six presentation
sessions, each of which runs between two and one half and
three hours in length, broken by a short break in the
middle. Each session is arranged as a guided discussion of
a scholarly paper submitted in advance by the presenter.
Emphasis will be given to the exploration of the essential
issues raised in each paper, and to improving each paper's
prospects for publication in scholarly venues. TOC
executive director David Kelley will moderate the
discussion during each session.
2000 Advanced Seminar Schedule
Wednesday, June 28
1:00-4:00 Registration at University of British Columbia
5:30-7:00 Orientation and Dinner
7:00-9:30 Shawn Klein: Moral Objections to Inequality
Thursday, June 29
[Breakfast]
9:00-Noon Tom Radcliffe and Carolyn Ray: Edges, Entities,
and Existence
[Lunch]
1:30-4:30 Robert Campbell: Goals, Values, and the
Implicit: Explorations in Psychological Ontology
[Break and Dinner]
7:00-9:30 Gregory Wharton: Cognition and Creativity
Friday, June 30
[Breakfast]
9:00-Noon Frank Bubb: Deriving Rights as Interpersonal
Moral Constraints
[Lunch]
1:30-4:30 Francisco Villalobos: How Rights Principles
Apply to the Context of Children
7:00-10:00 Final Dinner
The Advanced Seminar begins on Wednesday, June 28, in the
evening. After dinner and an orientation, Shawn
Klein, currently studying philosophy at Arizona State
University, leads off the seminar with a discussion of
"Moral Objections to Inequality" in the writings of Thomas
Scanlon. "Unlike most egalitarians," says Klein, "Scanlon
does not appeal directly to equality [but to]...
particular moral issues he thinks most people are
concerned with." This requires fresh Objectivist arguments
in response, which Klein proposes to provide.
The seminar continues on Thursday, June 29 with a full day
discussing epistemological themes. In the morning,
physicist Tom Radcliffe and philosopher Carolyn
Ray will present an investigation of the epistemology
of fundamental metaphysical concepts, in a paper entitled
"Edges, Entities, and Existence." Drs. Radcliffe and Ray
note: "Objectivism is sometimes confused with subjectivism
by its critics and realism by its adherents. To clarify
how Objectivism constitutes a genuine third way between
these false alternatives we provide an Objectivist
analysis of the concept ENTITY and the closely related
concept of EDGE based on Ray's Conceptualist approach to
identity theory."
Thursday afternoon the discussion turns to the topic of
"Goals, Values and the Implicit: Explorations in
Psychological Ontology." This paper, presented by Clemson
University psychology professor Robert Campbell,
"proposes a hierarchy of levels of knowing," derived from
theories of developmental psychology. Consideration of
these theories provides a deeper understanding of what it
means to know a fact "implicitly," or to make an
"implicit" choice, such as the "choice to live" that is
basic to the Objectivist ethics.
In the evening on Thursday, architect and long-time
Objectivist Gregory Wharton presents his extension
of the Objectivist epistemology to the relationship
between "Cognition and Creativity." The paper, reports
Wharton, shows "an essential epistemological link...
between creative thought and action, and normative
concepts."
Friday, June 30 is the final day of the Advanced Seminar,
and is devoted to discussions of politics, and in
particular, the theory of rights. In the morning, lawyer
and TOC Advisor Frank Bubb pursues the proper
fundamental argument for "Rights as Interpersonal Moral
Constraints." This paper will argue "Rand made a
rights-based argument against the initiation of force at
the level of interpersonal morality, in addition to her
trader principle argument. Based upon the role of, and
requirements for the successful operation of man's mind,
Rand's rights-based argument applies against both
predation (protecting the "right to do right"...) and
paternalism (protecting the "right to do wrong"...)."
The seminar's last presentation concerns key "borderline
cases" for the theory of rights. Presenting a paper
developing arguments he will summarize in his Summer
Seminar talk on "Children's Rights," Francisco Villalobos,
student of philosophy at the C.U.N.Y. Graduate Center,
argues "that rights principles can be meaningfully applied
to children," and advocates a theory of rights that
extends to other borderline cases such as criminals and
the mentally impaired.
After two and half days of discussion and debate of
complex philosophical issues, the seminar ends with a
congenial farewell supper. The full Summer Seminar begins
the next day, and Advanced Seminar participants will have
just enough time to catch their breath, catch up on their
sleep, and catch a glimpse of the sights in scenic
Vancouver before the main event gets underway.
The Advanced Seminar is offered free of charge to
qualified participants. Attendees pay only their travel
costs (and incidental expenses). The size of the seminar
is limited to ensure a high quality of discussion during
presentations, and to maximize participants' chances to
contribute actively with their own comments and insights.
Successful applicants will possess a systematic
understanding of Objectivism and be capable of
contributing productively to advanced philosophical
discussions.
Application forms for the Advanced Seminar are also
included with the Summer
Seminar brochure, and can be obtained from TOC
directly by fax, mail, on the
web, or by
e-mail
The application deadline for the Advanced Seminar is
April 21.
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