Continuing from part 1 of this series, David N. Mayer will show the consequences of modern departures from the separation-of-powers doctrine: dangers to individual rights from the unchecked power of government, by not only the traditional three branches but also the so-called “fourth branch,” independent regulatory agencies. He will conclude by suggesting ways to restore separation of powers principles to the central place the American Founders intended them to have in American constitutionalism.

David N. Mayer is a professor of law and history at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. The author of The Constitutional Thought of Thomas Jefferson, he is currently writing a book on the U. S. Constitution.

Art and philosophy share similar methods and a common subject matter: humanity and its context. Artist Michael Newberry will call on three decades of his painting to show how an epistemology of reason, earthbound perception, and idealism inform his works; and how the act of integrating the whole is a quest of exaltation.

Michael Newberry submerged himself in the world of Rembrandt at 12 years old and has been an artist ever since. He has worked out of studios in New York, Holland, and Greece. For a couple of years his article, “Terrorism and Postmodern Art,” was #1 on Google search engine for “postmodern art.” On May 6th, 2005, he will have an exhibition of recent work at Akhriev Hefferlin Fine Art in Chattanooga. He is the director of The Foundation for the Advancement of Art. And he is currently working on a book, tentatively called Explaining Postmodern Art, in collaboration with philosopher Stephen Hicks.

Subtitled “Family Ties for Individualists,” this lecture surveys the forms of family relationships—sibling, parent, child, etc.—and the distinctive values that each offers. Objectivism, as a philosophy of individualism, has had a tradition of emphasizing the individual as against the family, in part for good reasons we will review here. But set in the full context of the principles of friendship developed in the first lecture of this pair, family relations can also be understood as potentially uniquely precious. In discussing these issues, William Thomas will also indicate some basic principles for cultivating positive family relations.

William Thomas is Director of Programs at The Objectivist Center. He is the editor of The Literary Art of Ayn Rand and author of the audio course The Essence of Objectivism. He has spoken at past Summer Seminars on virtues, children’s rights, and the values to be gained from parenting. He has a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Michigan.

How to use reason, man’s best tool for survival, to achieve weight control is a challenge to many. This presentation discusses weight control ideas from the books Thin for Life by Anne M. Fletcher, The Solution by Laurel Mellin, Eat, Drink and Be Healthy by Walter C. Willett, and Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution by Robert C. Atkins with suggestions on how to incorporate them into an individualized weight maintenance program. The advice in these four books is analyzed for its cognitive elements, mind/body integration, and appeal to Objectivists.

Jackie Hazelton is an Objectivist with a personal interest in weight control having lost twenty pounds and kept it off for over twenty years. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Purdue University with a B.S. in Mathematics and holds an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Northeastern University with a major in Operations Research. She is currently employed as a software engineer and project manager for America West Airlines.

Edward Hudgins will discuss Marcus Tullius Cicero, the extraordinary Roman statesman, scholar, and philosopher who had a major influence on America’s Founders. As a statesman, Cicero tried to preserve the Republic, which was under threat from demagogues and strongmen like Julius Caesar. Cicero also was the first philosopher to articulate the notion of a natural law that arises from the rational ordering of the universe and from man’s rational nature, a law with whose principles human law must accord if it is to be just. Cicero, the master orator, wrote textbooks on that subject and even took on the superstition of divination.

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.

(This talk is part of the symposium on philosophy of science)

This talk explores the views of Thomas S. Kuhn and Paul Feyerabend, with additional mention of some of Richard Rorty's and Richard Posner's ideas, all pertaining to the nature of science.

Tibor Machan is R. C. Hoiles Professor of Business Ethics & Free Enterprise at the Argyros School of Business & Economics, Chapman University. He earned is PhD in philosophy at UCSB in 1971, has written 30 plus books and edited another 18. He recently wrote Objectivity, Recovering Determinate Reality in Philosophy, Science, and Everyday Life (Ashgate, 2004).