In this episode, made available by The Ayn Rand Institute, Gloria Álvarez interviews philosopher Gregory Salmieri about Ayn Rand and Objectivism. They explore many of the issues raised in Foundations of a Free Society: Reflections on Ayn Rand’s Political Philosophy, the book Salmieri edited together with Robert Mayhew. Álvarez and Salmieri also address why Ayn Rand found it necessary to develop a new philosophy and why she named it “Objectivism.” They discuss the issue of parental obligations to children in a free society, the concept of self-ownership, and other engaging topics.
How “Effective Altruism” Turned Self-Sacrifice into a Pseudoscience
Writing in 1957, decades before Effective Altruism had a name or a giving pledge, Ayn Rand described altruism’s core demand: that need functions as “the first mortgage on your life and the moral purpose of your existence.”
