The
Rational Argumentator
Issue XXV
August 11-29, 2004
Advertise Permanently on TRA for $1 to Fight Aging:
G. Stolyarov II
August 23, 2004
If you have any non-offensive commercial product or service whatsoever, The Rational Argumentator is willing to allow you to permanently advertise on this site for a $1 donation to cure aging.
Note: This offer is no longer current. It is reproduced here for the purpose of historical record-keeping.
Argumentation
Schieder v. Stolyarov: An Abortion Debate - Round 1:
Manfred F. Schieder and G. Stolyarov II
August 13, 2004
Objectivist Manfred F. Schieder has expressed his disagreement with G. Stolyarov II's now widely known article, "An Objectivist Condemnation of Abortion." In the ensuing exchange of e-mails, which are here available verbatim, Mr. Schieder and Mr. Stolyarov debate their respective points of view.
Schieder v. Stolyarov: An Abortion Debate - Round 2:
Manfred F. Schieder and G. Stolyarov II
August 18, 2004
The continuation of the argument between Mr. Schieder and Mr. Stolyarov on the matter of what is the desirable legal status of abortion from an Objectivist perspective.
Fiction
The Birthday Cake:
George W. Cordero
August 11, 2004
George W. Cordero relates the true story of his friend's father, an honest and life-loving individual caught within the dismal environment of Fidel Castro's Cuba.
Sleepytown:
Christopher Schlegel
August 17, 2004
Christopher Schlegel tells a humorous tale of a bizarre town where events are not as dissimilar to those of our world as they may seem at first glance.
The Tall Sky:
Christopher Schlegel
August 23, 2004
A futuristic story by Christopher Schlegel of two filosofically opposed cultures, and their encounter due to a perilous disease. Find out the result of their meeting, and the outcome of their conflict.
Filosofy
The Congruity Among Ayn Rand's Metaphysics, Epistemology, Value Theory, and Ethics:
Edward W. Younkins
August 17, 2004
Dr. Edward W. Younkins explains the interrelated filosofical hierarchy of Ayn Rand's Objectivism and the reciprocal interactions and interconnections that facilitate it.
Literature
A Review of Hans-Hermann Hoppe's Democracy: The God that Failed:
G. Stolyarov II
August 12, 2004
G. Stolyarov II reviews the work of an economist which is likely to set the terms of intellectual debate in the coming years. Hoppe's book lucidly reveals the ideological fraud that is majority rule and the devastating effects it brings about.
Music
A Review of Christopher Schlegel's "Symphony #3: The Virtues of Man":
G. Stolyarov II
August 29, 2004
G. Stolyarov II describes his impressions of a work by a contemporary Objectivist composer that reflects the seven cardinal virtues of an individualist as identified by Ayn Rand. Mr. Schlegel's symfony is highly recommended as a creation of the New Renaissance.
Politics
A Screed on Need and Greed:
Gary M. Galles
August 14, 2004
Whenever politicians invoke someone's "need" to try and suppress another's "greed" by redistributing wealth, reason and economics are thrown out the window and sheer unjustified coercion begins. Dr. Gary M. Galles writes of this unfortunate trend.
Free Speech: Public Interest or Individual Right?:
Jonathan Rick
August 21, 2004
Jonathan Rick explores whether John Stuart Mill’s utilitarian understanding and defense of free speech is appropriate for a free society.
Lukashenko: The Antithesis of Freedom:
G. Stolyarov II
August 23, 2004
This article is a powerful condemnation of the ruthless neo-Communist dictator who rules the land of Belarus. Kept secret under a pseudonym and in a concealed location for over a year to prevent retribution against G. Stolyarov II's family, this article has now been released to the public.
"We should have a great fewer disputes in the world if words were taken for what they are, the signs of our ideas only, and not for things themselves."
~ John Locke