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Ayn Rand’s Objectivism
by Research History In 1959, when Ayn Rand was relatively unknown, Mike Wallace conducted her first interview. This broadcast stirred up quite a controversy. The Russian-American philosopher and novelist called her philosophy Objectivism. Her beliefs seemed strange and extreme from an American’s point of view, but when you consider her experience as a Russian at the time of the Russian Revolution of 1917 it begins to make sense. When Rand was twelve, she and her family had their lives disrupted by the Bolshevik party under Vladimir Lenin. This resulted in the eventual confiscation of her father’s pharmacy and they were forced to flee to Crimea. Personal experience and cultural context are the staples…
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Ancient Philosophy for Seniors
According to the Greek philospher Epicurus and the teachings of Zen Buddists, always striving after the next pursuit in the later stage of life, as we do in younger days, is as foolish and empty as chasing the wind. When we are young it is a time for seeking out and exploring new avenues, seizing the brass ring, but after a certain point in life it is better to find contentment in what you have created and the relationships you have fostered. Activities such as reflection and appreciation can be richly enhanced by a full and varied past. Constant striving precludes our ability to be, and enjoy being, a wise, reflective and grateful person of a life…
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Dissident Poet From Hanoi Dies
Vietnamese poet Nguyen Chi Thien died October 2, 2012 in Santa Ana, California. Unlike other poets, he was denied a simple pen and piece of paper, much less a typewriter, by which to record his poetry. The infamous prison, “Hanoi Hilton”, and the other prisons of Vietnam in which he spent 27 years of his life, didn’t allow for the normal tools of the poet’s trade. Instead Mr. Thien had to memorize each poem in his head in hopes of one day being able to share them with the world. Thankfully for us he gained that opportunity eventually escaping the horrors that the Communist Party of Vietnam meted out upon him. His crime for which he suffered miserably year after…
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Einstein’s God Letter
Below is an excerpt from the letter Einstein wrote in German in the year 1954. This letter, coined the “God Letter” by a Los Angeles-based auction agency, is up for auction on Ebay with a starting bid of $3 million. The World renown physicist wrote the letter to Jewish philosopher Eric Gutkind a year before his death. The letter sheds some light on the religious views he held towards the end of his 76 years of life. “For me the Jewish religion like all other religions is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a…
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George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950) An exceptionally talented Irish playwright, who authored more than 60 plays in his lifetime. Shaw and his wife, Charlotte Payne-Townshend, settled in Ayot St. Lawrence in a house now called Shaw’s Corner. He was preceeded in death by his wife and he lived on there, at Shaw’s corner, until his death at age 94. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature (1925) and an Oscar in (1938). One of his plays was about the life of Saint Joan of Arc. The play, which is in the public domain, can be accessed below in pdf format: Play by George Bernard Shaw…