Rationalism vs. Empiricism vs. Objectivism - A Case Study

December 17 - The specific topic will be the tariff policy the Trump administration is imposing on countries doing business with America. What do the leaders of Objectivist organization think of it? How should someone think about it objectively? What do you think of it?

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Methods for comprehending the world can be classified generally into

• (1) inferring from universal principles--rationalism,
• (2) gathering reports from sense-data--empiricism, or
• (3) inducing ever-higher generalizations from perception--objectivism.

This classification on methodology contextualizes the epistemology of Objectivism, the philosophy as outlined by 20th-century novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand.
Yet intellectual leaders of organized Objectivism--i.e., those institutions setup after her death, such as the Ayn Rand Institute (ARI)--don't practice what they preach in the sphere of politics.
We argue that, specifically, on the question of whether or not to endorse the Trump 45/47 administrations, Objectivists of organized Objectivism fall back on the method of rationalism to answer the political question.
Meeting Outline:

1. Reviewing Objectivism as Ayn Rand's philosophy
2. Reviewing the MDI methodological hypothesis: misintegration, disintegration, and integration, mapping them to rationalism, empiricism, and objectivism
3. Presenting organized Objectivism's position about the current federal administration and the leaders' reasoning
4. Presenting the facts about the federal policy
5. On why the leadership's position is a case of rationalism
6. Replying to objections and counterarguments against our view
7. Q & A

Join in for a discussion on applied philosophy.

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Image source: WSJ video-image