relationship

Justice, Moral Judgment, and the Danger of Psychologizing by Onkar Ghate

October 27, 2023 arilive_user Podcast 1:29:30 0 Comments

Ayn Rand’s novels and nonfiction essays contain a wealth of material on the psychological dimensions of philosophical ideas and principles. But in one of those essays she also cautions about the danger of “psychologizing.” We’ll explore aspects of how to extract the action-guiding value of the psychological dimensions of philosophical ideas that she highlights while avoiding the pitfall of psychologizing.

Recorded at OCON on July 2, 2023, in Miami, Florida.

Do People’s Interests Have to Conflict? by Gregory Salmieri

January 8, 2020 arilive_user Podcast 1:02:52 0 Comments

People are at odds with one another all the time (we have wars, personal animosities, etc.) and it is generally assumed that people’s interests conflict. We are often told that the only way to have any kind of peace is to compromise—to give up our interests in deference to other people.

Ayn Rand rejects this idea. Her view is that the interests of rational people don’t conflict, in fact, they harmonize. But what does it mean to form a rational view of what’s in your own interest?

Join Greg Salmieri as he presents Rand’s answer to the question: Do people’s interests have to conflict?

Love Does Not Require Sacrifice by Keith Lockitch

July 24, 2019 arilive_user Podcast 59:19 0 Comments

Conflicts among priorities and values, big or small, come up in relationships all the time. Figuring out how to navigate them is critical to making the relationship work.

If you look to any self-help or psychology website for advice on this topic, you’ll see articles with titles like: “7 things you should sacrifice for a relationship.” Many such articles seek to draw a boundary between what should and what shouldn’t be sacrificed—but it’s taken for granted that there has to be some willingness to sacrifice.

In this webinar, we’ll challenge that idea.

We’ll put the concept of “sacrifice” under the microscope and untangle common confusions about the intersection of self-interest and romantic love. We’ll describe what a healthy, non-sacrificial relationship would look like—and how to achieve it.

Recorded live as part of ARI’s Philosophy of Living on Earth webinar series on July 20, 2019
Sign up up to attend the next webinar live at http://courses.aynrand.org/webinars/register

Deeper Connection Through Mutual Selfishness by Gena Gorlin

December 30, 2018 arilive_user Podcast 1:30:27 0 Comments

This talk integrates the moral perspective offered by Rand’s “trader principle” with psychological tools and insights for improving assertive communication. Attendees will learn how skills such as reflective listening, the “broken record” technique, perspective-taking, and ”I”-statements can deepen the intimacy and value derived from close personal relationships, largely by conveying respect for the other person’s volition and value-context while also demanding respect for one’s own. Recorded at Objectivist Conferences 2018