NoodleCast #54: Live Rationally Selfish Webcast

Jan 252011

On Sunday, Greg Perkins and I hosted another live Rationally Selfish Webcast where I answered people’s questions on practical ethics and the principles of living well.

The live webcasts are held every Sunday at 8 am PT / 9 am MT / 10 am CT / 11 am ET. They consist of me broadcasting on video, Greg on audio, and the audience in a text chat. They’re quite a bit of fun, so please join us when your schedule permits!

As usual, an audio recording of Sunday’s live webcast is now available as a NoodleCast podcast. To get these podcasts automatically, you can subscribe to the feed in iTunes — just choose either the enhanced M4A format or the standard MP3 format. They’re the same content, but the M4A format breaks each question into its own “chapter.”

Whether you watch the live webcast or listen to the recorded podcast, you can submit and vote on questions on the widget on the page for the Rationally Selfish Webcast — or via Idea Informer. Questions and votes are much appreciated!

The Rationally Selfish Webcast (and Podcast) is available to anyone, free of charge. If you find value in it, I ask that you support our work by periodically contributing to our tip jar. We suggest $5 per episode, but any amount is appreciated.

If you would prefer to send a check, please send it to “Diana Hsieh; P.O. Box 851; Sedalia, CO 80135.” Please write “RS Webcast” in the memo field. If you’re unable to contribute financially, we’d appreciate your helping us spread the word about this webcast to anyone you think might be interested. You can, for example, “like” the Rationally Selfish Webcast Page on Facebook.

Webcast Segments

These segments are marked as chapters in the M4A version of this podcast. Any included links are those referenced in the podcast. (Many thanks to Tammy Perkins for helping me compile these notes!)

Introduction (0:00)

Diana Hsieh: DianaHsieh.com: diana@dianahsieh.com

Greg Perkins: Objectivist Answers: greg@eCosmos.com

Don’t forget to submit and vote on questions for upcoming webcasts!

Question 1: Honesty about Cheating (4:21)

If a woman, for example, has cheated on her husband, should she always tell him afterward? So if a woman cheats on her husband, then regrets doing so, and decides to re-commit herself to the marriage. Should she tell her husband about that infidelity? What if the cheating was a short fling rather than a serious affair? What if the revelation would seriously damage or even destroy the marriage?

Money Point: Whatever the consequences for the marriage, for the cheater to fail to tell the spouse is a major fraud.

Question 2: Pursuing Someone Already Attached (17:50)

Is it moral and/or wise to pursue someone else’s “significant other”? In particular: (1) Is it immoral to try to pursue or court another person’s committed romantic partner? (2) Would a rational woman want to be with a man, for example, who abandoned an existing relationship to be with with her? Also: (3) And if pursuing an already-attached person can be moral, do you have any advice about succeeding?

Money Point: Unless a person is married, he/she is still properly considered on the market, to some extent. But… beware the cheater.

Question 3: Children as an Optional Value (25:57)

Why are children only an ‘optional value’? What does it mean to say that children are an “optional” value? Does that mean that every person should regard them as optional in his/her life — or something else? Also, given that life is the standard of value and the none of us would exist without reproduction, don’t we have a moral obligation to bear and raise the next generation?

Money Point: Children are a fantastic value to many people, but not necessary for a flourishing life.

Question 4: The Morality of Abortion (37:55)

When is abortion morally right or wrong? Is abortion only proper in “extreme” cases like risk to life or health of the mother, rape or incest, or serious fetal deformity? Is terminating a healthy but unwanted pregnancy morally wrong? Is it an evasion of responsibility for the known consequences of one’s actions?

Links: The ‘Personhood’ Movement Is Anti-Life: Why It Matters that Rights Begin at Birth, Not Conception by Ari Armstrong and Diana Hsieh, particularly the section The Morality of Abortion, Katie Granju

Money Point: A choice as important as whether to raise a child should not be determined by the biological accident of conception.

Question 5: The Value of a PhD (48:33)

Given your comments in a prior webcast about the pointlessness of much of modern college education, why did you get a PhD in philosophy? More generally, do you think that a Ph.D can be of value?

Money Point: The value of a Ph.D depends on a person’s particular circumstances… but do think twice before doing that!

Question 6: OA: Discrimination and Rights (53:39)

From Objectivist Answers: In the essay “Racism” in The Virtue of Selfishness, Ayn Rand mentions that public institutions and government agencies should not discriminate against or on behalf of individuals. In her talk of private property, however, she says that government should not attempt to prevent private racism in private establishments and that a man’s rights are not violated by a private individual’s refusal to deal with him. My question is: How are his rights not violated if the owner discriminates against him?

Money Point: A person’s rights are not violated because someone else doesn’t want anything to do with him — even if his reasons are vicious.

Conclusion (59:09)

Diana Hsieh: DianaHsieh.com: diana@dianahsieh.com

Greg Perkins: Objectivist Answers: greg@eCosmos.com

Don’t forget to submit and vote on questions. And if you can, please contribute to our tip jar.

The video for the webcast is only available for those attending live. After the webcast is completed, you can listen, download, or subscribe to the audio podcast.