On Sunday, 30 October 2011, I hosted another episode of my live Rationally Selfish Webcast, where I answered questions from viewers 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. The webcast consists of me broadcasting on video, Greg Perkins of Objectivist Answers on audio, and the audience in a text chat.
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.”
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The Video
The full video for the webcast is only available to live attendees. Now, you can listen and/or download the audio podcast. However, I’ll post my favorite segments of video to my YouTube channel later this week.
The Podcast
Listen Now
Duration: 1:01:16
Download the Episode
- Download the Enhanced M4A File (28.9 MB)
- Download the Standard MP3 File (28.1 MB)
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In This Episode
The following segments are marked as chapters in the M4A version of the podcast. Thanks to Tammy Perkins for helping compile the show notes!
Introduction (0:00)
As usual, I’ve been tending to Dr. Gimpy. I’ve also been working on a paper on abortion with Ari Armstrong for The Objective Standard. This will be the last “Rationally Selfish” webcast: next week we’ll be “Philosophy in Action”! (Hooray!) Finally, last week I saw Matt Nathanson and Scars on 45 on tour, and they were both awesome!
Question 1: The Purpose of Bankruptcy Law (3:34)
What is the proper purpose of bankruptcy laws? When should a person renegotiate his debt with lenders, if ever? Should a person be able to wipe his debt clean by going into bankruptcy? In your July 10, 2011 webcast discussion of strategic default on mortgages, you suggested that a person shouldn’t be able to do that, but shouldn’t lenders be responsible for who they lend money to?
My Answer, In Brief: The purpose of bankruptcy law not to give people a fresh start, but rather to peacefully and fairly resolve conflicts that arise between the debtor and his creditors when the debtor is truly unable to pay his debts.
Links:
Question 2: Restrooms for the Transgendered in Transition (22:00)
Which bathroom should a pre-operative transgendered person use? The brutal attack at McDonald’s on a transgendered person in April 2011 was apparently started because that person used the ladies restroom, which was already occupied by a 14 year old. Was the transgendered person wrong to use that restroom?
My Answer, In Brief: Transgendered people deserve to be treated with respect, just like everyone else! As for restrooms, they should use whatever restroom matches their outward appearance.
Links:
- Dr. Peikoff’s podcasts on sex change operations and on a person’s sex as metaphysical, plus Trey Givens’ transcript and criticism
- “Becoming Katie”: Part 1 and Part 2
- A Leg to Stand On by Oliver Sacks
Question 3: Private Versus State Prisons (41:45)
Should prisons be run by the state or private companies? After reading this Huffington Post article, I wonder whether prisons should be run by private companies or the state. I tend to think private is almost always better than anything state-run, but the current system of private prisons seems to be corrupt at best. More generally, what would a prison system look like in a free society?
My Answer, In Brief: Private prisons aren’t more or less of a problem than state-run prisons, since any prison must be either run by or funded and overseen by the government. The crucial problem is that far too many people in prison are innocent of any real crime.
Links:
- See also Front Line: Lost in Detention
Question 4: Revealing Atheism to Religious Parents (47:04)
How much should I tell my parents about my beliefs, given that I’m still financially dependent on them? I’m in college, and if I told my parents that I’m an atheist, they’d probably stop paying my tuition. Should I tell them now, or wait until I’m done with college?
My Answer, In Brief: A person in college is not obliged to tell his parents everything, but to live a lie or seek values from others under false pretenses is self-destructive.
Rapid Fire Questions (51:15)
In this segment, I answered a variety of questions off-the-cuff. The questions were:
- Does the Bible condemn abortion, as many Christians say?
- Doesn’t Christianity deserve praise for introducing individualism into Western culture?
- Can a person be an honest deist?
Conclusion (59:13)
Comments or questions? Contact us!
- Diana Hsieh: Philosophy in Action: diana@dianahsieh.com
- Greg Perkins: Objectivist Answers: greg@eCosmos.com
If you enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to contribute to our tip jar! Also, remember to submit and vote on questions in the the ongoing question queue!
