The Dan Norton Show

For the full debate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmS_ciNi-LU. https://www.patreon.com/DanNorton #AynRand #capitalism #Objectivism #force #reason #freedom #sacrifice #politics #ethics #morality #government #taxes #regulations #usa #rights #coercion #selfinterest #egoism #mind #island #robinsoncrusoe #crusoe #debate #DanNorton #openingstatement

This debate occurred on February 15, 2022. It was hosted by Modern-Day Debate: https://www.youtube.com/ModernDayDebate. This is the first video of mine that also has a live text chat. I invite you to check it out. https://www.patreon.com/DanNorton #AynRand, #capitalism, #debate, #BenBurgis, #DanNorton

00:00 Intro, Objectivism vs. Libertarianism, functions of government 04:42 Needy people, minimum wage, and coercion 10:18 The history of capitalism; freedom and prosperity 15:37 Mutual benefit, disabled people, and private charity 24:06 Self-interest, helping others, and exploitative(?) contracts 34:58 Monopolies 39:53 Pollution and property rights 43:13 Freedom and inequality 45:33 Unions, contra...

In the first part of the conversation, Last_username challenges me to explain Ayn Rand’s view of what the fundamental value is, in particular, whether it is life or happiness. (This issue is also discussed in my previous video, with Garrett Mayer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPi-A2MEeWw.) In the second part, we discuss/debate how a self-interested person should treat others; in particular, he...

Primary choices, ultimate values, etc., with Garrett Mayer (a technical, insider exploration) by Dan Norton

Link to clip of this call: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0a0YN8th1c The call was on December 13, 2021. patreon.com/DanNorton https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/DanNorton11 #SamSeder, #CoconutIsland, #Vaush, #Libertarian, #Objectivism, #AynRand, #MajorityReport, #EmmaVigeland, #MattLech, #coercion, #exploitation, #island

Link to clip of this call: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0a0YN8th1c The call was on December 13, 2021. patreon.com/DanNorton https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/DanNorton11 #SamSeder, #CoconutIsland, #Vaush, #Libertarian, #Objectivism, #AynRand, #MajorityReport, #EmmaVigeland, #MattLech, #coercion, #exploitation, #island

Link to clip of this call: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS_PuJXRkQU The call was on October 26, 2021. patreon.com/DanNorton https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/DanNorton11 #SamSeder, #Objectivism, #AynRand, #MajorityReport, #EmmaVigeland, #MattLech

Link to clip of my call: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD_UDfzsWuQ The call was on October 20, 2021. patreon.com/DanNorton https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/DanNorton11 #SamSeder, #MajorityReport, #chatpolicy, #chatroompolicy

Why freedom erodes. Why people don’t support freedom consistently. Attitudes toward freedom across time and in different places (the U.S., China, Taiwan, Hong Kong)—and what explains it. Ayn Rand’s views on art; The Romantic Manifesto; Joker. Where to start with reading Ayn Rand. Recorded on October 10, 2021. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DanNorton #freedom, #art, #AynRand, #UnitedStates, #Taiw...

Experiments to determine if ethics professors behave differently than others. Non-alignment between beliefs and actions in ethics professors vs. others. Altruism as a cause of non-alignment. Aiming for moral mediocrity. Why is it morally admirable to give your kidney to a stranger? How are ethical questions decided? Utilitarianism/egoism--how to decide between them? Ayn Rand’s metaethics. What giv...

"If You Don't Like Taxes, Leave Society!" by Dan Norton

Script _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Coercive taxation should be abolished. It’s immoral to forcibly take people’s wealth. When I say this to people, I often get a question like: “Then how will roads and firefighters and police be paid for?” My answer is: Voluntarily. But I can be more specific. In the case of roads, more specifically highways, they could be funded by tolls or by selling space to advertisers...

Austin’s view and critique of capitalism. Is capitalism natural? What is “freedom”? Advertising. Is capitalism coercive? Being “forced” to use Amazon. Survival. Capitalism and opportunities. Government programs. Homelessness and minimum wage. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DanNorton

Should an embryo or collection of cells inside the womb count as a “human”? The hostility of many anti-abortionists. Is abortion “murder”? The line-drawing issue. What about the case of rape? Do animals and quadriplegics deserve more regard than invisible cell clumps? What is the source of rights? Is God necessary for morality? Conjoined twins. A thought experiment: a new way to grow children. The...

The existence of God; the beginning of the universe and the Big Bang; two types of atheism; is religion necessary for civilization? the meaning of life; Ayn Rand’s view of social relationships and family; feminism, abortion and rights; Ayn Rand’s philosophy vs. Judeo-Christian philosophy. Recorded on February 18, 2021.

Daniel’s transition from Judaism to atheism to member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; his reasons for changing his view; God and science; materialism; God’s omnipotence and omniscience; God and the laws of nature; creation from nothing and the book of Genesis; reconciling free will and divine foreknowledge; the Objectivist view of selfishness and its implications for one’s rela...

Why live for others (like Jesus) instead of for oneself? The "tree" and its "fruit." Original sin, free will, and explaining the differences between people. How to change oneself for the better. Ayn Rand and selfishness, and the case of divorce.

Is being a veterinarian (or doctor) selfless or selfish? Mother Teresa. Selfless person vs. selfless action. Is it bad to put oneself ahead of others? Is morality subjective? Is it arbitrary?

Would you give money to a homeless person? If so, how much? What would Mother Teresa do? Will you always feel guilty for not emulating her? A new ideal (Ayn Rand). Systemic (political) change.

Who is the most selfish person you can think of? Jeff Bezos and Amazon. Should Bezos give money away, and, if so, how much? Is it just a matter of personal preference as to how much money (if any) one should give away? Being a selfish person without being a bad person. Is selfishness sometimes bad and sometimes not? How should “selfish” be defined? Passive harm. Employee benefits.

Is altruism (e.g., Mother Teresa) good? What’s the opposite of Mother Teresa? Can one live for oneself but not at the expense of others? Robinson Crusoe—is he good? Choice and moral evaluation. A standard of judgment. Respect and harm. Universal values/truths or relativism/subjectivism?

Recorded shortly before the fall 2020 election.

6:01 The Objectivist view of the mind: The conscious mind as volitional, the subconscious (or brain) as automatic. Thinking as volitional and emotion as automatic. 13:40 What exactly is volitional in a thinking process? 25:35 What’s the importance of being able to choose to focus or not? 51:05 Do we have a single, volitional mind/self? Sam Harris’ deterministic, “modular mind” view (as revealed th...

What is the self? The self as the mind. Does the self include the body? The self as the intellect (vs. as the emotions) since it is the part of the mind directly under one’s volitional control. What does “self” mean in the context of the idea that it’s good to be “selfish”? The process of getting the idea of a “self.” Are things in one’s environment part of one’s “self”? Three senses of “self.” Pe...