In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:48 - "I recently saw a news headline about 'Illegal Gambling' and it made me wonder what the Objectivist position should be. Obviously in the context of a free soc

#115: Moral Judgment of the Subconscious

Jul 14th, 2019 19m 46s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following question:00:48 - "Should a competent (that is, not mentally retarded or mentally hindered in some significant way) adult be held equally culpable for both their conscious premis

#114: Rationality & the Market

Jul 12th, 2019 18m 18s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following question:00:48 - "Given that using reason is a choice, which is not guaranteed to be made by everyone, is it not valid to consider irrational behaviour in economic models?"***

#113: Updates

Jul 11th, 2019 42m 25s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I cover some recent events and share some updates on everything I'm doing.***Functional Philosophy is the weekly Q&A podcast that helps you develop the philosophical foundations required to achieve

#112: Objectivism & Humor (Part 3)

Jun 19th, 2019 15m 42s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:38 - "What do you think of Rucka's work in parody rap, especially the song 'Am I Gay?'"***Functional Philosophy is the weekly Q&A podcast that helps you develop

#111: Objectivism & Humor (Part 2)

Jun 12th, 2019 21m 59s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:38 - "Ayn Rand wrote, 'To laugh at the contemptible, is a virtue; to laugh at the good, is a hideous vice.' ...Men bond by teasing each other, sometimes quite br

#110: Objectivism & Humor (Part 1)

Jun 3rd, 2019 14m 42s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:38 - "Can you explain the role of comedy in an objectivist society? Both its purpose and the topics it should revolve around."***Functional Philosophy is the we

#109: (1) Hormones for Trans Children (2) The Ethics of Eating Meat

May 27th, 2019 17m 17s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:38 - "In recent years, I've heard quite a lot of news about hormonal and surgical treatment given to children with gender dysphoria. While I acknowledge that these

#108: The Nature of Evil

May 24th, 2019 22m 15s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:38 - "Is nihilism more immoral than evasion? Is nihilism a form of evasion itself?"***Functional Philosophy is the weekly Q&A podcast that helps you develop the

#107: (1) Private Lawyers (2) Philosophy vs. Psychology (3) Shrugging

May 16th, 2019 19m 18s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:38 - "One primary function of the government is to treat all citizens equally under the law. How does an objectivist square this with lawyers for hire? Under a sys

#106: (1) Theory vs. Application (2) Global Government

May 9th, 2019 19m 51s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:38 - "In an ideal objectivist world, how would the government deal with counterfeiting (physical property violation) and digital counterfeiting (copying and online

#105: (1) Principles in Practical Politics (2) Should You Vote Libertarian? (3) Air Pollution

Apr 29th, 2019 21m 40s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:38 - "Would an objectivist support a law that is a movement in the right direction from the current situation? Or would it be moral to only support a law that is co

#104: (1) Freedom & Fallibility (2) Concepts & Communication

Apr 22nd, 2019 14m 32s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:39 - "How does an objectivist framework deal with ignorance? What if people don’t know the extent that sugary sodas or climate change would impact their life and th

#103: Volunteering for War & Acting on Principle

Apr 19th, 2019 22m 45s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:39 - "Is being in the military altruistic? How would an objectivist government simultaneously have national defense and enforcement of property rights? Would it be

#102: (1) Video Games (2) Contextualizing vs. Rationalizing (3) Evil Geniuses

Apr 8th, 2019 17m 14s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:38 - "My first question is merely, how would you define video games? I understand that they are a form of recreation that test your visual-motor and logical skills,

#101: (1) Musical Taste (2) Is Equality Good? (3) Why Do Artists Lean Left?

Apr 5th, 2019 20m 5s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:38 - "How much attention should one pay to Rands opinions/thoughts on music? I predominantly listen to hip-hop and wasn't very happy to find that Rand considers me

#100: (1) Women in the Workforce (2) TV Shows (3) Ayn Rand & Her Times

Mar 25th, 2019 39m 5s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:11:13 - "What is your opinion on housewives? Gavin [McInnes] likes to say that 5% of women should be in the workforce and the rest would be happier at home. Do you agr

#99: (1) Thoughts & Feelings (2) Handling Emotions (3) Free Speech & Cultural Prospects

Mar 20th, 2019 35m 17s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:38 - "'A perfect, clear understanding also means a feeling. It isn’t enough to realize a thing is true. The realization must be so clear that one feels this truth

#98: (1) Happiness & Survival (2) Audiobooks vs. Text (3) Altruism & Child Abuse

Mar 13th, 2019 7m 13s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:01:14 - "I know people who went there entire lives narcissistic, irrational and unhappy. Does this mean happiness is not essential for survival?"02:29 - "The vast ma

#97: (1) Harassment as Force (2) Who’s Responsible for a Child (3) Evasion & Religion

Mar 6th, 2019 19m 42s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:38 - "In a recent episode of your podcast you indicated that harassing phone calls are physical force because there are actual particles used to carry the harassing

#96: (1) Reading Order for Ayn Rand’s Nonfiction (2) Mercenaries (3) Depression

Feb 25th, 2019 25m 2s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:38 - "Would you recommend a specific order for reading Ayn Rands' non-fiction?"10:09 - "Is it ethical to be [a soldier-for-hire]? If so, what ethical constraints

#95: (1) Guns & Force (2) Implicit Knowledge (3) Second-Handedness

Feb 18th, 2019 16m 18s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:38 - "You have very peculiar definitions of initiatory and retaliatory force. Waving a gun around and pointing it at people, yet not actually shooting them, is stil

#94: (1) Platonic Forms (2) “Rent-Seeking” (3) Musician’s Block

Feb 11th, 2019 14m 46s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:38 - "Can you logically describe what Plato meant by the world of forms? I understand that he was wrong, but what exactly was he talking about? I think I understand

#93: (1) Preferences (2) Indirect Force (3) Moral Luck

Feb 5th, 2019 17m 11s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:38 - "Why do we enjoy arbitrary things? By this for example I mean that I enjoy building and painting plastic figures. I understand that things like food please us

#92: (1) Spreading Objectivism (2) Universal Suffrage (3) Modest Dress

Jan 28th, 2019 14m 20s

In this episode of Functional Philosophy, I answer the following questions:00:38 - "I am a 15 year old objectivist who is trying to understand Ayn Rand and her philosophy. However, I live in a religious household with parents who dont underst