Washington Metro Objectivism Discussion (WMOD)

            Saturday, August 26, 2000   

      "Aristotle's and Nietzsche's Influence
       on Rand - Irreconcilable Conflict?"

             Saturday, August 26, 2000

             By Michelle Fram-Cohen

Aristotle's influence on Rand is not debatable - her
writing is a paean to Reason, Logic and Science.
Nietzsche's influence on Rand has been debatable,
however.  It was dismissed as a short-lived phase in
her youth. Or claimed to be her implicit philosophy
throughout her entire life.  

At the August WMOD meeting, Michell Fram-Cohen
will argue that Rand is unique in being influenced
by both Aristotle and Nietzsche - a philosopher of
reason and a philosopher of anti-reason. Nietzsche
attacked vehemently everything Aristotelian.
Aristotle's dry scientific style offers no exalted
view of man. The common view of the influence of
both philosophers on Rand is that Rand's explicit
philosophy is Aristotelian, while her sense-of-
life is Nietzschean. In other words, the content of
her ideas, what she writes about, is Aristotelian,
while the style of her writing, how she writes,
is Nietzschean.  

Rand's fiction is an experiment in coexistence
for the influence of the two philosophers.
Can Aristotle and Nietzsche co-exist in
harmony in Rand's writings?  Or is there an
inevitable conflict between them, and is the
conflict reconcilable?

Michelle Fram-Cohen holds an M.A. in Comparative
Literature from SUNY at Binghamton.  She has been
interested in Objectivism since the late 1970's.
Michelle presented a participant-sponsored talk
on Aristotle's influence on Maimonides in the IOS
Summer Seminar in 1999.  She also participated in
the TOC Cyberseminar on Nietzsche in Spring 2000. 

              PREVIOUS MEETING

There was no July WMOD meeting.  Thanks again to Bert Ely for his
Wednesday, June 21, 2000 talk "Governance and the State within a 
Libertarian/Objectivist Society".  Approximately 30
people attended and questions lasted until the restaurant closed.

 
      WHEN AND WHERE IS THE WMOD MEETING?

Please join WMOD on Saturday, August 26.  Anyone who is
interested in rational discussion of Ayn Rand's ideas is welcome.
There will be a $2 charge for the talk if you are not having 
dinner. Note that our meeting location is Metro accessible.  You can
either join us for drinks at 6:30 with dinner at 7 PM and/or for
the talk (free) at 8:15 PM at the Hunan Palace in Rosslyn, VA
just across the Key Bridge from Georgetown.  The street address is
1812 North Moore Street.  If you come by Metro, get off at the
Rosslyn Metro Exit and the Hunan Palace is only a few feet away.
Take the street exit on N. Moore Street (across street from Roy
Rogers/Burger King), go out of Metro and take a left, and the
Palace is a few feet down N. Moore Street.  If you drive, there is
a parking garage (Allstate) next door to the Palace that is free
after 6:00 PM.  Due to construction you may have to go down the
ramp to the underground level.  There will be a $15 fixed price
dinner (including tax and tip), or you can order from the menu. 
 
Please RSVP to WMOD at (703) 820-7696 before noon on Saturday
8/26 so that we can tell the restaurant how many tables to set
up and how many to expect for dinner.  For more information,
call the Hunan Palace at (703) 528-8188, or call David Saum
at (703) 820-7696 (W) or (703) 671-5119 (H).  

                  FUTURE MEETINGS

WMOD meetings are generally held on the third Wednesday of each
month.  We are always looking for new stimulating meeting topics
related to Objectivism.  Please contact WMOD if you have
suggestions for meeting topics and locations, or if you can
volunteer some time to arrange meetings.

                   CALENDAR

        The Objectivist Center (formerly IOS) events
http://www.objectivistcenter.org 

        Cato Institute Events
http://www.cato.org/events/calendar.html

        Free-Market.Net Calendar
http://www.free-market.org/directory/events/

       Future of Freedom Foundation Events
http://www.fff.org/events/events.htm
         
       Institute for Humane Studies
http://www.theIHS.org/

       The Daily Objectivist
http://www.dailyobjectivist.com
   
(please let WMOD know about other events that we should list) 
                
               WMOD Contact Information

The WMOD newsletter is $10/yr, this email newsletter is free.
Contact:
  Dave Saum
  WMOD
  PO Box 8007
  Falls Church, VA 22041
    Email: DSaum at infiltec.com
    Phone: (703) 820-7696
    Fax: (703) 671-9350
    Web: http://www.infiltec.com/wmod.htm

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