Talks held this month:
The Philosophical Basis for A Woman’s Right To Abortion by Dr. Andrew Bernstein (April 20)
This talk is a defense — on philosophical grounds — of the right to abortion. To validate this right requires a rational theory of rights, one grounded in fact, not faith or feeling. In establishing the basis of this right, Dr. Bernstein also demonstrates that anti-abortionists have no rational basis for using the phrase “right to life.” Dr. Bernstein presents the scientific arguments used by anti-abortionists, then demonstrates the errors in those arguments: failure to recognize the biological nature of the fetus; equivocation on key terms; and obliteration of the distinction between actual and potential. Dr. Bernstein grounds his view of rights in an ethics of rational egoism and contrasts it with the theory of self-sacrifice espoused by anti-abortionists. Both political conservatives and liberals deny the principle of individual rights and the egoist ethics on which rights depend. Only Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism validates both rights and egoism, thereby providing the only valid philosophical basis of a woman’s right to abortion. One hour lecture followed by one hour Q and A.
Wed, April 20, 2005 6:30-8:30 PM
THH-101 (Taper Hall of Humanities), 3501 Trousdale Pkwy
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089
America at War: The Moral Imperative to Self-Defense by Dr. Andrew Bernstein (April 21, 2005)
Two major points are presented in this talk. One: Neither guns, bombs nor tanks constitute a nation’s most powerful weapon. Rather, moral rectitude–the courage to proudly defend the property, freedom and lives of its citizens–does. The United States has abdicated this weapon in fifty years of appeasement in the Middle East. Just as President Thomas Jefferson and the fledgling republic–inspired by the battle cry of “Millions for defense, but not a penny for tribute”–had the courage to stand up to the notorious Barbary Pirates in 1801, so President George W. Bush must have the moral courage to wipe out America’s current fanatical and deadly enemies. Two: This is not fundamentally a political but a philosophical struggle. Islamic Civilization–essentially a religious culture–loathes and seeks to destroy Western Civilization, which is essentially secular. Their religious fanaticism is the fundamental reason they hate the United States and the West, and is the reason that rational negotiation with them is impossible. This is a life-and-death struggle between contradictory philosophical systems. One hour lecture followed by one hour Q and A.
Thurs, April 21, 2005 5:30-7:30 PM, SGM-123 (Seely G. Mudd), 3620 McClintock,
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089