New Scientific Paper: Life Is Not a Machine or a Ghost

I am delighted to have published a new scientific paper in The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies titled Life Is Not a Machine or a Ghost: The Naturalistic Origin of Life’s Organization and Goal-Directedness, Consciousness, Free Will, and Meaning. From the Abstract Due to a widespread belief in mechano-reductionism, most intellectuals reject the idea that … Continue reading “New Scientific Paper: Life Is Not a Machine or a Ghost”

The Ordered Liberty of Montessori Education

The following article was originally published in Law & Liberty. View it here. At a tumultuous time in history, with too many parallels to our own, an astonishing drama unfolded. Amidst a raging civil war in 1939 Spain, Maria Montessori anxiously waited with her grandchildren on the second floor of their house in Barcelona as … Continue reading “The Ordered Liberty of Montessori Education”

Reply to Sechrest: On the Origins of Government

Thanks to Larry J. Sechrest for a very thought-provoking article, “Rand, Anarchy and Taxes.” I thoroughly enjoyed both the facts he discussed and the analysis he offered. However, his point that Murray Franck “almost seems to think it self-evident that civilized societies must have governments” (Sechrest 1999, 100) made me realize that my reaction is … Continue reading “Reply to Sechrest: On the Origins of Government”

What University Education Might Be and Ought to Be

University Education As It Might Be and Ought to Be Part I: What Is the Aim of a University Education? By Marsha Familaro Enright “Discipline must come through liberty. . . . We do not consider an individual disciplined only when he has been rendered as artificially silent as a mute and as immovable as … Continue reading “What University Education Might Be and Ought to Be”

Online Great Books Interview with Marsha Familaro Enright

Scott Hambrick, founder of Online Great Books, discusses education, meeting Ayn Rand, and a new course to help participants read more easily in the Online Great Books courses with Marsha in his podcast here.

Ayn Rand Explained: From Tyranny to Tea Party

Written by Ronald Merrill and Marsha Familaro Enright, and edited by Enright, Ayn Rand Explained is now available at Open Court Books, Amazon, on Kindle, and in bookstores everywhere. Ayn Rand and her ideas are in the news more than ever – 50+ years after her magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged, was published. What’s driving this … Continue reading “Ayn Rand Explained: From Tyranny to Tea Party”

What’s Wrong With Distance Learning

Thoughts from an expert teacher by Marsha Familaro Enright Very, very often when I tell people about our project to open a new college program, their first question is: “Will it be online?” And they have good reasons to expect that it would be: online is vastly cheaper than in-person teaching and it can reach … Continue reading “What’s Wrong With Distance Learning”

Socratic Seminars: Learning to think first-hand: Revised 1-27-13

by Marsha Familaro Enright SOCRATIC SEMINARS are a method of teaching, which, if properly implemented, foster independence, develop excellent reasoning skills, and nurture a sense of the rightness of individual liberty. These seminars significantly increase the participants’ abilities to think for themselves. The term “Socratic Seminar” is used variously, but the following describes the kind I … Continue reading “Socratic Seminars: Learning to think first-hand: Revised 1-27-13”

Defending Western Civilization

As September 11th approaches, Americans remember the morning in 2001 when the World Trade Center turned to rubble. It is a fitting time to consider the nature of the civilizations that collided that day—and how to defend ours. In their quest to establish a worldwide caliphate, radical Islamists invoke morality, claiming they have God’s sanction … Continue reading “Defending Western Civilization”