Atlas Shrugged vs. Atlas Hugged — a conversation with David Sloan Wilson on individualism, objectivism, cooperation, altruism, and collective action problems
In episode 154, Michael speaks with renowned evolutionary theorist David Sloan Wilson about his new novel Atlas Hugged: The Autobiography of John Galt III, a devastating critique of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism and its impact on the world. Shermer and Wilson discuss: the role of fiction and film in spreading ideas, good and bad; empirical/pragmatic/mythic truths; individualism vs. collectivism; why liberals/progressives/feminists don‘t like Rand; the nature of human nature; how small groups best operate and how to scale that up to whole societies; capitalism: good and bad; income inequality; Objectivism and Christianity; and more…
See more episode notes:
https://skeptic.com/michael-shermer-show/david-sloan-wilson-atlas-hugged-individualism-objectivism-cooperation-altruism-collective-action/
This dialogue was recorded on January 6, 2021 as part of The Michael Shermer Show (formerly Science Salon) presented by The Skeptics Society, in California.
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