The need for courage, integrity, and certainty, to resolve the personal side of ethical and political contradictions in our relationships Episode: 947 The Next Thing (Part 1) by Stefan Molyneux http://www.podnova.com/channel/392694/episode/26/ Implications of the "against me" argument 927 Ron Paul and Politics versus Personal Liberty by Stefan Molyneux http://youtube.com/watch?v=0z-fhCFkISM http://www.freedomainradio.com/Traffic_Jams/FDR_927_Ron_Paul_Politics_and_Personal_Freedom.mp3 http://www.podnova.com/channel/392694/episode/47/ The political contradiction of Objectivism's politics, which hinges on a collectivistic notion of a coercive monopoly; a couple extensive refutations: The Facts Of Reality: Logic And History In Objectivist Debates About Government by Professor Nicholas Dykes http://www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/philn/philn079.htm Laissez-faire, A More Enlightened View Of Capitalism—And Its Contradictions http://www.logicallearning.net/libertylaissez-f.html Disproving the State: Four arguments against government by Stefan Molyneux http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/molyneux4.html Separating the messages from the messengers in the early Objectivist movement The Passion of Ayn Rand by Barbara Branden http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/books/other/passion.html I read my paper titled: Who is Nathaniel Branden? Psychologist/Psychotherapist: http://www.nathanielbranden.com His books, in order of most recent: Self-Esteem at Work (treatise that contains psychotherapeutic exercises) A Woman’s Self-Esteem (treatise that contains psychotherapeutic exercises) Self-Esteem Every Day (collection of thoughts on self-esteem) The Art of Living Consciously (treatise that contains psychotherapeutic exercises) Taking Responsibility (treatise that contains psychotherapeutic exercises) The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem (treatise that contains psychotherapeutic exercises) The Art of Self-Discovery (psychotherapeutic workbook; my favorite:) The Power of Self-Esteem (shorter book on the topic) My Years with Ayn Rand (revised edition of Judgment Day) How to Raise Your Self-Esteem (psychotherapeutic workbook) Honoring the Self (treatise) If You Could Hear What I Cannot Say (psychotherapeutic workbook for relationships) What Love Asks of Us (with Devers Branden) (question and answer book) The Psychology of Romantic Love (treatise) The Disowned Self (treatise) Breaking Free (compilation of vignettes from therapy) The Psychology of Self-Esteem (seminal work on the subject) Who is Ayn Rand? (deals primarily with Rand's novel moral code) Overview of his biocentric psychology, in relation to objective philosophy Volition as essential component in self-esteem and value-judgments Emotions as indicators of "for me" or "against me" The nature of the subconscious and automatization Comprehensive framework of Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, from metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics, to politics and esthetics Branden's revolutionary refinement of the concept of self-esteem, which can be seen as an integrated sum of self-confidence and self-respect; choice quotation from The Psychology of Self-Esteem: "To understand a man psychologically, one must understand the nature and degree of his self-esteem, and the standards by which he judges himself" Man's mental health depends on being able to deal with reality--in particular, his internal reality--in an unblocked fashion The Pillars of self-esteem: The practice of living consciously The practice of self-acceptance The practice of self-responsibility The practice of self-assertiveness The practice of living purposefully The practice of personal integrity Branden's humanistic focus on the methods by which to acquire and maintain self-esteem stands as the ultimate tribute to the human soul The respective roles of philosophy and psychology; inspecting the problematic modern dichotomy The nature of psychotherapy and its challenges, both inside and out To choose to change, even when change is often frightening As Branden has noted, we need not be prisoners to yesterday's thinking and decisions bumper music "Piano Concerto in A Minor, 1st Movement, Allegro Molto Moderato" by Edward Grieg Pianist Pawel Mazurkiewicz: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF0WaXEf0xM Pianist Arthur Rubinstein: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxzpy1b1_BYPianist Leif Ove Andsnes (best sound, imo): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL_DT4DRxVA

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