Bayer to Speak at Upcoming Academic Philosophy Events

The Ayn Rand Institute is committed to spreading awareness of Rand’s ideas on every cultural front. To give just a few examples: We give talks to high school English classes, host conferences for college students — and engage in debate and discussion with intellectuals, outside and within academia.

In the coming week, I’ll engage with academic philosophers at two separate conferences. While one of the events is reserved for members of its academic society, anyone can become a member of either society for a fee, and both events can be attended online via Zoom.

The first event is part of a panel at a conference on Women in the History of Philosophy hosted by the British Society for the History of Philosophy. Several scholars of Ayn Rand organized a session devoted exclusively to Rand’s thought. The session features papers from four different philosophers, including my paper, “Ayn Rand’s Defense of Abortion Rights vs. Contemporary Kantian Defenses.”

This session on Rand will be held on Thursday, April 22, beginning at 8 a.m. PDT, 11 a.m. EDT, and 4 p.m. British summer time (UTC+1). You can view a full program of the conference here (which includes abstracts about the different sessions on Rand) and sign up for society membership here. Since the conference begins shortly, you may need to act fast to get membership in time for the session.

The second event is an annual meeting of the Ayn Rand Society, a professional association affiliated with the American Philosophical Association on Tuesday, April 27. The session is on the topic of The Unity of Virtue. It will feature my paper, “Ayn Rand on Moral Virtue and Moral Character,” which comments on another paper by Professor Neera Badhwar of the University of Oklahoma / George Mason University.

Papers delivered are slated to be published in a forthcoming volume of the Ayn Rand Society Philosophical Studies book series. The session I’m taking part in will occur at 4 p.m. PDT, 7 p.m. EDT, 11 p.m. UTC at this Zoom address. Information on becoming a member of the Ayn Rand Society (not necessary to attend the event) is available here. Open discussion will follow my exchange with Badhwar.

I welcome you to attend these events to see Ayn Rand’s ideas being brought into the (virtual) halls of academe.