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{{short description|American philosopher (born 1944)}}
'''Harry Binswanger''' (born in Manhattan, ] in ]) is a ] and writer. He received his BA in ] from ], and his MA and PhD. in ] from ], where he studied with the American positivst, ]. His doctoral dissertation concerned the philosophy of ]. He taught philosophy at ] ] from 1972 to 1979.
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Infobox philosopher
| name = Harry Binswanger
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| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1944}}
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| education = ] <small>(])</small><br />] <small>(])</small>
| notable_works = ''How We Know: Epistemology on an Objectivist Foundation''
| awards =
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| thesis_title = The Biological Basis of Teleological Concepts
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{{obj}}
'''Harry Binswanger''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɪ|n|z|w|æ|ŋ|ər}}; born 1944) is an American professor and author. He is an ] and a board member of the ]. He was an associate of ], working with her on ''The Ayn Rand Lexicon'' and helping her edit the second edition of Rand's '']''. He is the author of ''How We Know: Epistemology on an Objectivist Foundation'' (2014).


==Biography==
Binswanger was a friend of ], and his subsequent philosophical work has been done in the ] tradition. He edited the second edition of Rand's book, '']'', and frequently contributes to Objectivist publications. He also compiled ''The Ayn Rand Lexicon'', a topical reference work on Rand's views. His own book, ''The Biological Basis of Teleological Concepts'', was published in ]. Since then, he has given several lecture courses developing Objectivist theories in ], ], and ]. These include "]", "Abstractions from Abstractions", "The Metaphysics of ]", and "Consciousness as Identification." Binswanger is recognized largely for his controversial advocacy of ].
Harry Binswanger was born and raised in ]. His father, Sam Binswanger, was president of the family business, Binswanger Glass Company, founded in 1872.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.amazon.com/The-American-descendants-Samuel-Binswanger/dp/B0007HGOJC|title=The American descendants of Samuel Binswanger |first=Myer |last=Solis-Cohen |year=1957 |publisher=Myer Solis-Cohen|asin= B0007HGOJC}}</ref>

In 1961, Binswanger entered the ], having since early childhood had a keen interest in science in general and later in theoretical physics in particular.

But after becoming aware of and then studying Ayn Rand's philosophy, Objectivism, he chose philosophy as his major and neuroscience as his minor. In 1965 he received a ] in Humanities and Engineering (XXI-B).

As an undergraduate, Binswanger argued for Objectivism in philosophy courses taught by some of the field's leading figures, including Philippa Foot, Hubert Dreyfus, and Hilary Putnam. During his senior year, he helped start a campus Objectivist group, the M.I.T. Radicals for Capitalism, and he published a mimeographed periodical on Objectivism, initially named ''The Atlantis Review''.

In June, 1965, he came to New York City to pursue a doctorate in philosophy at Columbia University and to be in the city that was then the center of Objectivism, where Ayn Rand and her associates gave frequent lectures. Over '60s and '70's he got to know Ayn Rand, and in her final years, they became good friends, meeting once or twice a week to discuss ideas--and play ''Scrabble''.

Binswanger's own philosophical work is solidly in the tradition of Rand's ].<ref name="McConnellScott">{{cite book |last=McConnell |first=Scott |chapter=Harry Binswanger |title=100 Voices: an Oral History of Ayn Rand |url=https://archive.org/details/100voicesoralhis0000mcco |url-access=registration |year=2010 |publisher=New American Library |pages=|isbn=9780451231307 }}</ref> From 1980 through 1987, he published and edited a bimonthly journal called '']'', which was later published as a hardback collection.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hblist.com/tof/ |title=The Objectivist Forum |editor-first=Harry |editor-last=Binswanger |access-date=September 20, 2010 |archive-date=November 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129080951/https://www.hblist.com/tof/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> He edited the new material in the second edition of Rand's book, '']'', published in 1990 after her death.<ref group="note">The first edition was published in 1979.</ref> He also conceived and created ''The Ayn Rand Lexicon'', a compilation of Rand's views on some 400 topics in philosophy and cognate fields.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aynrandlexicon.com |title=The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z |first=Harry |last=Binswanger |publisher=Ayn Rand Institute}}</ref> His book, ''How We Know: Epistemology on an Objectivist Foundation'', was published in 2014.

Binswanger was on the board of directors of the ] for 36 years and is currently on the faculty of Ayn Rand University.<ref name="campus">{{cite web |title=Harry Binswanger |url=https://campus.aynrand.org/people/harry-binswanger |access-date=September 24, 2017 |website=AynRand.org}}</ref> He also moderates and posts to a fee-based online discussion group on Objectivism, called "The Harry Binswanger Letter", which he has operated since 1998.<ref name="hblist">{{cite web |url=http://www.hbletter.com |title=HBL |first=Harry |last=Binswanger}}</ref> Binswanger was previously a contributor to '']'' and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2017/02/06/neil_gorsuch_rightly_advocates_inching_away_from_judicial_deference_102530.html |title=Neil Gorsuch Rightly Advocates Inching Away from 'Judicial Deference' |author=Binswanger, Harry |website=RealClearMarkets.com |access-date=September 25, 2017}}</ref> His television appearances have included ] and '']''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2VFCyUC9N8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/m2VFCyUC9N8 |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Harry Binswanger on Glenn Beck May 4, 2009|via=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://ari.aynrand.org/experts/harry-binswanger |title=Harry Binswanger |website=AynRand.org |access-date=September 26, 2017}}</ref> He also appears in '']'', the ]-nominated documentary by ], and ''Ayn Rand & the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged'', a 2011 documentary by Chris Mortensen.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/library/film/021398rand-film-review.html |title='Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life:' A View of the {{sic|Philo|spher|nolink=y}} |author=Maslin, Janet |website=] |access-date=September 25, 2017}}</ref>

==Views==
Binswanger has been described as an "orthodox" Objectivist who is committed to ideas of his mentor Rand, whom he considers a "once in a millennium genius".<ref name="McConnellScott"/> Binswanger expressed support for ] on '']'' and denied ] in his ''Forbes'' column of April 3, 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/harrybinswanger/2013/04/03/global-warming-was-it-just-a-beautiful-dream-after-all/|title=Global Warming: Was It Just A Beautiful Dream After All?|date=April 3, 2013|newspaper=Forbes|author=Harry Binswanger}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable (]).|date=October 2023}} He calls for "absolutely ]" in a post on his website.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hbletter.com/for-open-immigration/ |title=For Open Immigration |first=Harry |last=Binswanger |date=June 13, 2015 |publisher=TOF Publications}}</ref>

In 1986, Binswanger and ] participated in a debate on Socialism vs Capitalism against ] and ]. In this debate he argued for the merits of capitalism as compared to socialism from an Objectivist perspective. During the debate, Binswanger stated "Colonialism is the best thing that ever happened to the colonies," and "We view the colonialization of India and the rest of the world as the extending of wealth and civilization to backward regions."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2MMFaz9Gyg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/u2MMFaz9Gyg |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Socialism Versus Capitalism|work=YOUTUBE}}{{cbignore}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable (]).|date=October 2023}}

==Works==

===As author===
* {{cite book |first=Harry |last=Binswanger |title=The Biological Basis of Teleological Concepts |location=Los Angeles |publisher=] Press |year=1990 |isbn=0-9625336-0-2}}
* {{Cite book |first=Harry |last=Binswanger |chapter='Free Competition' at Gunpoint |title=The Abolition of Antitrust |publisher=] |year=2005 |editor-last=Hull |editor-first=Gary |isbn=0-7658-0282-1}}
* {{cite book |first=Harry |last=Binswanger|chapter=The Dollar and the Gun |title=Why Businessmen Need Philosophy |year=2011|editor-first=Richard E. |editor-last=Ralston |location=Irvine, CA |publisher=Ayn Rand Institute Press |isbn=978-0-9625336-2-4}}
* {{cite book |first=Harry |last=Binswanger|chapter=Philosophy: The Ultimate CEO |title=Why Businessmen Need Philosophy |year=2011 |editor-first=Richard E. |editor-last=Ralston |location=Irvine, CA |publisher=Ayn Rand Institute Press |isbn=978-0-9625336-2-4}}
* {{cite book |first=Harry |last=Binswanger |title=How We Know: Epistemology on an Objectivist Foundation|location=New York |publisher=TOF Publications |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-9856406-1-3}}

===As editor===
* ''The Objectivist Forum''. Vols 1–8, 1980–1987. {{LCCN|83640866}}
* {{cite book |first=Ayn |last=Rand |title=The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z |location=New York |publisher=] |year=1986 |isbn=0-453-00528-4 }}
* {{cite book |first=Ayn |last=Rand |title=] |year=1990 |edition=2nd |location=New York |publisher=Meridian |others=Co-edited with ] |isbn=0-453-00724-4}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*

{{Authority control}}

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Latest revision as of 22:44, 14 October 2024

American philosopher (born 1944)

Harry Binswanger
Born1944 (age 79–80)
Richmond, Virginia
NationalityAmerican
EducationMassachusetts Institute of Technology (BS)
Columbia University (PhD)
Notable workHow We Know: Epistemology on an Objectivist Foundation
EraContemporary philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolObjectivism
InstitutionsAyn Rand Institute
ThesisThe Biological Basis of Teleological Concepts
Objectivist movement
Photo of Ayn RandAyn Rand
Philosophy
Organizations
Theorists

Ayn Rand Institute

Other

LiteratureCapitalism: The Unknown Ideal
For the New Intellectual
Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology
The New Left
Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand
Philosophy: Who Needs It
The Romantic Manifesto
The Virtue of Selfishness
Objectivist periodicals
The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies
The Fountainhead
Atlas Shrugged
Related topics

Harry Binswanger (/ˈbɪnzwæŋər/; born 1944) is an American professor and author. He is an Objectivist and a board member of the Ayn Rand Institute. He was an associate of Ayn Rand, working with her on The Ayn Rand Lexicon and helping her edit the second edition of Rand's Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology. He is the author of How We Know: Epistemology on an Objectivist Foundation (2014).

Biography

Harry Binswanger was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. His father, Sam Binswanger, was president of the family business, Binswanger Glass Company, founded in 1872.

In 1961, Binswanger entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, having since early childhood had a keen interest in science in general and later in theoretical physics in particular.

But after becoming aware of and then studying Ayn Rand's philosophy, Objectivism, he chose philosophy as his major and neuroscience as his minor. In 1965 he received a Bachelor of Science in Humanities and Engineering (XXI-B).

As an undergraduate, Binswanger argued for Objectivism in philosophy courses taught by some of the field's leading figures, including Philippa Foot, Hubert Dreyfus, and Hilary Putnam. During his senior year, he helped start a campus Objectivist group, the M.I.T. Radicals for Capitalism, and he published a mimeographed periodical on Objectivism, initially named The Atlantis Review.

In June, 1965, he came to New York City to pursue a doctorate in philosophy at Columbia University and to be in the city that was then the center of Objectivism, where Ayn Rand and her associates gave frequent lectures. Over '60s and '70's he got to know Ayn Rand, and in her final years, they became good friends, meeting once or twice a week to discuss ideas--and play Scrabble.

Binswanger's own philosophical work is solidly in the tradition of Rand's philosophy. From 1980 through 1987, he published and edited a bimonthly journal called The Objectivist Forum, which was later published as a hardback collection. He edited the new material in the second edition of Rand's book, Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, published in 1990 after her death. He also conceived and created The Ayn Rand Lexicon, a compilation of Rand's views on some 400 topics in philosophy and cognate fields. His book, How We Know: Epistemology on an Objectivist Foundation, was published in 2014.

Binswanger was on the board of directors of the Ayn Rand Institute for 36 years and is currently on the faculty of Ayn Rand University. He also moderates and posts to a fee-based online discussion group on Objectivism, called "The Harry Binswanger Letter", which he has operated since 1998. Binswanger was previously a contributor to Forbes and RealClearMarkets. His television appearances have included Glenn Beck and Geraldo at Large. He also appears in Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life, the Academy Award-nominated documentary by Michael Paxton, and Ayn Rand & the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged, a 2011 documentary by Chris Mortensen.

Views

Binswanger has been described as an "orthodox" Objectivist who is committed to ideas of his mentor Rand, whom he considers a "once in a millennium genius". Binswanger expressed support for Israel on Glenn Beck and denied global warming in his Forbes column of April 3, 2013. He calls for "absolutely open immigration" in a post on his website.

In 1986, Binswanger and John Ridpath participated in a debate on Socialism vs Capitalism against John Judis and Christopher Hitchens. In this debate he argued for the merits of capitalism as compared to socialism from an Objectivist perspective. During the debate, Binswanger stated "Colonialism is the best thing that ever happened to the colonies," and "We view the colonialization of India and the rest of the world as the extending of wealth and civilization to backward regions."

Works

As author

  • Binswanger, Harry (1990). The Biological Basis of Teleological Concepts. Los Angeles: Ayn Rand Institute Press. ISBN 0-9625336-0-2.
  • Binswanger, Harry (2005). "'Free Competition' at Gunpoint". In Hull, Gary (ed.). The Abolition of Antitrust. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-7658-0282-1.
  • Binswanger, Harry (2011). "The Dollar and the Gun". In Ralston, Richard E. (ed.). Why Businessmen Need Philosophy. Irvine, CA: Ayn Rand Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-9625336-2-4.
  • Binswanger, Harry (2011). "Philosophy: The Ultimate CEO". In Ralston, Richard E. (ed.). Why Businessmen Need Philosophy. Irvine, CA: Ayn Rand Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-9625336-2-4.
  • Binswanger, Harry (2014). How We Know: Epistemology on an Objectivist Foundation. New York: TOF Publications. ISBN 978-0-9856406-1-3.

As editor

Notes

  1. The first edition was published in 1979.

References

  1. Solis-Cohen, Myer (1957). The American descendants of Samuel Binswanger. Myer Solis-Cohen. ASIN B0007HGOJC.
  2. ^ McConnell, Scott (2010). "Harry Binswanger". 100 Voices: an Oral History of Ayn Rand. New American Library. pp. 575–611. ISBN 9780451231307.
  3. Binswanger, Harry (ed.). "The Objectivist Forum". Archived from the original on November 29, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
  4. Binswanger, Harry. "The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z". Ayn Rand Institute.
  5. "Harry Binswanger". AynRand.org. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  6. Binswanger, Harry. "HBL".
  7. Binswanger, Harry. "Neil Gorsuch Rightly Advocates Inching Away from 'Judicial Deference'". RealClearMarkets.com. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  8. "Harry Binswanger on Glenn Beck May 4, 2009". Archived from the original on December 22, 2021 – via www.youtube.com.
  9. "Harry Binswanger". AynRand.org. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  10. Maslin, Janet. "'Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life:' A View of the Philospher [sic]". The New York Times. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  11. Harry Binswanger (April 3, 2013). "Global Warming: Was It Just A Beautiful Dream After All?". Forbes.
  12. Binswanger, Harry (June 13, 2015). "For Open Immigration". TOF Publications.
  13. "Socialism Versus Capitalism". YOUTUBE. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021.

External links

Categories: