November Meeting:
East/West movie
We will watch East/West (Est/ouest), a movie about post-war Soviet
Union, at our next meeting on Saturday, November 18, at 8 p.m. The meeting
will be at the home of Joy & Jeff Kiviat. Call (314) 469-2723 for
directions.
East/West focuses on a family that returns to the Soviet Union in 1946
after Stalin invites emigrants to come back after the war is over.
Optimistic as they return, the physician, his French wife, and their young
child soon realize they are trapped in a country of horrors. Suspicions,
interrogations and fear abound. Their only hope is to find a way to escape
to freedom.
This 1999 Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film was
directed by Regis Wargnier, who also directed Indochine. The film, in
French with English subtitles, stars Sandrine Bonnaire, Oleg Menchikov and
Catherine Deneuve.
Carolyn Ray lecture
At our last meeting, we listened to "How to Win
Arguments," a taped lecture by Carolyn Ray, from this year's TOC Summer
Seminar. She presented her observations of arguments between Objectivists
and the logical errors they unknowingly commit.
Ray proposed the idea that the best way to avoid
argumentative mistakes is by studying fallacies, which she did extensively
during the lecture. She also spoke about what it means to win an argument
and when you know you've won.
For both Objectivists and non-Objectivists to argue well,
they need to have strong supporting arguments for both their conclusions and
their premises. Additionally, they need to develop opposing arguments so
they can strengthen their own position.
Ray said she hears many general reasoning errors made by
Objectivists, including being over-emotional, over-generalizing, and lacking
self-criticism and knowledge. Ways to improve one's reasoning include being
patient and listening, summarizing other's arguments in order to understand
them, and listening sympathetically, which she defines as "carefully
and objectively." She also discussed a number of other fallacies such
as composition, division, relying on axioms, and casting doubt for no
reason.
Winning an argument, according to Ray, may only happen in
the long term, since it is difficult to convince someone right away. Those
who concentrate only on winning appear as extremely stubborn. Ray concluded
by saying that you win an argument if you only say things that are true (to
the best of you knowledge) and only make good arguments.
In our discussion after the lecture, many disagreed with
Ray's definition of winning, as well as her perception of most Objectivists
using poor reasoning skills. We also concluded that agreeing on definitions
is required for productive arguments.
Atlas update
Jeannie Williams' USA Today column on October 26 provided
the latest information on TNT's Atlas Shrugged miniseries. Producer Al Ruddy
plans a five-hour, two-part series.
Screenwriter Susan Black has finished the script, which is
225 pages long. TOC's David Kelley, who conferred with Black during the
writing process, is satisfied with the script. Although a majority of the
book had to be cut, the theme remains intact and he says, "It will be
highly entertaining." According to Ruddy, TNT's Ted Turner also loves
the script.
The producers are now looking for actors and a director.
They will begin shooting early next year and hope to air the show next
fall.
For other information on the movie, check out the Unofficial
Atlas Shrugged Movie Homepage at www.missliberty.com/FilmAtlas.html.
It contains a link to an earlier interview with Ruddy, Black and movie
expert Bill Collins. The interview, just published by Prodos.com, is
available at www.prodos.com/transcript/atlasmovie.html.
We welcome submissions of reviews, articles, columns and commentary.
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