Washington Metro Objectivism Discussion (WMOD)

                 Sunday, February 10, 2002   

                  Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!

                       By Diana Hsieh

Honesty is widely regarded as one of the most important
virtues in our culture, yet people routinely lie in order to be polite,
conceal their misdeeds, protect their privacy, and manipulate others.
Even Objectivists, who have a much better understanding of the value of
truthfulness than most, have been known to fib on occasion.  With a
mixture of lecture and discussion, Diana Hsieh will explore the complex
issue of when, if ever, it is moral for a person to lie.  Topics will
include the relationship between the deception of others and
self-deception, motivations for lying, the traditional Objectivist
arguments for truthfulness, other good arguments for truthfulness found in
the philosophical literature, and strategies Objectivists can employ to
develop a deeply-ingrained commitment to truthfulness.

Diana Mertz Hsieh will be lecturing on this very topic at this year's
summer seminar of The Objectivist Seminar.  In years past, she has
lectured on moral habits and forgiveness and redemption.  You can read
more about Diana's activities and publications at her web page
http://www.dianahsieh.com/.  She has worked as a computer programmer 
and she plans to attend philosophy graduate school this fall at the 
University of Colorado.
 
      WHEN AND WHERE IS THE WMOD MEETING?

Please join WMOD on Sunday, February 10.  Anyone who is
interested in rational discussion of Ayn Rand's ideas is welcome.
There will be a $2 charge for the talk if you are not having 
dinner. Note that our meeting location is Metro accessible.  You can
either join us for drinks at 6:30 or for dinner at 7 PM or for
the talk at 8:15 PM at the Hunan Palace in Rosslyn, VA
just across the Key Bridge from Georgetown.  The street address is
1812 North Moore Street.  If you come by Metro, get off at the
Rosslyn Metro Exit and the Hunan Palace is only a few feet away.
Take the street exit on N. Moore Street (across street from Roy
Rogers/Burger King), go out of Metro and take a left, and the
Palace is a few feet down N. Moore Street.  If you drive, there is
a parking garage (Allstate) next door to the Palace that is free
after 6:00 PM.  Due to construction you may have to go down the
ramp to the underground level.  There will be a $15 fixed price
dinner (including tax and tip), or you can order from the menu. 
 
Please RSVP to WMOD at (703) 820-7696 before noon on the day of
the meeting so that we can tell the restaurant how many tables to
set up and how many to expect for dinner.  For more information,
call the Hunan Palace at (703) 528-8188, or call David Saum
at (703) 820-7696 (W) or (703) 671-5119 (H).  

                  FUTURE MEETINGS

WMOD meetings are generally held on the third Wednesday of each
month.  We are always looking for new stimulating meeting topics
related to Objectivism.  Please contact WMOD if you have
suggestions for meeting topics and locations, or if you can
volunteer some time to arrange meetings.

                   CALENDAR

        The Objectivist Center (formerly IOS) events
http://www.objectivistcenter.org

         GMU Objectivist Club Events
http://www.gmu.edu/org/objectivist/upevnts.htm

        Cato Institute Events
http://www.cato.org/events/calendar.html

        Free-Market.Net Calendar
http://www.free-market.org/directory/events/

       Future of Freedom Foundation Events
http://www.fff.org/events/events.htm
         
       Institute for Humane Studies
http://www.theIHS.org/

  
(please let WMOD know about other events that we should list) 
                
               WMOD Contact Information

Contact:
  Dave Saum
  WMOD
  PO Box 8007
  Falls Church, VA 22041
    Email: DSaum at infiltec.com
    Phone: (703) 820-7696
    Fax: (703) 671-9350
    Web: http://www.infiltec.com/wmod.htm

--------------email list information
In January the old WMOD email list crashed without
a backup, so you must resubscribe to continue getting 
meeting announcements. To subscribe to the new Yahoo list,
just send an email to WMOD-subscribe@yahoogroups.com 
or visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WMOD/.
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