Harry Binswanger American philosopher and writer Country: USA

1. Biography of Harry Binswanger
2. Early Life and Education
3. Contributions to Objectivism
4. Editorial Work and Current Activities
5. Political Views

Biography of Harry Binswanger

Harry Binswanger is an American philosopher and writer who is known for his advocacy of Objectivism and his longstanding partnership with Ayn Rand. He collaborated with Rand on the creation of a mini-encyclopedia on Objectivism called 'The Ayn Rand Lexicon'. Binswanger's doctoral dissertation on the philosophical problems of biology presented a new theory of teleology, which contradicted the views of one of his dissertation advisors, Ernest Nagel. His dissertation was later published under the title 'The Biological Basis of Teleological Concepts'.

Binswanger taught philosophy at Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY) from 1972 to 1979, as well as at other New York educational institutions and the University of Texas, Austin for one semester in 2002. Since 1997, he has been the head of the HBL email discussion group, which focuses on Objectivism. He has also lectured on Objectivist philosophy at 30 different universities, traveling across the United States, Canada, and other countries. His television appearances include 'The Glenn Beck Show', 'Geraldo at Large', C-SPAN, and CNBC's 'On the Money'. Binswanger can also be seen in the Oscar-nominated documentary film 'Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life' by Michael Paxton.

Early Life and Education

Harry Binswanger was born in 1944 in Richmond, Virginia, where he grew up. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he played a significant role in establishing the student group 'Radicals for Capitalism'. In 1973, he earned a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Columbia University. Binswanger became a close friend of Ayn Rand, and all of his subsequent works were done in the best traditions of Objectivism.

Contributions to Objectivism

Binswanger served as the editor for the second edition of Rand's book 'Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology', which was published in 1990 after her death. This book is popular for those studying Objectivism. Together with Rand, Binswanger compiled the mini-encyclopedia 'The Ayn Rand Lexicon', in which Rand discusses about 400 topics in philosophy. The encyclopedia is now available online. His own book, 'The Biological Basis of Teleological Concepts', was published in 1990. Since then, Binswanger has taught courses on the evolving theory of Objectivism, covering metaphysics, philosophy of consciousness, and philosophy of science. He introduced his audience to works such as 'Free Will', 'Abstractions from Abstractions', 'The Metaphysics of Consciousness', 'Consciousness as Identification', 'Psycho-Epistemology', and others.

Editorial Work and Current Activities

From 1980 to 1987, Binswanger published his works and engaged in editorial activities for 'The Objectivist Forum', a bi-monthly journal. Subsequently, he published a collection of his works in hardcover. Currently, Harry serves on the board of directors of the Ayn Rand Institute and is a professor at the Objectivist Academic Center. He also moderates and regularly contributes to the email discussion group called 'The Harry Binswanger List'.

Political Views

Binswanger is considered an 'orthodox' Objectivist due to his adherence to the ideas of his mentor, Ayn Rand, whom he regards as a 'genius born once in a millennium'. Binswanger is a proponent of fully open immigration. In response to concerns about terrorists exploiting immigration to the United States, he argued that instead of imposing restrictions, the United States should engage in a comprehensive offensive war to end all regimes that support terrorism. For a long time, he has called for an immediate regime change in Iran, which he believes is the driving force behind the Islamic terrorist movement.