The O’Leary Review Podcast
Guest: Laura Davidson
Laura Davidson – Bio
Laura Davidson is an accomplished author, researcher, and multi-disciplinary thinker who has established herself as an influential figure in the fields of economics, philosophy, and libertarian ethics. Her work, which is characterized by a rigorous approach to complex issues, has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals.
Davidson is a recipient of the prestigious Lawrence Fertig prize in economics from the Ludwig von Mises Institute, which recognizes her outstanding contribution to the field of economics in the Austrian tradition. In addition to her writing, she is a frequent speaker at libertarian and economic research conferences, as well as other venues, where her presentations have been praised for their clarity and originality.
Davidson is a graduate of Oxford University, where she studied earth science and developed an understanding of the natural world and its complexities. Her intellectual curiosity subsequently led to an interest in the social sciences. Through her recent research and writing, she seeks to promote a more integrated and holistic understanding of the world we live in, one that takes account of both the natural and social dimensions of human experience.
While stressing that the social and natural sciences employ very different methodologies, she realizes that they can inform and enrich each other through a shared commitment to logical reasoning. Her work has received widespread recognition, and she continues to be a prominent voice in the ongoing conversation about the intersection of science, philosophy, and economics.
About The Logic of Freedom
Genuine freedom starts with an understanding we have freedom of the will. And yet many present-day scientists and philosophers argue that free will is merely an illusion. Their claim is that the activity of the brain is a purely physical process, analogous to the operation of a computer. But this implies we are mere automatons and cannot be held morally responsible for what we do. Moreover, if human thought and action is strictly deterministic, then this seriously challenges the notion of a genuinely free society by legitimizing the initiation of force and threat of force, particularly by those in positions of power.
This book strongly disagrees with determinism and tackles it head-on. Drawing from studies in consciousness and the philosophy of mind, Davidson presents a logical argument to demonstrate why the human will is inherently free. While acknowledging that our choices are clearly influenced by certain biological instincts, many of which we have inherited from our evolutionary past, she employs fresh insights to show why we alone are the final arbiters of how we act. Unlike animals, which possess a lower form of consciousness, our decisions are not made for us. Her innovative and original ideas are a breakthrough in the discourse on free will, bringing a new perspective to the age-old question of whether or not human beings have real agency.
However, while most people employ their will to cooperate with others, some individuals choose to dominate with force in order to attain power and, under certain conditions, are able to manipulate the masses in a way that leads to tyranny. A crucial aspect of Davidson’s argument is that political control of any kind, including all forms of force and coercion, is inconsistent with our humanity as free and rational beings and with life itself. She demonstrates why a genuinely free society is mankind’s natural destiny and argues that it can ultimately be achieved. Nevertheless, true political freedom of this kind will only occur when the libertarian principle of nonaggression is strictly observed in all areas of life. She reaches startling and thought-provoking conclusions on the relationship between law, personal morality, and society, challenging some of the most basic foundations of modern polity, and ends with addressing perhaps the most important issue of all: the nature of absolute truth, and how an understanding of such truth leads to genuine freedom and happiness.
Laura’s Links
The Logic of Freedom: Free Will, Human Nature, and the Rational Argument for a Genuinely Free World
Podcasts mentioned
The Tom Woods Show – Ep 2308 w/ Laura Davidson
Books and Authors Mentioned
Go to BrianDOLeary.com/bookclub for more…
Origins of Totalitarianism by Hanna Arendt
The Psychology of Totalitarianism by Mattias Desmet
Principle of non-aggression
Aggression – initiation of force against persons or property
The principle asserts that aggression is inherently illegitimate.
This non-aggression principle (The “NAP”) is the basis of most libertarian theory, stemming from John Locke’s idea of self-ownership.
Mencken quote mentioned (June 1923)
From A Mencken Chrestomathy (p. 354)
“There was a time, and it was much less than a century ago, when any man of sound sense and fair education could understand all of the concepts commonly employed in the physical sciences, and even most of those used in the speculative sciences. In medicine, for example, there was nothing beyond the comprehension of the average intelligent layman. But of late that has ceased to be true, to the great damage of the popular respect for knowledge. Only too often, when a physician of today tries to explain to his patient what is the matter with him, he finds it impossible to get the explanation into terms within the patient’s understanding. The latter, if he is intelligent enough, will face the fact of his lack of training without rancor, and content himself with whatever parts of the exposition he can grasp. But that sort of intelligence, unluckily, is rather rare in the world; it is confined, indeed, to men of the sort who are said to have the scientific mind, i.e., a very small minority of men. The average man, finding himself getting beyond his depth, instantly concludes that what lies beyond is simply nonsense.”
Benjamin Franklin
Franklin famously said: “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
Or did he?
Or did he mean what we think he said?
Benjamin Wittes, writing at Lawfare says:
“Very few people who quote these words, however, have any idea where they come from or what Franklin was really saying when he wrote them. That's not altogether surprising, since they are far more often quoted than explained, and the context in which they arose was a political battle of limited resonance to modern readers. Many of Franklin's biographers don't quote them at all, and no text I have found attempts seriously to explain them in context. The result is to get to the bottom of what they meant to Franklin, one has to dig into sources from the 1750s, with the secondary biographical literature giving only a framework guide to the dispute.”
What is Virtue?
The concept as described by Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) in Rhetoric:
“The forms of Virtue are justice, courage, temperance, magnificence, magnanimity, liberality, gentleness, prudence, wisdom.”
— Rhetoric 1366b1
Philo of Alexandria (c. 50 BC – c. 50 AD), a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher, says:
“In these words Moses intends to sketch out the particular virtues. And they also are four in number, prudence, temperance, courage, and justice.”
The Roman philosophy as described by Cicero (106-43 BC):
“Virtue may be defined as a habit of mind (animi) in harmony with reason and the order of nature. It has four parts: wisdom (prudentiam), justice, courage, temperance.”
— De Inventione, II, LIII
Eudaimonia
Also spelled eudaemonia or eudemonia. Laura defines it roughly as “human flourishing.”
According to Aristotle, it was the term for the highest human good.
“Verbally there is a very general agreement; for both the general run of men and people of superior refinement say that it is [eudaimonia], and identify living well and faring well with being happy; but with regard to what [eudaimonia] is they differ, and the many do not give the same account as the wise. For the former think it is some plain and obvious thing like pleasure, wealth or honour...”
Tom Woods 100
One of the goals of this program is to get at least 100 people within the Tom Woods orbit on the podcast. “Tom’s orbit” is loosely defined, but we have somewhere around 80 more to go.
Laura is a fellow member of the Tom Woods School of Life.
WhoIsInTheTomWoodsWorld.com — A page with all my #TomWoods100 conversations.
Fountain.FM
Listen and support us at the same time over at Fountain.FM
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We’ve created a resource page for Laura and her work at briandoleary.com/lauradavidson
Go to BrianDOLeary.com for more information.
The Logic of Freedom - understanding free will