I am delighted to have published a new scientific paper in The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies titled Life Is Not a Machine or a Ghost: The Naturalistic Origin of Life’s Organization and Goal-Directedness, Consciousness, Free Will, and Meaning. From the Abstract Due to a widespread belief in mechano-reductionism, most intellectuals reject the idea that … Continue reading "New Scientific Paper: Life Is Not a Machine or a Ghost"| Marsha Familaro Enright
The following article was originally published October 21, 2022 on the American Thinker website. View it here. Before the devastating psychological effects of the COVID lockdowns, the U.S. faced a frightening rise in drug addiction, with youth suicide becoming the second-leading cause of death among people aged 15–20 in the U.S., and suicide in children quadrupling from 2007 … Continue reading "What Vision Do Young People Need?"| Marsha Familaro Enright
The following article was originally published in Law & Liberty. View it here. At a tumultuous time in history, with too many parallels to our own, an astonishing drama unfolded. Amidst a raging civil war in 1939 Spain, Maria Montessori anxiously waited with her grandchildren on the second floor of their house in Barcelona as … Continue reading "The Ordered Liberty of Montessori Education"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Thanks to Larry J. Sechrest for a very thought-provoking article, “Rand, Anarchy and Taxes.” I thoroughly enjoyed both the facts he discussed and the analysis he offered. However, his point that Murray Franck “almost seems to think it self-evident that civilized societies must have governments” (Sechrest 1999, 100) made me realize that my reaction is … Continue reading "Reply to Sechrest: On the Origins of Government"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Many, many people across the political spectrum are concerned about the dire state of government schools today. Not only are too many students arriving at college illiterate, innumerate, and ignorant, but many have had to survive a dangerous and destructive time in government schools. Free society advocates argue that a market solution—thriving competition—is the key … Continue reading "I Run a Private School, and I’m Against School Vouchers"| Marsha Familaro Enright
The following article was originally published by The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal. View it here. Collectivists of many stripes—but one aim—have been eating away at our free society for over one hundred years. If we want to reverse America’s current slide into authoritarianism and actively move towards a fully free society, we … Continue reading "To Restore American Liberty, We Need Colleges that Actually Teach the Liberal Arts"| Marsha Familaro Enright
This article was originally published by The Chalkboard Review. View it here. Collectivists of many stripes—but one aim—have been eating away at our free society for over 100 years. If we want to reverse America’s slide into authoritarianism and move towards a free society, we need to be as clear about our goals as the … Continue reading "Why the U.S. Needs New Colleges"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Please go to this link to read this article in Portuguese.| Marsha Familaro Enright
Please go to this link to read this article in Portuguese.| Marsha Familaro Enright
Please go to this link to read this article in Portuguese.| Marsha Familaro Enright
Many have asked me to listen to an example of a Great Connections seminar discussion. Here is a recording of a discussion about Ayn Rand’s article “Altruism As Appeasement.“| Marsha Familaro Enright
Una discusión colaborativa guiada Empieza “con una pregunta, los participantes deben tener el texto asignado en sus mentes y en la mesa en frente de ellos, las alocuciones deben ser educadas y receptivas, todos deben participar y respaldar sus opiniones razonadamente. El resto se desarrolla como conversaciones vivas”. Paráfrasis de Michael Strong de la descripción … Continue reading "Principios de discusión para una conversación de seminario de The Great Connections"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Principles of Discussion for a Great Connections Seminar Conversation A Collaborative, Guided Discussion Begin “with a question, participants must have the assigned text in their minds and on the table in front of them, address is polite and responsive, all should participate and support their opinions with argument. The rest develops as living … Continue reading "Principles of Discussion of a Great Connections Seminar"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Austrian economist Bob Murphy talked to Marsha Familaro Enright about the reasons for her opposition to school vouchers, even though she founded, and ran the private Council Oak Montessori School for 27 years. Enright warns that they will ruin the independence of private schools. Enright also describes her work towards creating optimal higher education using … Continue reading "Austrian Economist Bob Murphy Interviews Marsha Familaro Enright on School Vouchers"| Marsha Familaro Enright
This piece was originally published by Real Clear Markets on May 15, 2019. For decades, leftists have championed socialism while ignoring its mountains of skulls, from Russia to Venezuela. They dismiss The Black Book of Communism, a careful tally of the 60-plus million deaths resulting from the deliberate actions of socialist regimes. Some socialist-leaning people … Continue reading "Capitalism is the Crucial Protector of the Smallest Minority"| Marsha Familaro Enright
I have loved the sculpture of the ancient Greeks since I first saw it in a book, at the age of 12. That’s when I read the Greek myths and knew I had found my religion. The worship of Man. On Friday, June 30, 2018 with delightful friends in tow, I made a pilgrimage to … Continue reading "We Need Art To Deify The Greats Of Capitalism"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Scott Hambrick, founder of Online Great Books, discusses education, meeting Ayn Rand, and a new course to help participants read more easily in the Online Great Books courses with Marsha in his podcast here.| Marsha Familaro Enright
Marsha Familaro Enright Interview – Schools for Individualists In this 2007 interview by Sara Pentz in The New Individualist (link above), Ms. Enright explains fundamentals of excellent education, the ingenious ways the Montessori Method gives students what they need, how we arrived at the dismal state of education we have today, the dire effects of … Continue reading "Schools for Individualists – Montessori’s Methods and Today’s Problems"| Marsha Familaro Enright
by Marsha Familaro Enright Abstract Ayn Rand argued that “selfish” is the correct designation for a person living according to the Objectivist Ethics, that selfishness is a virtue. The accuracy of this claim is examined along with the meaning of “selfish,” the wider implications for the Objectivist Ethics, and ethics in general. Alternatives to the … Continue reading "The Problem With Selfishness"| Marsha Familaro Enright
“Liberating Education” by Marsha Familaro Enright, is the final chapter in Common Ground On Common Core. This chapter discusses the history of education in the U.S. since the time of the Pilgrims, and what education would like in a fully free society and laissez-faire market. Click on the link to read the PDF of this … Continue reading "Liberating Education – What Education Would Be Like In A Fully Free Society"| Marsha Familaro Enright
For most of man’s existence on Earth, the universe has been anything but benevolent. Famines, floods, and earthquakes have destroyed whole populations. The plague ravaged Europe during the Middle Ages. Even in the nineteenth century, two out of three people died as children. On the frontier, starvation was not that uncommon after a long winter … Continue reading "The Habit of Hope"| Marsha Familaro Enright
by Rachel Davison Oak Farm Montessori School and Marsha Familaro Enright* The Reason, Individualism, Freedom Institute Teaching Freedom Illustrations Abstract Free Enterprise educators are urged to examine their educational principles and align their classroom practice with their advocacy of liberty by providing a classroom environment that develops the virtues as well as the ideas needed … Continue reading "Teaching Freedom: Incorporating the Principles of a Free Society into Pedagogy"| Marsha Familaro Enright
By Marsha Familaro Enright President, The Reason, Individualism, Freedom Institute, sponsor of The Great Connections Program The Economic Stage is Set In recent decades, the creative destruction of capitalism has changed the face of the U.S. economy, destroying many former giants of industry like TWA and Montgomery Wards, integrating others into colossal conglomerates, like GE. … Continue reading "Flourishing Through Education in the Creative Destruction of Capitalism: The Science and Educa...| Marsha Familaro Enright
by Marsha Familaro Enright, July 2013 for The Great Connections Seminar Introspection as Freedom To be able to make truly free choices, we need to know ourselves, be in control of ourselves, and to protect ourselves from the control and influence of others so that we can make the best, most objective, most life-advancing decisions … Continue reading "The Psychology and Practice of Introspection"| Marsha Familaro Enright
By Marsha Familaro Enright Originally published in Free Voices, Spring 2013 One hundred and thirty two years ago last August in Chiaravalle, on the northeast coast of Italy, a baby girl was born who became the founder of a liberation movement: the liberation of children. Her work ignited interest around the world and is controversial … Continue reading "Maria Montessori: The Liberator of Children"| Marsha Familaro Enright
By Marsha Enright Winter 2010 — If you’re familiar with two- to five-year-old children, then you understand what Aristotle meant when he said “All men, by nature, desire to know.” Very little will stop the young child from exploring the world and trying to learn—sometimes to the exasperation of parents! The young child who turns … Continue reading "Education for a New Enlightenment"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Tom Wolfe, American Iconoclast by Marsha Familaro Enright Originally published in The New Individualist, Fall, 2006 Tom Wolfe is one of the most original, honest and unfettered contemporary observers of American culture alive today. Originator of the New Journalism in the ‘60’s, Wolfe’s fiction-like forays in reporting have kept him at the leading edge … Continue reading "Tom Wolfe, American Iconoclast"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Written by Ronald Merrill and Marsha Familaro Enright, and edited by Enright, Ayn Rand Explained is now available at Open Court Books, Amazon, on Kindle, and in bookstores everywhere. Ayn Rand and her ideas are in the news more than ever – 50+ years after her magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged, was published. What’s driving this … Continue reading "Ayn Rand Explained: From Tyranny to Tea Party"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Thoughts from an expert teacher by Marsha Familaro Enright Very, very often when I tell people about our project to open a new college program, their first question is: “Will it be online?” And they have good reasons to expect that it would be: online is vastly cheaper than in-person teaching and it can reach … Continue reading "What’s Wrong With Distance Learning"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Education As If Individuals Matter Jerry Kirkpatrick, Montessori, Dewey, and Capitalism: Educational Theory for a Free Market in Education (Claremont, CA: TLJ Books, 2008), 212 pages, $18.95 Reviewed by Marsha Familaro Enright Jerry Kirkpatrick, a professor of International Business and Marketing at California Polytechnic Institute, has come out with another book applying his passion for … Continue reading "Review of Montessori, Dewey, and Capitalism: Educational Theory for a Free Market in...| Marsha Familaro Enright
by Marsha Familaro Enright SOCRATIC SEMINARS are a method of teaching, which, if properly implemented, foster independence, develop excellent reasoning skills, and nurture a sense of the rightness of individual liberty. These seminars significantly increase the participants’ abilities to think for themselves. The term “Socratic Seminar” is used variously, but the following describes the kind I … Continue reading "Socratic Seminars: Learning to think first-hand: Revised 1-27-13"| Marsha Familaro Enright
This film celebrates the productive virtue, passion, creativity, and heroism of entrepreneurs around the globe. By Marsha Familaro Enright The New Individualist, Jan/Feb 2008 — This past September, I was thrilled to see The Call of the Entrepreneur, a new documentary by The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, headed by Roman … Continue reading "The Call of the Entrepreneur"| Marsha Familaro Enright
By Marsha Enright and Gen LaGreca 11:32 AM 09/15/2011 Constitution Day (September 17) commemorates the 1787 signing of the document that established the United States of America. But like the victim of a terrible accident, the government that was formed that historic day in Philadelphia is hardly recognizable today, and the heart that propelled it … Continue reading "James Madison Was Right About Property Rights"| Marsha Familaro Enright
As September 11th approaches, Americans remember the morning in 2001 when the World Trade Center turned to rubble. It is a fitting time to consider the nature of the civilizations that collided that day—and how to defend ours. In their quest to establish a worldwide caliphate, radical Islamists invoke morality, claiming they have God’s sanction … Continue reading "Defending Western Civilization"| Marsha Familaro Enright
On a spring day in 1743, a towering figure in our country’s founding was born: Thomas Jefferson. His skillful hand carved much of the character of America. Today, however, what Jefferson so painstakingly crafted lies pulverized almost to stone dust. Were he alive to celebrate his birthday this April 13, instead of sipping champagne, he … Continue reading "A Sad Birthday for Jefferson by Gen LaGreca and Marsha Familaro Enright"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Addressing a joint session of Congress on health care, President Barack Obama reiterated his often-expressed aversion to the profit motive: “[B]y avoiding some of the overhead that gets eaten up at private [health insurance] companies by profits and excessive costs and executive salaries, [the public insurance option] could provide a good deal for consumers, and … Continue reading "A lesson in profit by Gen LaGreca and Marsha Familaro Enright"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Capitalism has brought more wealth to more people than any other system in history. In those countries that have adopted capitalism, the standard of living since the Industrial Revolution has far outstripped all the growth of the previous millenia. Yet capitalism is often reviled as evil or, at the best, amoral. What are the facts? … Continue reading "The Morality of Capitalism"| Marsha Familaro Enright
It’s been a year since Stephen Moore’s article, “Atlas Shrugged: from Fiction to Fact in 52 Years,”seemed to ignite an explosion of interest in Ayn Rand. Sales of this prescient novel tripled; two Rand biographies have been selling like hotcakes; and references to her in the media have skyrocketed. Yet, some free-market defenders continue to … Continue reading "Can the free market be saved without Ayn Rand?"| Marsha Familaro Enright
College students today face an ideological onslaught from educators who are more concerned with creating “good citizens” than teaching them real knowledge. And it’s time for a new approach. I’m running a program for high school and college students this summer because of a first grade perplexity — and Ayn Rand. When I was kid … Continue reading "Students Need Mental Ammunition"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Ken Follett’s novels are not only inspiring and well-written, but also reveal thematic and stylistic choices similar to those in Ayn Rand’s novels. Could it be more than a coincidence? I became hooked on British author Ken Follett through his most famous novel, The Eye of the Needle. It’s the gripping World War II story of a … Continue reading "Did Ayn Rand Influence Ken Follett?"| Marsha Familaro Enright
“I came here with no friends, an old typewriter, and look what I achieved. It would have been impossible to achieve this in England.” So said James Clavell, an Australian immigrant to America who learned the fundamentals of the American outlook on life in a horrific Japanese prisoner of war camp. In over four decades … Continue reading "James Clavell’s Asian Adventures"| Marsha Familaro Enright
originally published in Montessori Leadership “Help me to do it myself,” self-responsibility, peace: these are fundamentals of the Montessori philosophy. How many of you know that another, highly influential thinker with these same beliefs has had a huge influence on the Montessori movement: Ayn Rand? Today, there are thousands of parents, teachers and heads of school … Continue reading "A little recognized influence on the Montessori Movement by Marsha Familaro Enright"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Imagine a novel whose mysterious main character you do not meet until page 236. He is reviled by some for his greed and destructiveness, revered by others for his generosity and remarkable creativity. The plot revolves around discovering who he is and what he stands for. Toward the end of the story, he makes a … Continue reading "Hawley’s Heroes and the Romance of Business"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Marsha Familaro Enright has been attracted by the pleasures and problems of education since the third grade. Trained in biology and psychology, she has written research articles on psychology, neuropsychology, development, and education for a number of publications. She founded the Council Oak Montessori School near Chicago in 1990 and has served as its president … Continue reading "Schools for Individualists: TNI’s exclusive interview with Marsha Enright, by Sara Pentz"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Can’t find anything good on television today? Step into the world of an honest-to-goodness cowboy hero, where the outlaws get caught and good always triumphs over evil. Imagine a gunfighter with a strategic intelligence akin to General MacArthur, the ability to quote Pliny and Aristotle knowledgeably, the sensitivity of a poet, the physical skill of … Continue reading "Old-Style Heroism in ‘Have Gun, Will Travel’"| Marsha Familaro Enright
I recently came back from teaching 15 and 16 year old boys at Camp Indecon and one of my best classes centered around the 1997 movie, The Edge. We intensely discussed the film’s story and characters, and the meaning of many scenes of dialogue. This film features an amazing hero and my campers wanted to … Continue reading "The Edge: Features a One of a Kind Movie Hero"| Marsha Familaro Enright
When I was in grammar school in the late ‘50’s, I loved school. I eagerly looked forward to learning every day. But by the time I was eight I noticed this wasn’t true for everyone. No. In fact, many, many of the other children were confused or defiant or scared or just plain bored. I could … Continue reading "The Montessori Way, by Tim Seldin and Paul Epstein"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Philosophy & Psychology If “Emotions Are Not Tools of Cognition,” What Are They?: An Exploration of the Relationship Between Reason and Emotion Marsha Familaro Enright A Conversation with Ayn Rand “Emotions are not tools of cognition,” Ayn Rand said on more than one occasion (1961, 55; 1964, 6; 1974, 6). An emotion as such … Continue reading "If Emotions Aren’t Tools of Cognition, what are they?"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Q: How did the ideas of Ayn Rand impact your life? Marsha: I read through Atlas the summer following The Fountainhead, and all the books and essays I could get my hands on after that, over the next few years. This included Nathaniel Branden’s The Psychology of Self-Esteem, which greatly influenced my thinking in psychology, … Continue reading "Interview with Marsha Enright by Karen Minto, Full Context, Vol. 12, No. 1"| Marsha Familaro Enright
(Christmas carols celebrate the Nativity as being, above all else, an event that brings hope to mankind. “O Holy Night,” one of the most beautiful carols, makes the point explicitly: “a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.” But I suspect that Christmas is not unique among … Continue reading "The Habit of Hope"| Marsha Familaro Enright
In the following, I plan to summarize the essence of Binswanger’s argument on goal-causation, and then expand on the issues he brings up and discuss any problems or objections I have with his arguments. Time has not permitted me to be as complete and persuasive in my objections as I might like – I only … Continue reading "The Biological Basis of Teleological Causation, Chapter 6 Goal-Causation, Harry Binswanger – by Marsha Enright"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Music is an art without an apparent object – there are no scenes to look at, no sculptured marbles to touch, no stories to follow – and yet it can cause some of the most passionate and intense feelings possible. How does this happen – how can sounds from resonant bodies produce emotion (1) in … Continue reading "CON MOLTO SENTIMENTO: On the Evolutionary Biology and Neuropsychology of Music"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Navigator: Perhaps you could begin by telling us something of the history of the New Intellectual Forum. Who started it, and when? Enright: In 1985, a listing in The Objectivist Forum led me to contact Mike McCarthy of the Chicagoland Objectivist Principles Organization (COPO). My husband John and I began going to meetings of COPO at … Continue reading "Interview: How to Run an Objectivist Salon"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Revised August 1997 Formerly a psychotherapist, Marsha Enright, co-founded the Council Oak Montessori School (elementary level) in 1990, of which she is the president and administrator. Another cofounder of the school and its corporate secretary, Doris Cox, currently teaches middle school children at Council Oak. The education of the human child is of profound importance … Continue reading "Foundations Study Guide: Montessori Education"| Marsha Familaro Enright
Originally published in Objectivity, Volume 1, Number 2.| Marsha Familaro Enright
The following article was originally published October 21, 2022 on the American Thinker website. View it here.| marsha-familaro-enright.com
University Education As It Might Be and Ought to Be| Marsha Familaro Enright