Stefan Molyneux

Stefan Basil Molyneux
File:Stefan Molyneux photo.jpg Molyneux in 2014
Born	(1966-09-24) 24 September 1966 Athlone, Ireland
School	voluntaryism
Main interests	libertarianism, secular ethics, moral universalism, strong atheism

Stefan Basil Molyneux (/stɛˈfɑːn ˈmɑːlɪnjuː/; born 24 September 1966) is a Canadian philosopher, author, speaker, and host of the Freedomain Radio website. Among the topics that have been discussed there are libertarian political philosophy, voluntaryism based on the strict application of the non-aggression principle, secular ethics, strong atheism, cryptocurrency (Bitcoin), history, non-violent parenting, and familial relationship issues. Molyneux has spoken at various political and technology conferences and has discussed his views as a guest on television, radio, and podcasts. He has self-published eight non-fiction books, and his essays have been published on popular libertarian websites including LewRockwell.com, antiwar.com, and Strike The Root. Jeffrey Tucker of the Ludwig von Mises Institute described Molyneux as "one of the single most influential libertarian thinkers of our times".

Biography

Molyneux was born in Ireland, but grew up in England and Africa before settling in Canada.

After attending the Glendon College of York University, where he was a member of Theatre Glendon and the Debating Society, he spent two years at the National Theatre School of Canada graduating in 1990. Molyneux went on to acquire a B.A. in History from McGill University in 1991 and an M.A. in History, focusing on the history of philosophy, from University of Toronto in 1993. His thesis analyzed the political implications of works by Immanuel Kant, G.W.F. Hegel, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke.

In early 1995, Stefan returned to programming, which he had enjoyed as a teenager. He and his brother Hugh Molyneux founded Caribou Systems Corporation, which specialized in environmental site management software. He held the position of Chief Technology Officer in the Willowdale, Toronto company until it was sold in 2000.

Molyneux's first fiction book Revolutions, set in late 19th century Russia, was completed in 1991 but not published until 2002 by an American publisher after a decade-long search for one in Canada. In 2002, Molyneux graduated from the Humber School for Writers where he completed a fiction book The God Of Atheists. His play Seduction (adapted from Turgenev's Fathers and Sons) appeared on stage in Toronto. His short film, After, has aired on CBC and WTN.

In 2013, Molyneux was diagnosed with lymphoma, from which he has recovered. He was treated at the Surgery Center of Oklahoma.

Career

Freedomain Radio

In 2005, Molyneux began a podcast called Freedomain Radio ("FDR"), which became a Top 10 Finalist in the 2007 and 2008 Podcast Awards in the Education category. Molyneux calls it "the most popular philosophy site in the world."

Shortly after starting the Freedomain Radio podcast, Molyneux opened a website under that name as a place to distribute his self-published books, and act as a community for FDR listeners. Audio versions of FDR content are published as podcasts and hosted on the site. He also conducts weekly call-in shows where listeners can ask questions or discuss personal issues. The site is funded by direct listener donations, which Molyneux says give him immediate feedback as to is content.

On the FDR show, Molyneux has interviewed and debated experts on topics relating to education, philosophy, psychology, politics, and economics. Notable guests include Noam Chomsky, Zeitgeist founder Peter Joseph, psychological development and addition specialist Dr. Gabor Maté, developmental psychologist Dr. Alison Gopnik, Harvard economics professor and Cato Institute fellow Jeffrey Miron, and Divorce Corp director Joseph Sorge.

Public appearances

Speaking at The Next Web 2014

Molyneux is a frequent guest speaker at libertarian conferences and events. He spoke at FreedomFest in Las Vegas in 2012, and was emcee of LibertyFest West held in Odessa, TX on February 11, 2012.

Molyneux has appeared on television, radio, and other podcasts to discuss his viewpoints and popular videos. He has been a commentator on RT television programs Adam vs The Man, The Keiser Report, and Breaking the Set. He's been interviewed by ReasonTV and The Alex Jones Show. Molyneux has been a frequent guest host of the Peter Schiff Show since 2012, and has been both a guest and guest host of The Corbett Report. He has appeared twice as a featured guest on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

In 2014, Molyneux debated drug legalization at Upper Canada College's World Affairs Conference. He also began a series of appearances advocating the use of Bitcoin for political change. He spoke at the Texas Bitcoin Conference, the Bitcoin Expo 2014 in Toronto, and The Next Web Conference in Amsterdam.

Philosophical views

Dispute resolution organizations

In 2005, Molyneux's essay The Stateless Society: An Examination of Alternatives was re-published by the libertarian website LewRockwell.com. In it, Molyneux describes his concept of dispute resolution organizations ("DROs") which combine some of the qualities of insurance companies, credit agencies, and personal defense.

Universally Preferable Behaviour

In his 2007 book Universally Preferable Behaviour: A Rational Proof for Secular Ethics, Molyneux describes his approach for evaluating the validity of moral theories using logic and empiricism, comparing it to the use of the scientific method to prove physical theories. He proposes that if any moral statement lacks internal consistency by having flawed or self-contradictory structure, or if it can be shown to conflict with the rules of logic, it can be dismissed without further examination. The moral statement is then investigated for external consistency, by confirming that it adheres to observable evidence and arrives at the correct result for cases generally accepted as immoral, such as rape, murder, and theft. "Universally preferable behaviours", then, are the actions of people that comply with the universal moral statements that are objectively derived in this process and should be considered binding among people.

In 2012, libertarian philosopher David Gordon did a critical review of the book in The Mises Review, saying, "[h]is arguments [in the book] are often preposterously bad". Gordon documented what he sees as fundamental flaws in philosophical reasoning, though he did praise Molyneux's insights into external verification, agreeing that "[i]f a theory cannot show that a rule that purported to make [rape, murder, and theft] obligatory is ill-formed, the theory should be rejected." Molyneux and Gordon later exchanged responses to the points raised in the review but did not come to agreement on some major issues, particularly that of universality.

Familial relationships

In articles, blog posts, and his books On Truth and Real-Time Relationships, Moylneux explored his view that relationships between all individuals should be entirely voluntary, and that this also extends to familial relationships. He maintains that adult children whose parents or other birth family relations were abusive or neglectful should feel free to disassociate with them entirely if they no longer desire contact. To distinguish between family relationships chosen as adults (such as spousal relationships) and the family that people are born into, Molyneux refers to the childhood family as the "FOO", an acronym of "family of origin" (borrowed from academic psychology).

In 2008, the parents of an 18-year-old Freedomain Radio ("FDR") community member took complaints about these views to several media outlets, claiming that Molyneux s the leader of a "therapy cult", after their son abruptly broke off all contact with the family ("deFOOed"). The son called-in to FDR in the weeks prior to ask about his veganism and his intense disgust towards people that eat meat or are cruel to animals. Molyneux quickly suggested that the source of this disgust was that son had grown up around someone in authority that was cruel to animals. The son confirmed this, describing memories of his father being verbally and physically cruel to the family cat, causing him to feel intimidated by the father, and then described his emotional detachment toward his mother and the rest of his family. The following month, the son left a note stating he no longer wanted contact and left home. A representative of the Cult Information Centre described the situation as "a worrying development", noting that cults often cut people off from their families. Molyneux provided evidence to the media that, of the 50,000 regular listeners, only about 20 FDR members had "deFOOed". Molyneux added: "If I advised a wife to leave an abusive husband, there would not be articles about how I am a cult leader."

Bibliography

Non-fiction

• On Truth: The Tyranny of Illusion (2007)
• Universally Preferable Behaviour: A Rational Proof of Secular Ethics (2007)
• Real-Time Relationships: The Logic of Love (2008)
• Everyday Anarchy: The Freedom of Now (2008)
• Practical Anarchy: The Freedom of the Future (2008)
• How (NOT) to Achieve Freedom (2008)
• Against the Gods? A Concise Guide to Atheism and Agnosticism (2010) (Foreword by Peter Boghossian)
• The Handbook of Human Ownership: A Manual for New Tax Farmers (2011)

Fiction

• Revolutions (PublishAmerica, 2002) ISBN 978-1591294634 OCLC 671025010
• The God of Atheists (2007)
• Seduction – a play adapted from Turgenev's Fathers and Sons

See also

• Nock, Albert Jay (1935). Our Enemy, the State. Laissez Faire Books (published 2012). ISBN 978-1-62129-025-4. (Foreward by Stefan Molyneux)

External links

• Official website – Freedomain Radio