For the producer of the same name, see David E. Kelley.

David Kelley (born 1949 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American philosopher and author. He is best known for his advocacy on behalf of Objectivism. He is founder and executive director of the Atlas Society (part of The Objectivist Center, originally called the Institute for Objectivist Studies). He lives near Poughkeepsie, New York.

Education and early career

Kelley is trained as a philosopher: He received his BA and MA in philosophy from Brown University, where he studied with the American rationalist, Roderick Chisholm. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton University, where his advisor was the American postmodernist Richard Rorty. He taught philosophy and cognitive science for 7 years at Vassar College, where he was denied tenure. He then embarked on a career as a writer for Barron's Magazine, later to devote himself to the leadership of the Atlas Society.

Kelley's books cover a variety of subjects within philosophy. With Roger Donway, he co-authored "Laissez Parler: Freedom in the Electronic Media", a critique of government regulation. Kelley now writes mostly on politics and current events.

Objectivism "open" faction

Objectivism, as led by Leonard Peikoff's Ayn Rand Institute, declared Objectivism to be a "closed system" containing only the works written or sanctioned by Rand during her lifetime. According to Kelley, Objectivist orthodoxy holds that cognitive error is the result of dishonesty or ignorance and therefore must be condemned and never sanctioned. This characterization is disputed by Peikoff and his supporters.

In 1989, Kelley set out in a pamphlet his critique of the orthodox Objectivist movement. The pamphlet was titled "Truth and Toleration" (later republished as the book The Contested Legacy of Ayn Rand). It declared Objectivism to be an "open system" amenable to revision and addition. He held that cognitive error can result from many factors and need not involve moral culpability. This critique subsequently split the movement into two factions. This split led to Kelley founding the Institute for Objectivist Studies (now the Atlas Society), a non-profit dedicated to cultural advocacy on behalf of "reason, individualism, achievement, and capitalism".

Some who subscribe to Kelley's brand of open-system Objectivism call themselves "Neo-objectivists" (though Kelley does not use this term).

Selected books

Subjects covered:

• epistemology - The Evidence of the Senses: A Realist Theory of Perception (1986) ISBN 0807114766
• logic - The Art of Reasoning (1988) ISBN 0393972135
• ethics - Unrugged Individualism: The Selfish Basis of Benevolence (1996) ISBN 1577240669
• politics - A Life of One's Own : Individual Rights and the Welfare State (1998) ISBN 188257771X
• The Contested Legacy of Ayn Rand : Truth and Toleration in Objectivism (2000) ISBN 0765800608

External links

• David Kelley Publications and Professional Experience
• The Atlas Society / The Objectivist Center
• David Kelley's works at the The Objectivism Store
• The David Kelley Corner at Objectivist Living

1949 births | American philosophers | Living people | Objectivism scholars | Objectivists