Theories
For many years, Ahlgren delved deep into the connections between disparate philosophies and methods of thought. He lists as some of his biggest influences people like Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Hobbes, John Stuart Mill, Sir Karl Popper, David Deutsch, Thomas Kuhn, F.A. Hayek, Warren Buffett, Philip Fisher, and Ludwig von Mises. Ahlgren's experiences, interests, and research into fields as seemingly far apart as cryptography, computer science, programming, economics, finance, value investing, humanistic epistemology, quantum physics, and eastern mysticism – most notably Taoism and Buddhism – provided the foundations for his book Discipline, which is a confluence of his many passions. Certainly the book displays (if only subtly) his deep enthusiasm for knowledge – especially science and mathematics, as they relate to philosophy and religion.
Ahlgren is a self-professed libertarian, and closely aligns himself with the philosophies of such contemporaries as Ron Paul, Rand Paul, Peter Schiff, and Jimmy Rogers. Ahlgren is also a student of the philosophy of Ayn Rand – known as Objectivism. While he still admits to be an admirer of Rand's, he has largely dismissed the foundations of her philosophy as flawed at the most basic level.
Read more about this topic: Paco Ahlgren
Famous quotes containing the word theories:
“The two most far-reaching critical theories at the beginning of the latest phase of industrial society were those of Marx and Freud. Marx showed the moving powers and the conflicts in the social-historical process. Freud aimed at the critical uncovering of the inner conflicts. Both worked for the liberation of man, even though Marx’s concept was more comprehensive and less time-bound than Freud’s.”
—Erich Fromm (1900–1980)
“The real trouble about women is that they must always go on trying to adapt themselves to men’s theories of women, as they always have done. When a woman is thoroughly herself, she is being what her type of man wants her to be. When a woman is hysterical it’s because she doesn’t quite know what to be, which pattern to follow, which man’s picture of woman to live up to.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“Philosophers of science constantly discuss theories and representation of reality, but say almost nothing about experiment, technology, or the use of knowledge to alter the world. This is odd, because ‘experimental method’ used to be just another name for scientific method.... I hope [to] initiate a Back-to-Bacon movement, in which we attend more seriously to experimental science. Experimentation has a life of its own.”
—Ian Hacking (b. 1936)