We’re deeply saddened to inform our friends of the death of Frank Bubb. Frank was a Founding Member of The Atlas Society, and, from 2003 to 2010, a member of its Board of Trustees. On November 8th he lost his five-year battle with Young Onset Alzheimer's Disease.
Frank was a corporate attorney, chiefly with the Scott Paper Company in Philadelphia, where he rose to become Staff VP and Chief Financial Counsel. In the mid-1990s, he survived a radical restructuring by CEO "Chainsaw" Al Dunlop, and moved with the company to Boca Raton. From 1996 to his retirement in 2003, he was Senior VP and General Counsel for The Sports Authority retail chain, where he was responsible for its legal affairs. He was an expert in securities law, corporate governance, and employee compensation and benefits, among other areas.
From his college days Frank was an activist for liberty. As an undergraduate at Washington University, he founded an Objectivist discussion group and wrote a weekly column for the campus newspaper, a practice he continued at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he also taught courses on Objectivism. Despite the pressures of his legal work, he found time to write scores of op-ed articles for newspapers nationwide.
Frank was truly a man of the mind. He was a friend, advisor, and comrade for over a quarter century.
Frank was actively involved in the life of our organization from the very beginning, as a donor, advisor, speaker, and writer as well as trustee. He had a special interest in our research and student programs. After I launched what was then the Institute for Objectivist Studies in early 1990, I wanted to hold a weeklong seminar for students that summer, but we lacked the funds.
Frank asked what we needed; his check allowed us to hold the first Summer Seminar. He was instrumental in our Objectivist Studies monograph series, providing seed money and advice on topics and authors. He wrote several great articles for our former publication Navigator, including a cautionary article about certain plans for privatizing Social Security, based on his intimate knowledge of pension and investment law. (See below for examples.)
"Frank and I served together on the Atlas Society Board for many years," says Jay Lapeyre, board chair. "Frank often stood alone in pushing an issue or a perspective, and I learned to appreciate both the wisdom of his insights and his intense commitment to understand and integrate the ideas. He sought truth in every discussion, and he was quick to volunteer his time and financial support when he believed he could make a difference. Frank brought a special passion for ideas and research, and he strongly advocated for expanded student programs."
Frank was truly a man of the mind. He was a friend, advisor, and comrade for over a quarter century. We have lost another great one. The staff and board of The Atlas Society extend our sincerest condolences to Frank's wife, Diana, and their sons, Daniel and David.
A Memorial Celebration of his life will take place at the Springhaven Club, Wallingford, PA, on January 5, 2013, at 11:30 AM.
Articles by Frank Bubb:
How Price Gouging Laws Make Hurricanes Worse
The Hidden Danger Of Social Security Privatization And How To Avoid It
Objectivist Studies monographs:
Rationality and the Psychology of Abstraction by Kenneth Livingston
Evidence and Justification by David Kelley
Reason and Value: Aristotle versus Rand by Roderick T. Long et al.
Is Virtue Only a Means to Happiness? by Neera K. Badhwar et al.
A Theory of Abstraction by David Kelley
David Kelley é o fundador da The Atlas Society. Filósofo profissional, professor e autor best-seller, tem sido um dos principais defensores do Objectivismo durante mais de 25 anos.
David Kelley founded The Atlas Society (TAS) in 1990 and served as Executive Director through 2016. In addition, as Chief Intellectual Officer, he was responsible for overseeing the content produced by the organization: articles, videos, talks at conferences, etc.. Retired from TAS in 2018, he remains active in TAS projects and continues to serve on the Board of Trustees.
Kelley é um filósofo, professor e escritor profissional. Após ter obtido um doutoramento em filosofia pela Universidade de Princeton em 1975, entrou para o departamento de filosofia da Faculdade de Vassar, onde leccionou uma grande variedade de cursos a todos os níveis. Também ensinou filosofia na Universidade Brandeis e leccionou frequentemente em outros campi.
Os escritos filosóficos de Kelley incluem obras originais em ética, epistemologia e política, muitas delas desenvolvendo ideias objectivistas em nova profundidade e novas direcções. Ele é o autor de A Evidência dos Sentidos, um tratado de epistemologia; Verdade e Tolerância no Objectivismo, sobre questões do movimento Objectivista; Individualismo sem robustez: A Base Egoísta da Benevolência; e A Arte da Raciocínio, um manual de lógica introdutória amplamente utilizado, agora na sua 5ª edição.
Kelley deu palestras e publicou sobre uma vasta gama de tópicos políticos e culturais. Os seus artigos sobre questões sociais e políticas públicas apareceram em Harpers, The Sciences, Reason, Harvard Business Review, The Freeman, On Principle, e noutros locais. Durante a década de 1980, escreveu frequentemente para a Barrons Financial and Business Magazine sobre questões como o igualitarismo, imigração, leis de salário mínimo, e Segurança Social.
O seu livro Uma Vida Própria: Direitos Individuais e o Estado Providência é uma crítica às premissas morais do Estado social e à defesa de alternativas privadas que preservam a autonomia, a responsabilidade e a dignidade individuais. A sua aparição no ABC/TV especial "Ganância" de John Stossel, em 1998, suscitou um debate nacional sobre a ética do capitalismo.
Especialista reconhecido internacionalmente em Objectivismo, deu amplas palestras sobre Ayn Rand, as suas ideias, e as suas obras. Foi consultor para a adaptação cinematográfica de Atlas Encolhidoe editor de Atlas Encolhido: O Romance, os Filmes, a Filosofia.
"Conceitos e Natureza: A Commentary on The Realist Turn (de Douglas B. Rasmussen e Douglas J. Den Uyl)", Reason Papers 42, no. 1, (Verão 2021); Esta crítica de um livro recente inclui um mergulho profundo na ontologia e epistemologia dos conceitos.
As Fundações do Conhecimento. Seis palestras sobre a epistemologia Objectivista.
"The Primacy of Existence" e "The Epistemology of Perception", The Jefferson School, San Diego, Julho de 1985
"Universals and Induction", duas conferências nas conferências da GKRH, Dallas e Ann Arbor, Março de 1989
"Cepticismo", Universidade de York, Toronto, 1987
"The Nature of Free Will", duas conferências no The Portland Institute, Outubro de 1986
"The Party of Modernity", Cato Policy Report, Maio/Junho de 2003; e Navigator, Nov 2003; Um artigo amplamente citado sobre as divisões culturais entre os pontos de vista pré-modernos, modernos (Iluminismo) e pós-modernos.
"I Don't Have To"(IOS Journal, Volume 6, Número 1, Abril de 1996) e "I Can and I Will"(The New Individualist, Outono/Inverno 2011); peças de acompanhamento para tornar real o controlo que temos sobre as nossas vidas como indivíduos.