Chicago Objectivists Love Enright's Salon

Marsha Enright's New Intellectual Forum in Chicago is one of the most successful Objectivist salons in the country. The group meets in her home once a month. There are about 75 people on the mailing list and about 20-25 people attend each month.

Enright has been interested in Objectivism since she read The Fountainhead at age 16. She is a trained psychologist and the co-founder of Council Oak Montessori School. She is a regular speaker at The Objectivist Center Summer Seminar and will speak on "Creativity" this year at this year's seminar in Vancouver, British Columbia. Enright has also launched The Fountainhead Institute ^TM. She presents "Ayn Rand's Vision Seminar" through the Institute.

Enright formed the salon formed in 1987. She and her husband John had been attending an Objectivist group that also had many libertarian members. They wanted to found a group that focused more on Objectivist topics, and used Rand's ideas as a starting point. This does not mean that all the participants are professed objectivists, but the salon focuses on Rand's ideas as a basis. The salon was started with a select group of members to attempt to focus the discussion. Over time the group relaxed to allow members who were not hard-core Objectivists.

Enright explained her concept of the New Intellectual Forum in an interview with Roger Donway entitled "How to Run an Objectivist Salon" in the May 1998 edition of Navigator. The interview is available on the TOC website in the "Ideas and Issues" section in the article sub-heading under applications. The interview is an invaluable guide to running a successful salon or discussion group.

There are three parts to a meeting at the New Intellectual Forum. Some of the members meet at a restaurant for dinner. Then they adjourn to Marsha's home where others join them for the presentation and group discussion. Finally there is general discussion and socializing after the formal part of the meeting.

The salon concept works very well. The speaker or discussion leader makes a presentation and presents questions for discussion. Some of the best discussions have ensued when there was very little presentation, but the moderator posed provocative questions. The fact that the most of the events of the evening take place in a private home allows a congenial mood that is not usually present in a restaurant or a public meeting room.

Enright stated her purpose of each night's events in the Navigator interview as follows, "The purpose of the evening is to present ideas, information, and knowledge, often new identifications in Objectivism or other related areas."

Recent salon meetings have included a wide range of topics, with a variety of discussion leaders. Louis James of Free-Market.net did a presentation entitled "Anarcho-Capitalism: What it Is and What it Isn't." Marsha Enright led discussions on "What's More Important: Love or Work?" and "The Theory of Flow and Ayn Rand's Conception of Work." Kate Herrick McHugh interpreted We the Living in her presentation and discussion of "Who is Nobler: Leo or Andrei." Jim Henderson led a discussion on Dr. Steven Pinker's view of BioEthics. Merlin Jetton presented a timely historical view of "The History of Aramco, a Capitalist Adventure" in which he discussed the history and creaton of the Saudi Arabian oil facilities. The group also has a yearly Ayn Rand Birthday party. This year they played the Ayn Rand Trivia game and helped collect questions for John Drake's Summer Seminar Objectivist Trivia night, which will be presented as a fundraiser for Camp Indecon at the Vancouver, B.C. event.

The salon meets on the 3rd Saturday of each month in Chicago. You can contact Marsha Enright via e-mail at marshaenright@ameritech.net or go to the club directory at the TOC website for more information.

The Objectivist Center is committed to assisting local Objectivist groups. We will feature a different Objectivist discussion group every month in Logbook. For assistance in starting or sustaining a local group please contact Bill Perry wperry@objectivistcenter.org or at (845)374-1776