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Confidence is generally described as a state of being certain either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Self-confidence is having confidence in oneself. Arrogance or hubris in this comparison, is having unmerited confidence—believing something or someone is capable or correct when they are not. Overconfidence or presumptuousness is excessive belief in someone (or something) succeeding, without any regard for failure. Scientifically, a situation can only be judged after the aim has been achieved or not. Confidence can be a self-fulfilling prophecy as those without it may fail or not try because they lack it and those with it may succeed because they have it rather than because of an innate ability.

Self-confidence[link]

Self-confidence does not necessarily imply 'self-belief' or a belief in one's ability to succeed. For instance, one may be inept at a particular sport or activity, but remain 'confident' in one's demeanor, simply because one does not place a great deal of emphasis on the outcome of the activity. When one does not dwell on negative consequences one can be more 'self-confident' because one is worrying far less about failure or the disapproval of others following potential failure. One is then more likely to focus on the actual situation which means that enjoyment and success in that situation is also more probable. Belief in one's abilities to perform an activity comes through successful experience and may add to, or consolidate, a general sense of self-confidence.^{[original research?]}

Confidence in others[link]

People may have confidence in other people or forces beyond their control. For instance, one might have confidence in the police to protect them, or might have confidence that a sports team will win a game. Faith and trust are synonyms of confidence when used in this sense.

See also[link]

Look up Confidence or confidence in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Confidence

• Assertiveness
• Confidence interval
• Emotional bias
• Law of Attraction
• Low self esteem
• Overconfidence effect
• Security
• Shyness

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David Kelley (born June 23, 1949 in Shaker Heights, Ohio) is an American philosopher, author, and advocate of Objectivism. He is founder and senior fellow of The Atlas Society. He lives in Washington, D.C..

Education and career[link]

Objectivist movement
Philosophy Objectivism Rational egoism Individualism Capitalism Romantic realism
Organizations Ayn Rand Institute Atlas Society Nathaniel Branden Institute Objectivist Party Libertarianz
Theorists Ayn Rand Andrew Bernstein Harry Binswanger Nathaniel Branden · Yaron Brook Allan Gotthelf · David Kelley Tibor R. Machan Leonard Peikoff · George Reisman John Ridpath · Richard Salsman Tara Smith
Literature Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal For the New Intellectual Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology The New Left Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand Philosophy: Who Needs It The Romantic Manifesto The Virtue of Selfishness The Voice of Reason Objectivist periodicals Journal of Ayn Rand Studies
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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. in 1975 from Princeton University, where his advisor was the American postmodernist Richard Rorty. He was an assistant professor of philosophy and cognitive science for 7 years at Vassar College.^[1] He then taught logic for a brief time at Brandeis University, while working as a freelance writer for Barron's Magazine and other publications.

A member of her circle, David Kelley read Ayn Rand's favorite poem, "If—", by Rudyard Kipling, at her funeral in 1982.^[2]

Objectivism's 'open' faction[link]

Leonard Peikoff's Ayn Rand Institute (ARI) declared Objectivism to be a "closed system" containing only the philosophic principles advocated by Rand herself.

In 1989, Kelley set out in a pamphlet his critique of the ARI Objectivist movement. The pamphlet was titled "Truth and Toleration" (later republished in an expanded edition as the book The Contested Legacy of Ayn Rand). Kelley 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 (something with which both Rand and Peikoff also agreed). This "critique" subsequently split the movement into two factions.

In 1990 he founded the Institute for Objectivist Studies (IOS; now The Atlas Society), a non-profit dedicated to cultural advocacy on behalf of "reason, individualism, achievement, and capitalism."^[3] IOS was established to provide an Objectivist alternative to the Ayn Rand Institute, founded by Leonard Peikoff. IOS sponsored scholarly work on Objectivism and conducted summer workshops attended by academics and graduate students. In 1999 IOS was renamed The Objectivist Center (TOC), as the organization took on a more public-outreach and advocacy orientation.

Scholarly work[link]

In order to pursue his scholarly interests, Kelley stepped down as executive director of TOC in 2004, and the organization – now under the leadership of former regulatory policy analyst Edward Hudgins – was again renamed as The Atlas Society (TAS). TAS also moved its headquarters from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to Washington, D.C. The organization continues to sponsor scholarly work,^[4] publishes a website^[5] and a political-cultural magazine,^[6] and puts on conferences and seminars^[7] where scholars and fans of Rand's work meet and mingle. Kelley reassumed the position of executive director for TAS in 2008.

Kelley's books cover a variety of subjects within philosophy. They include ^[8]The Evidence of the Senses, which argues for a unique form of direct realism about perception; Unrugged Individualism, which explores benevolence as a virtue; A Life of One's Own, a moral critique of the welfare state; and The Contested Legacy of Ayn Rand,^[9] focusing on the schisms within the Objectivist movement. With Roger Donway, he co-authored Laissez Parler: Freedom in the Electronic Media, a critique of government regulation of broadcasting.

Kelley has published little scholarly work in philosophy since 1998, but has given public addresses, taught courses, and has written articles on politics and current events. An ongoing research and writing project over the past decade has been his magnum opus, The Logical Structure of Objectivism, which he is co-authoring with economist William Thomas. His most recent scholarly article is "Rand Versus Hayek on Abstraction," in the Fall 2011 issue of Reason Papers--a "descriptive and explanatory" account of the similarities and differences between Rand's and Friedrich Hayek's views on cognition and mind.

Currently, Kelley is actively involved as a script consultant for Atlas Shrugged: Part I, the film version of Atlas Shrugged, which was released by independent film group The Strike Productions.

Works[link]

• The Evidence of the Senses: A Realist Theory of Perception (1986) Louisiana State University Press (based on his Princeton PhD dissertation) ISBN 0-8071-1476-6
• A Theory of Abstraction (full text; ISBN 1-57724-062-6) (2001) The Objectivist Center. Originally published in Cognition and Brain Theory, 1984, v. 7 (3 & 4), pp. 329–357.
• "Rand Versus Hayek on Abstraction" (full text, in Reason Papers: A Journal of Interdisciplinary Normative Studies, vol. 33 (Fall 2011), pp. 12-30.
• "Rand and Objectivity" (full text, in Reason Papers: A Journal of Interdisciplinary Normative Studies, vol. 23 (Fall 1998), pp. 83-86.
• Evidence and Justification (full text; ISBN 1-57724-019-7) (1998) The Institute for Objectivist Studies. Originally published in Reason Papers: A Journal of Interdisciplinary Normative Studies, vol. 16, 1991, pp. 165-79.
• The Art of Reasoning (1988) ISBN 0-393-97213-5. Originally published in 1998 by W. W. Norton, it is currently in its third edition, and has been well received.[1]
• Unrugged Individualism: The Selfish Basis of Benevolence (1996, rev 2nd ed 2003) ISBN 1-57724-066-9
• A Life of One's Own: Individual Rights and the Welfare State (1998) ISBN 1-882577-71-X
• The Contested Legacy of Ayn Rand: Truth and Toleration in Objectivism (2e full text; ISBN 0-7658-0060-8 and ISBN 1-57724-010-3) (1990, exp 2e 2000)

See also[link]

• American philosophy
• List of American philosophers

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Atlas Society
• Publications by David Kelley at The Objectivism Store
• The David Kelley Corner at Objectivist Living
• Curriculum Vitae
• The Party of Modernity Western Liberalism vs. Post-Modernism and Pre-Modernism (November 2003)

Mary Morrissey at a recent speaking engagement

Mary Manin Morrissey (born 1949) is an inspirational speaker and a former New Thought minister from Oregon, U.S.A. She was a founding minister of Living Enrichment Center in the 1970s. By the mid-1990s, the church's congregation was variously estimated at numbering between 2,000 and 5,000, making it the biggest New Thought church in the state of Oregon, as well as one of the biggest in the world. Morrissey has served as president of the Association for Global New Thought, and in 1995, she hosted an annual congress for the International New Thought Alliance.^{[citation needed]}

Morrissey's church filed for bankruptcy and closed after she and her then-husband, Edward Morrissey, were sued by members of their congregation for more than $10 million of outstanding loans. Edward Morrissey later pled guilty to money laundering and spent two years in federal prison. Mary Manin Morrissey struck a plea bargain with the US Bankruptcy court and the State of Oregon, and as a result may not head a non-profit organization.^[1]

Background[link]

Mary Morrissey is the author of Building Your Dreams^[2] which chronicles Morrissey's realization of her dream to create a ministry, and No Less Than Greatness, The Seven Spiritual Principles that Make Love Possible^[3] Mary Manin Morrissey also appears in The Moses Code.^[4] Mary Morrissey has also authored several audio programs, including the popular co-produced audio, The Eleven Forgotten Laws with Bob Proctor.^[5] Morrissey appeared in the movie The Inner Weigh, written and directed by Dave Smiley. The movie is about tapping into the power of one's subconscious mind to create the body and the life that one wants.^[6]

Legal controversy[link]

"Friends of Mary" advertises in the lobby at LEC's final service

In a letter to Willamette Week in 2004, the lawyer for Mary Morrissey's then-husband, Edward Morrissey, admitted that the couple had committed commingling.^[7] Mary Manin Morrissey's second ex-husband, Edward Morrissey, pled guilty to money laundering and using church money for the personal expenses of himself and his wife, and spent time in federal prison.^[8][9] The Seattle Times reports that the Morrisseys committed "financial improprieties" and that some former members of Living Enrichment Center were upset with the deal the Morrisseys struck with federal prosecutors. Former congregant John Trudel of Newberg, Oregon is reported to have loaned the church $100,000 between 2000 and 2002. Trudel is quoted as saying that church money was being diverted.^[10] Willamette Week wrote that Steve Unger, lawyer for the Morrisseys, admitted that the couple had committed commingling.^[11][12] The Oregonian writes that Mary Morrissey signed a consent agreement with state securities regulators, agreeing to repay $10.7 million to her former congregation, but she is in default and that at the rate Mary Morrissey is making repayment it will take her 300 years to repay congregation debt in full.^[13] KATU writes that the debt may never be repaid.^[14] Wilsonville Spokesman has reported that the amount of money Mary Morrissey has repaid would amount to less than half a penny per dollar of debt.^[15]

KATU reported that Edward Morrissey agreed to plead guilty to money laundering on the condition that Mary Manin Morrissey not be charged with a crime.^[14] The Oregonian wrote in 2009 that Mary Morrissey signed a consent agreement agreeing to repay the debt, but that she is in default of the consent agreement.^[16]

Mary Manin Morrissey also operated two companies, "Life Soulutions" and "Evolving Life Ministries". The Oregonian reported in 2007, that the organization of Life Soulutions has prompted questions from the state of Oregon because Morrissey's partner, Karen Hanzlik, in the venture receives as much as 40% of revenue, meaning that this portion is not required to be diverted to the restitution fund. "State officials have asked Morrissey for documents detailing the corporate structure of LifeSoulutions," writes The Oregonian. "Morrissey told them that on the advice of an attorney, there are no such documents. Nothing was put in writing. 'We're researching the law and considering our legal options,' Whang said. 'But it is a very unusual situation.'"^[17] KATU, Portland's ABC affiliate, reports that because Mary Morrissey was permanently prohibited from holding the position of Officer, Financial Manager or Financial Fiduciary for any charitable or religious non-profit entity, her current companies, Life Soulutions, Evolving Life Ministries, and her church in Lake Oswego, Oregon, are operated as for-profit entities.^[18] KATU also reports that in an interview Morrissey was evasive about her finances, but the news team tracked online donations to Morrissey's business, discovering they make their way to a Portland mail box controlled by Morrissey. Investigators from the state of Oregon want to make sure that Morrissey is not diverting money from her income, as a stipulation of her plea bargain with the state was that a portion of her income must be used to repay her debt to her former congregation. KATU reported in 2007, that Morrissey has repaid only $74,000 since her plea bargain was struck in 2005.^[19]

See also[link]

• Mat Boggs
• Campo Azul (Oregon)

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Mary Manin Morrissey's Website
• State of Oregon complaint
• State of Oregon judgment
• Forum of former church members
• Beaverton megachurch, pastor to file for bankruptcy
• Ex-church leader falls far behind repayment schedule
• Mary Manin Morrissey's open letter regarding the LEC financial scandal
• Locals among victims of church fraud
• Forgive Us Our Debts? A local megachurch finds itself in mega-trouble.