Modern Paleo

Overview

Modern Paleo offers writings and other resources by Objectivists on the principles and practices of nutrition, fitness, and health most conducive to human flourishing.

We advocate a "paleo" perspective on these subjects. We use the evolutionary history of mankind, plus the best of modern science, as a broad framework to guide our daily choices about diet, exercise, supplementation, and medicine. The core of the paleo approach to health is the diet: we eschew grains, sugars, and modern vegetable oils in favor of high-quality meat, fish, eggs, and vegetables.

In addition, we advocate and practice "a philosophy for living on earth": Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. In the postscript to her epic novel Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand wrote:

My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.

We live by that philosophy. We do not seek to return to the past: we want to fully enjoy the amazing benefits of modern life. We do not cling to dogmas or submit to authority: we think and act for ourselves, based on our best grasp of the relevant facts. We do not sacrifice our judgment or our values to others, nor ask others to sacrifice to us. We seek the best for ourselves by producing and trading voluntarily with other rational, productive people. We reject government controls and welfare on principle: every person should be free to live as he pleases, so long as he respects the rights of others.

As a philosophy, Objectivism is silent on scientific questions about nutrition, fitness, and health. On the distinction between philosophy and science, Ayn Rand wrote:

Philosophy studies the fundamental nature of existence, of man, and of man's relationship to existence. As against the special sciences, which deal only with particular aspects, philosophy deals with those aspects of the universe which pertain to everything that exists. In the realm of cognition, the special sciences are the trees, but philosophy is the soil which makes the forest possible. (Philosophy: Who Needs It, 2)

We regard Objectivism as compatible with a paleo approach to nutrition, fitness, and health. Yet we recognize that most Objectivists do not eat a paleo diet, just as most paleo diet advocates are not Objectivists. We're happy to forge our own path to secure our life, health, and happiness. That's what it means to be human.

Offerings

• Modern Paleo Blog offers a steady stream of writings by Objectivists on paleo nutrition, fitness, and health. It is managed by Christian W., with contributors drawn from the OEvolve@OList.com mailing list.
• Modern Paleo Principles outlines the basic principles of paleo nutrition, fitness, and health. It includes a slew of links for further reading.
• Modern Paleo E-Mail Lists are topic-focused e-mail lists for sharing information. They are PaleoBloggers, SousVide, and PaleoThyroid. The first two lists host blog carnivals.
• Modern Paleo Resources is a growing list of helpful sources of information and goodies of likely interest to paleo-eaters, including a separate page for the ever-expanding blogroll.
• About Objectivism contains a brief summary of Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, as well as suggestions for further reading.

Origins

Hi, I'm Diana Hsieh. I created Modern Paleo in early 2010, after nearly two years of happily reading, blogging, and eating paleo. I'm a philosopher specializing in ethics; I received my Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2009. My primary blog is NoodleFood, and my podcasts are collected at NoodleCast. I love building friendly communities of like-minded people: I've created a successful set of e-mail lists for Objectivists at OList.com, including OEvolve.

I live in Sedalia, Colorado with my husband Paul Hsieh and a small menagerie of beasts. Paul is a physician practicing in South Denver. He blogs fun tech news at GeekPress, and he advocates free market medicine via FIRM.

I can be reached via e-mail to diana@dianahsieh.com. I'm also on Twitter (@DianaHsieh) and Facebook (DianaMertzHsieh).