On the Resignation of John McCaskey

In August of 2010, Dr. Leonard Peikoff sent a private email to Arline Mann, a member of the Board of Directors of The Ayn Rand Institute, expressing his displeasure with the actions of John McCaskey, and the reasons for it, and making it clear that he expected the issue to be properly addressed by the Board.  John McCaskey secured permission from the ARI Board to publicly release that private email as a condition for his resignation from the ARI and Anthem Foundation Boards of Directors.  McCaskey’s statement and release of Dr. Peikoff’s email created an uproar in the Objectivist community. Diana Hsieh made public statements regarding these events on her blog that many in the Objectivist community believe played an integral role in fomenting  improper speculation and agitation concerning Dr. Peikoff’s intentions and the resignation of John McCaskey.  Many have argued that Hsieh’s statements during this time showed a lack of objectivity, poor judgment, and a failure to grasp epistemic and moral principles of Objectivism. 

John McCaskey’s Resignation Announcement, including Dr. Peikoff’s email to Arline Mann: http://www.johnmccaskey.com/resignation.html

Statements from Diana Hsieh on the issue: http://blog.dianahsieh.com/2010/10/resignation-of-john-mccaskey-facts.html http://blog.dianahsieh.com/2010/11/should-mccaskey-have-released-peikoffs.html

Public Statement from ARI: http://www.aynrand.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=26109

Diana Hsieh’s response to the ARI and Peikoff statements:http://blog.dianahsieh.com/2010/11/closing-thoughts-on-ari-peikoff-and.html

An excellent article by Glenn Jorgensen for HoustonObjectivism.com: http://houstonobjectivism.com/articles/addendum-to-justice-for-leonard-peikoff/