ANDREW J. GALAMBOS
Astrophysicist and Creator of Volitional Science
Andrew J. Galambos had a profound effect on many people. Even those who had significant philosophical and personal disagreements with him still felt that he had positively affected their lives. Here is a collection of several things written by his former close associates. If you have something to add, perhaps related to your experience as a student, please submit it. If it fits this section it will be posted
Alvin Lowi, Jr. Mr. Lowi was a colleague and I suppose you could say protégé of Galambos when they worked together in the aerospace industry beginning in the late 1950’s. He co-founded FEI, and would listen to Galambos give a lecture, and then deliver a similar lecture to another group. This was the means by which Peter Bos got his Galambos inputs. Mr. Lowi continues to write thoughtful essays on many subjects. One essay on Galambos is "A Lasting Encounter."
Harry Browne. Financial author and the Libertarian Party’s candidate for President in 1996 and 2000, Browne was at one time very close to Galambos. After their split, in referring to Browne Galambos would say, “He flunked the course.” That was a reasonable assessment of someone who, having learned both the morality and effectiveness of voluntary, non-state solutions to every societal problem, subsequently plunged back into the coercive political world. On the occasion of Galambos’ death Browne wrote an essay about Galambos, who he called “The Unknown Libertarian.”
Jay Stuart Snelson. Snelson was the Senior Lecturer of FEI for 14 years, with his career there coming to a sudden end in 1978, as documented elsewhere on this website. Like everyone else who was deeply exposed to Galambos’ ideas, the effect stayed with him, but in this essay you’ll see that Snelson questions some of those ideas. One of the hallmarks of science, as taught by Galambos, is to continually examine hypotheses and theories for truth. In the spirit of scientific inquiry, Snelson found what he thought were flaws in Galambos’ teachings. However, rather than opening the floor for discussion, as intellectually honest people should, in a cult-like response the trustees of Galambos’ estate effectively labeled Snelson a heretic. (See Joyner’s letter to Boren of March 20, 2014.)
Jay Snelson, Alvin Lowi, Jr., and Peter Bos. In 2008, Charles Holloway arranged a meeting between these men for the purpose of making a video recording of their reminiscences about FEI. Holloway served as the interviewer and my brother Greg handled the video and audio. In particular, Holloway wanted to emphasize the newly-discovered fact that the role of insurance companies in a state-free world had been suggested to Galambos by Bos. That role was documented in an article I wrote for The Voluntaryist, and it might be well to read it before watching the video. (Note: Since that time new information surfaced indicating the possibility that Galambos may have heard the same idea from another source before hearing it from Bos. I will be rewriting the article to include the evidence that suggests that possibility.)
http://voluntaryist.com/forthcoming/insurance.html#.V85oCZgrK01
The meeting at Lowi’s home lasted about two hours. It has never been edited into a finished product, but here is an approximately 30-minute excerpt that may be the best part. Snelson is on the left, Lowi is in the middle, and Bos is on the right. Please note the softbound copy of Sic Itur Ad Astra on the table. Bos, who never took a class from either Galambos or Snelson, had only recently learned that Galambos had taught what he viewed as his insurance idea.