TOS-Con 2021

Craig Biddle

When considering principles and practices for thriving, do you find the countless alternatives overwhelming, even confusing? If so, you’re not alone.

Advice regarding success abounds. And much of it seems contradictory:

• Focus on goals
• Forget goals—focus on systems
• Become a specialist
• Become a generalist
• Always say “yes” to opportunities for growth, and many doors will open
• Say “no” to practically everything—say “yes” only to relatively few opportunities
• Choose your future, design your life
• Renounce the illusion of free will—only then can you find your bliss

And so on.

How to thrive is not obvious. And few people truly do thrive in the full sense of the term. This is because few have a reality-based, non-contradictory system for assessing, integrating, and applying ideas toward that end.

Do Process is such a system. Based on Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism, and incorporating powerful ideas from various personal-development thinkers, Do Process will help you declutter your mind, focus your efforts, build good habits, and transform your life. 

Cal Newport

How do people reach elite levels in their careers? How do people find life’s work that is meaningful—and sustainable? These questions are central to Cal Newport’s work. And he answers them with a combination of case studies and actionable advice.

In this presentation, Dr. Newport will discuss principles and practices for engaging in what he calls deep work: “activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit.” This, Newport argues, is the means to achieving focused success in a distracted world.

“The ability to focus without distraction is a superpower in the multi-tasking, Internet-obsessed 21st-century economy,” Newport argues. Come learn tried-and-true ideas and strategies for transforming your mind and habits to achieve your most ambitious goals.

Gloria Alvarez

Having experimented with governments that substantially protect individual rights and free markets—and having witnessed a century of carnage caused by various forms of statism (socialism, communism, nationalism, etc.)—America and other countries around the world are now flirting with or even embracing statism in one form or another.

Why?

Why would people who have tasted the fruits of freedom turn back to the treachery of tyranny? What ideas are behind this shift? What history has been forgotten? What confusions have muddied the waters?

In this talk, Gloria Álvarez will highlight facts and principles that are essential to thinking and communicating clearly about this matter. Looking at various iterations of statism—from the Soviet Union to present-day Venezuela to the mixed economies of Europe and North America—and comparing these to the freer countries and eras, she will point out key distinctions and integrations that are crucial to understanding what capitalism is and why it is the only social system for human flourishing.

Mitchell Earl

Creating a meaningful career is one of the most important aspects of a happy life. It’s also one of the most complex and challenging.

Many people struggle to discover what truly makes them come alive. And many struggle to advance their career even when they know what they want to do. Adding to the difficulty, our culture perpetuates the narrative that success requires a linear path: Go to college. Get good grades. Get a good job. And so on.

But real success does not follow a linear path. It requires blazing your own trail.

In this talk, Mitchell Earl, who has helped hundreds of people launch successful careers, will share strategies and tactics for creating a career that fills your life with meaning and joy. These include: how to make yourself valuable in the marketplace, how to become a prolific creator in the craft of your choice, how to learn from successful people in your field, and more. You’ll gain proven, practical knowledge that you can put into action immediately.

Doug McGuff

The physical health and functional capacity of adults in modern, first-world societies typically begin to decline as early as the teenage years—and continue diminishing throughout the course of their lives, culminating in a state of dysfunction and dependence during the final decades. Although this has become commonplace, it is neither normal nor necessary.

Our pre-modern ancestors enjoyed high levels of physical health and functionality that, barring injury or infection, continued into advanced age. Likewise, modern-day hunter-gatherers tend to remain physically healthy and agile well into their later years.

What is the difference that makes the difference?

In this presentation, Dr. McGuff will discuss the science of “health-span” and how a regimen of brief and infrequent high-intensity exercise can dramatically improve your health and (barring injury or infection) foster a lifetime of flourishing.

Jason Hill

In recent decades, the use of the term “racism” has become increasingly convoluted and confusing. Whereas thinkers from William Wilberforce to Martin Luther King Jr. to Ayn Rand understood that racism means judging people by their skin color, race, or genetic lineage rather than their character, choices, and actions, modern-day “antiracists” have turned this idea on its head. Now, according to some, if you refuse to judge people on the basis of their race—for instance, if you refuse to judge white people as racist for being white—you’re a “racist.”

The misuse of this concept is extremely dangerous. It can lead to racist behaviors, racial attacks, racist laws, and, ultimately, to racial genocide.

In this talk, Dr. Hill will discuss the history and meaning of “racism,” key turning points in the misuse of the term, the recent inversion of its meaning by some, and what individualists can do to help correct the widespread misuse of the term and advance the principles of individualism.

Andrew Bernstein

Thinkers such as Thales, Socrates, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, John Locke, and Ayn Rand advanced our knowledge of fundamental issues. For example, Thales reasoned that the teeming diversity of nature could be explained by a small number of principles. Socrates recognized the importance of rigorously defining key moral concepts. Aristotle invented the sciences of logic and biology. Thomas Aquinas reintroduced Aristotle’s rational philosophy in a medieval culture dominated by religion. John Locke emphasized that all knowledge originates in observation and taught that individuals have an unalienable right to their own lives and property. Ayn Rand created a complete philosophic system glorifying man’s mind and validating the objectivity of knowledge.

These great thinkers are towering heroes of philosophy. But what is a hero? What’s the value of understanding the characteristics of a hero? And how can we emulate heroes? In this talk, Andrew Bernstein will address such questions.

Timothy Sandefur

At the dawn of the 20th century, John Singer Sargent was among the world’s most admired painters. The most sought-after portraitist in Europe and America, he painted such renowned figures as Theodore Roosevelt, John D. Rockefeller, and Henry James and set a new standard for elegance.

Yet he was also a cutting-edge innovator whose painting Madame X sparked a national scandal when it was displayed in Paris. Within a few years of his death, however, leading intellectuals had come to view Sargent as a contemptible relic of an unsophisticated age.

In this presentation, Timothy Sandefur will take a new look at Sargent’s art and discuss why Sargent came to be despised for his virtues—and why his art is experiencing a long-overdue revival today.

Eric Daniels

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” wrote the philosopher George Santayana. Today, though, history—the story of the past—is widely regarded as a means of inducing sleep. Among those few who enjoy history, many regard it as a mere pastime with little or no power to impact their lives.

That’s unfortunate because, with the proper approach, history can be a fountain of spiritual fuel, a guide for achieving the good life, and a means to continue the upward trajectory of mankind.

History is the laboratory of humanity, and in this talk, Eric Daniels will discuss how to use it to promote personal flourishing and defend political freedom.

David Crawford

Like romantic love, music is something many people value, yet fail to pursue in a thoughtful, intentional way. In this talk, David Crawford will home in on how music affects our souls and how we can approach it in ways that add greater meaning and joy to our lives.

When you better understand how music affects your soul, and thus your life, you can make better decisions about how to invest your time and energy in music and the musical arts. You can explore music more effectively, listen more actively, notice more aspects, and gain more each time you listen. You can engage more knowledgeably, and thus more enjoyably, in playing an instrument, singing, or dancing—whether as a newbie or a seasoned artist.

Come expand your understanding of the nature and role of music in life. You’ll enjoy richer emotions, stronger memories, and closer connections with people you love.

Rajshree Agarwal

A healthy, successful life, like a healthy, successful business, requires a central purpose—a central aim that animates and motivates you, a productive purpose that pays the bills and helps you to profit and thrive.

In this session, Rajshree Agarwal will present an approach to your work-life called My Enterprise (ME) Inc. Using methods and tools of successful business leaders, ME Inc. positions you as the CEO of your life, helps you discover or further develop your “why”—or the central purpose in life— and helps you leverage your core skills and capabilities, the “how.”

Come and learn or deepen your understanding of the importance of a central purpose and how to leverage it to enhance your life. You’ll expand your knowledge of how to pursue such a purpose creatively by marshaling your assets and developing win-win relationships.

C. Bradley Thompson and Timothy Sandefur

In his new book America’s Revolutionary Mind, C. Bradley Thompson examines the philosophical essentials of the American Revolution—looking at the founding of the nation not in terms of historical incidents but as the culmination of a series of insights about the nature of mankind and of the proper role of government.

This “new moral history” opens the door for a better grasp of the nation’s constitutional system—and a better refutation of those who argue that America was founded on the basis of slavery and inequality.

In this session, Thompson sits down with Timothy Sandefur, author of The Conscience of the Constitution, for a conversation about America’s fundamental principles and how they may—or may not—impact the future.

Jon Hersey

Benjamin Franklin’s life story is a testament to the fact that free men may rise as high as their ambition will take them. His inventions include not only useful gadgets and live-saving devices but also the genre of self-development nonfiction. With only two years of formal schooling, he managed to become one of the greatest scientists of his age and one of the greatest statesmen in history. In this talk, Jon Hersey will spotlight the principles of freedom and flourishing that we can learn from “the First American” and apply in our own lives today.

Craig Biddle

We are beings of body and mind, matter and spirit. To live a fully integrated, wonderful life, we must attend to our physical and psychological needs. But whereas information regarding the care of our bodies abounds, information about how to care for our minds and souls is harder to come by—and often harmfully wrong.

Religion, for instance, calls for faith in a higher power and for letting that higher power somehow guide us in life. But faith is not a means of knowledge, and there’s no evidence for such a higher power. Secular philosophies often are equally problematic—rejecting key features on which spirituality depends, such as consciousness, free will, or the self.

In this presentation, Craig Biddle will survey traditional views of spirituality, highlight ways in which they are problematic or detrimental, and offer a secular approach to this crucial aspect of human flourishing.

Come gain a deeper understanding of the nature of your mind and soul, how to care for them, and how to live a spiritually rich and meaningful life.

• 2:00–6:00 pm Welcome and Check-In
• –9:00 pm Opening Reception and Banquet

• 9:00–9:15 am Opening Remarks & Announcements
• 9:15–10:15 am Do Process: A Strategy for Thriving Craig Biddle
• 10:15–10:30 am Break
• 10:30–11:30 am History: Who Needs It Eric Daniels
• 11:30 am–1:15 pm Lunch (on your own)
• 1:15–2:15 pm Designing Your Life around a Central Purpose Rajshree Agarwal
• 2:15–2:30 pm Break
• 2:30–3:30 pm Capitalism: The Social System for Human Flourishing Gloria Alvarez
• 3:30–4:00 pm Break
• 4:00–5:00 pm Music and Life David Crawford
• 5:00–7:30 pm Dinner (on your own)
• 7:30–9:00 pm Concert on the Lawn

• 9:00–9:15 am Opening Remarks & Announcements
• 9:15–10:15 am How to Forge a Meaningful, Self-Directed Career Mitchell Earl
• 10:15–10:30 am Break
• 10:30–11:30 am Physical Conditioning for a Lifetime of Flourishing Doug McGuff
• 11:30 am–1:15 pm Lunch (on your own)
• 1:15–2:15 pm Benjamin Franklin’s Principles for Freedom and Flourishing Jon Hersey
• 2:15–2:30 pm Break
• 2:30–3:30 pm Racism: Real, Imagined, and Inverted Jason Hill
• 3:30–4:00 pm Break
• 4:00–5:00 pm Breakout Sessions
• 5:00–7:30 pm Dinner (on your own)
• 7:30–9:00 pm Dance workshop David Crawford

• 9:00–9:15 am Opening Remarks & Announcements
• 9:15–10:15 am A Brush with John Singer Sargent Timothy Sandefur
• 10:15–10:30 am Break
• 10:30–11:30 am Your Superpower for Success in a Distracted World Cal Newport
• 11:30 am–1:15 pm Lunch (on your own)
• 1:15–2:15 pm Heroes of Philosophy Andrew Bernstein
• 2:15–2:30 pm Break
• 2:30–3:30 pm America’s Revolutionary Ideas: Their History and Possible Future C. Bradley Thompson and Timothy
• 3:30–4:00 pm Break
• 4:00–5:00 pm Secular Spirituality: The Nature and Nurture of Your Mind and Soul Craig Biddle
• 5:00–6:30 pm Break
• 6:00–10:00 pm Closing Banquet and Dance

If for any reason TOS-Con 2021 is canceled—or if for any reason you personally are unable to attend—TOS-Con will refund your registration fees, including banquet tickets, in full through July 21, the day the conference begins.

In the event that the conference is cancelled, refunds will be issued automatically. In the event that you personally cannot attend, you need only email us at [email protected] with the subject line “Cancel TOS-Con Registration,” and we will refund your registration fees in full. It’s that simple.

For Active-Mind Scholarship recipients, please understand that we will NOT reimburse you for unused travel tickets. We recommend that you purchase refundable travel tickets and/or appropriate cancellation insurance.