OSI Talks

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

To the extent that capitalism has existed, it has enabled human beings to achieve unparalleled productivity and prosperity. For this reason, many advocates of capitalism see it as practical. Few, however, see it as moral. Some of its defenders give capitalism only "two cheers" on the grounds that it enables businessmen selfishly to amass enormous wealth and results in economic inequality. Others try to justify capitalism on altruistic grounds, arguing that it's good because it requires greedy businessmen to serve their fellow men. Still others argue that free markets are best because, due to man's innate depravity, no one is good enough to rule others.

Dr. Eric Daniels will address such claims and make the case that capitalism is not only practical, but also the only moral social system—and the only one fit for morally good people.

As America marks its 250th anniversary of independence, Timothy—author of The Conscience of the Constitution: The Declaration of Independence and the Right to Liberty and the forthcoming Proclaiming Liberty: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and the Declaration of Independence—will examine the Declaration's philosophical and legal foundations and the lessons they hold for our day.

What is spirituality? Is it inherently religious or faith-based, as many people believe? Or is it factually secular and reason-based? Maddox will argue that it is the latter—and that it is a vital human need. Surveying the nature and importance of universal values such as purpose, art, friendship, and love—along with the range of legitimate personal preferences in these areas—Maddox will unpack and integrate key aspects of secular spirituality.