LevelUp is about principles and practices for excelling in life and fighting for liberty.
And, when you think about it, these are the most important things in the world.
Excelling in life includes building a career you love, developing great friendships, creating a wonderful romantic relationship, enjoying your favorite recreational activities, and perhaps raising a family…
Whatever makes you come alive and thrive—that’s your “excel in life.”
And, of course, liberty—the freedom to act on your own judgment—is the essential political condition required for you to excel in life. If (and to the extent) people or governments force you to act against your best judgment, you can’t act in accordance with your best judgment; you can’t excel in life. Likewise for everyone else. That (in a nutshell) is why coercion is evil and freedom is so important.
These two profoundly crucial values—freedom and flourishing—along with the principles and practices that support them, are the focus of this truly unique conference.
Here’s what’s on the agenda for LevelUp 2024 (Atlanta, June 19–22):
- Loving Your Life: A Framework for Flourishing—in which I’ll integrate the key principles for living a life you love with those of rational philosophy
- Feminism: Zero Sum?—Ayaan Hirsi Ali on where feminism went wrong and how genuinely to support women’s autonomy and rights
- Thriving Through Adversity and Trauma—David Hardy on coping with the worst of times and getting back to the best
- The Art of Breaking Rules—Hannah Frankman on being bold and innovative in pursuing your goals
- The Future of Liberalism: Religious or Secular?—a debate between Ayaan Hirsi Ali and David Wolpe (for religion) and Timothy Sandefur and me (for secularism)
- How to Develop Your Happiness Plan—Carl Barney on a tried-and-true way to think through your life and values so you can design a life you love
- How and Why DEI Must Die—a panel discussion with Christopher Rufo, Wilfred Reilly, Eric Daniels, and me on what to do about this (godforsaken) cancer on our culture
- Love as Trade: What’s in It for You and Me?—in which Angel and Thomas Walker-Werth make sense of love and how to thrive in dating and romance
- The Roots of War and the Path to Peace—Kiyah Willis on the fundamental causes of today’s wars, and how to end them
- Is Morality Objective or Subjective?—a debate between Alex O’Connor and me on this vital subject that permeates every aspect of our lives
- Adam Smith, Ayn Rand, and the Philosophic Foundation for Freedom—Jon Hersey on the similarities and crucial differences between these great thinkers
- The Song of the New World—Timothy Sandefur on the story surrounding Antonin Dvorak’s majestic, soul-fueling New World Symphony
- Optimizing Your Health for Happiness—Max Lugavere on how to eat, exercise, and sleep so you can thrive
- The History of Philosophy as a Tool for Flourishing—Ely Lassman on the value of studying the philosophers and philosophies that have shaped our world
- Filling The Self-Shaped Hole—my closing talk on the nature, elements, and importance of you, and how to fully love yourself and your life
Plus, the evenings will be full of karaoke, games, conversations, networking, Salsa lessons, dancing, and more.
