Objective Standard Institute launched its first programs in June 2020, led by Sarah and Craig Biddle, with funding from Prometheus Foundation. The Institute’s mission is to teach people about the importance of philosophy, the principles of Objectivism, and related ideas for living fully and advancing liberty.
Toward this end, OSI delivers courses, podcasts, articles, and conferences; trains new intellectuals to write, speak, and teach with precision and clarity; and works with other organizations to advance their understanding of the nature and importance of philosophy in general and Objectivism in particular.
In 2021 alone, OSI’s instructors taught a total of twenty-one courses to 438 students. These included:
- “Introduction to Ayn Rand’s Philosophy for Loving Life,” with Craig Biddle
- “How to Get More Enjoyment from Great Literature,” with Andrew Bernstein
- “The Art of Finding and Creating Opportunity,” with Hannah Frankman
- “The History and Philosophy of Liberty in America,” with Eric Daniels
- “Workshop on ‘Forbidden Facts’,” with Craig Biddle
- “Your Supersystem for Flourishing,” with Robert Begley
- “How to Write Powerfully in Defense of Liberty,” with Jon Hersey
- “Henry Hazlitt Meets Ayn Rand: Economics and Objectivism,” with Raymond Niles
- “Entrepreneurial Living: How to Profit in Business and Life,” with Tim Chermak
- “Teaching Objectivism with the Principle of Purpose,” with Craig Biddle
- “Advanced Writing Workshop: Lead People to Liberty,” with Jon Hersey
In 2021, OSI’s writers published forty-three articles on its blog, Level Up, including:
- “The Road to Success is Paved with Grit,” by Angelica Walker-Werth
- “Staying on Track: Bodybuilder Ashley Kaltwasser’s Lessons for Success,” by Maggie Bird
- “Ted Lasso Inspires Success through Benevolence and Competence,” by Robert Begley
- “How to Generate Motivation,” by Angelica Walker-Werth
- “The Source and Value of Self-esteem,” by Angelica Walker-Werth
- “Drawing on Past Passions for New Opportunities,” by Joseph Kellard
- “Sales Mastermind Lessons for Non-Sales People,” by Gabriel Mitchell
- “For Maximum Success, ‘Eat That Frog’,” by Robert Begley
- “David Goggins’ Key to Perseverance,” by Aaron Briley
- “Five Steps for Building Lasting Habits/Routines,” by Maggie Bird
OSI’s team produced 109 podcast episodes, working continually to improve their quality and expand their reach. Some highlights:
- On Philosophy for Flourishing, Jon Hersey presented practical ideas for loving life, and interviewed great thinkers such as Michael Strong on education, Cal Newport on personal productivity, Rajshree Agarwal on purpose and profit, and Luc Travers on art.
- On The Hero Show, Andrew Bernstein and Robert Begley celebrated all manner of great men and women, including Walt Disney, Marva Collins, Babe Ruth, Clint Eastwood, Edmond Rostand, Cecilia Payne, Vivien Thomas, and Francis Bacon.
- On Culture and Causation, Aaron Briley interviewed intellectuals such as Mary Grabar on The 1619 Project, Neal McCluskey on school choice, Alex Nowrasteh on immigration, Kerry McDonald on nontraditional schooling, Charles Murray on racially disproportionate outcomes, and Casey Mulligan on how regulation negatively affects the poor.
- On Innovation Celebration, Thomas and Angelica Walker-Werth celebrated the people and ideas behind innovations in robotics, vaccines, 3D printing, rocket engines, life-extending gene editing, magnet-controlled prosthetics, cancer-detecting blood tests, and more.
OSI’s annual summer conference, TOS-Con: Philosophy for Freedom and Flourishing, was held in July in Boston, MA, with 230 in-person attendees. Although travel restrictions prohibited many more registrants from attending, for those who made it, the conference was a highlight of the year. Here’s what attendees said:
- “This conference was a rejuvenating and intellectually stimulating experience unlike anything I’ve ever encountered.” —Leisa
- “The speakers and topics were outstanding.” —Rodney
- “It was wonderful to be in such a rational and truly benevolent environment.” —Mary
- “Going forward, I will approach my goals with a new sense of purpose.” —Ken
- “After this conference, I will not waste a single moment of my life.” —Raja
TOS-Con 2022 will be in Denver CO. Confirmed Speakers include Yeonmi Park, Peter Boghossian, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Greg McKeown, Adam Carolla, Eric Daniels, Wolf von Laer, Zilvinas Silenas, Timothy Sandefur, Jon Wos, Jason Crawford, Kira Withrow, Jon Hersey, and Craig Biddle.
OSI’s “Republic of Letters” (RoL), a writers group led by Jon Hersey, met twice-monthly throughout 2021, helping participants to level up in their craft by discussing article ideas, getting and giving feedback on works in progress, addressing writing challenges, sharing resources, and networking. RoL has been the genesis of various articles published in The Objective Standard, Quillette, Foundation for Economic Education, and elsewhere. Several RoL participants are writing books as well.
Other organizations that OSI worked with in 2021 included Students For Liberty (SFL), Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), Liberty International, and the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS). For instance, in April, Craig Biddle worked with SFL to produce a three-part video series about Ayn Rand’s ideas on the foundations of liberty and in June gave a presentation on Ayn Rand’s ethics to the NSHSS (via FEE). In August, Jon Hersey gave three in-person talks in Medellin, Colombia at Liberty International: “How to Sell Marxists on Markets,” “Locke: The Father of Liberalism,” and “Rand: The Future of Liberty.” In October, Jon appeared on Liberty International’s Liberty Connection Chats with Kris Mauren (executive director of Acton Institute) to discuss “Morality, Self-Interest, and Free Markets” (part 1, part 2, part 3). That same month, Craig spoke to FEE’s Hazlitt Fellows about writing, creating a career as an intellectual, and the importance of objective morality and philosophy in defense of liberty. As mentioned above, OSI speakers gave six presentations in October at SFL’s Freer Future Fest in Nashville, with more than 400 in-person attendees and 600,000 livestream views. In November, Thomas gave a presentation for the John Galt School UK on how Objectivism can help people thrive in their careers and relationships; Angelica and Thomas participated in a discussion on Rand’s ideas as part of SFL’s New Frontiers of Objectivism program; and Angelica taught two sessions of a JGS course hosted by Ayn Rand Center Ukraine—one on We the Living, the other on concept formation. And in December, Angelica taught a session on Ayn Rand’s ethics for a JGS course in Israel.
