Objectivist Conferences™

Conferences for the rational mind™

Welcome

The Westin Michigan Avenue, Chicago Welcome to the website for Objectivist Summer Conference 2013, taking place July 5–11 in Chicago, Illinois! Objectivist Conferences consistently delivers top-quality lineups of talks and speakers, and this year is no different.

Ayn Rand called Objectivism “a philosophy for living on earth,” and she taught that the purpose of philosophy is to help you to have a more satisfying and productive life. With this in mind, Onkar Ghate will deliver a General Session titled “The Moral and the Practical.” This year’s selection of Optional Courses develops that theme still further, with topics such as:

How to make your life happier by making the conscious and the subconscious work together (Ellen Kenner and Edwin A. Locke); understanding your emotions (Jean Moroney); free will (Ben Bayer); and self-esteem (Gena Gorlin). Our speakers show these and other themes at work in Ayn Rand’s writing and ideas, with talks such as “The Stylized Soul in Romantic Literature” (Tore Boeckmann) and “Man’s Life as the Standard of Value in the Ethics of Ayn Rand and Aristotle” (Gregory Salmieri).

We also bring you a broad variety of other topics, from the legal system to Aristotle’s Poetics to Andrew Lewis’s latest installment on the history of England. In addition, Harry Binswanger and I will take questions from the audience at our Panel on the State of the Culture. And to introduce our host city, we present a General Session talk titled “Chicago Reach for the Stars,” in which Jonathan Hoenig, Shoshana Milgram and Stephen Siek discuss Chicago and its connection to Ayn Rand, its architecture and its surprising vigor in finance and trade. You won’t want to miss it!

We look forward to creating a unique and memorable conference in Chicago and we hope to see you there! 

Sincerely,

Dr. Yaron Brook
Executive Director

P.S. Enroll by March 31 to take advantage of discount pricing.

P.P.S. For students there are a number of registration options at significantly reduced rates; see our registration options and pricing for more details.

What attendees said about last year’s conference:

  • “I would not want to miss a single OCON and it is always a pleasure to meet old and new friends. Again, a great experience.”

  • “We really enjoyed OCON, and had a great time in classes and with our friends. Attending OCON is a highlight of our year. Learning new things and new applications of Objectivism is so enjoyable, and seeing our many Objectivist friends is a pleasure too wonderful to miss.”

  • “Being among so many Objectivists is such a positive!”

  • “I met some terrific people and had a good time not having to explain every other sentence.”

  • “I can’t wait for my next conference. It was wonderful to meet and visit with so many intelligent people who have the same values and positions as I do.”