Craig Biddle

Objectivity, you may have heard, is impossible. We can’t know “truth” in absolute terms. We can’t know anything as it “really is.” The best we can do is to “approximate” truth or get closer to it. Conclusive knowledge is forever elusive.

Craig Biddle will show what is wrong with such claims. He’ll show that knowledge is not only possible but also widespread—including in your head. And he’ll show how a particularly powerful question, when properly applied, can help you to see which ideas are grounded in reality, and which are not.

Angelica Walker-Werth

Have you been deeply moved by any fictional characters—whether from novels, movies, or series? If so, why? Did you learn something important from their journeys? Did their choices and experiences help you to think more clearly about your own? 

Character arcs can have a profoundly positive impact on our lives—especially if we clearly identify the stages of the arc and what caused the character to change. Angel Walker-Werth will examine a few powerful arcs from great fiction, showing the kinds of observations and questions that can help us get the most from the characters we love.

Thomas Walker-Werth

How can you decide what to make of your life? How can you choose among the countless alternatives? And, when you do decide, what must you do to follow through and build a life you love? Answering such questions is essential to making your life the best it can be. And it isn’t easy.

Thomas Walker-Werth will provide a step-by-step plan for deciding what you want, organizing your goals with respect to their relative importance, and achieving a life of happiness.

Ely Lassman

Stoicism is a deeply mixed philosophy, consisting of a few powerful, reality-based elements that can help us to think clearly and love life—scattered amidst a sea of ideas that are detached from reality and thus harmful if embraced.

Drawing from various philosophers in this broad and increasingly popular school of thought, Ely Lassman will highlight some of the good elements, discuss some of the bad, and provide guidance on how to tell the difference so you can embrace the former and ditch the latter.

Johan Norberg

Throughout much of history, oppression and misery have prevailed. But there have also been spectacular episodes of creativity, innovation, and growth—from ancient Athens and Rome to Song China and the Dutch Republic. What made these golden ages possible? Why did they eventually come to an end? 

Johan Norberg will examine these periods of prosperity, identifying the ideas and values that can help us to safeguard freedom, foster flourishing, and build a new golden age. 

LevelUp is for people who want to live free and flourish. The theme of the conference—the thread connecting all of the lectures—is that freedom and flourishing are consequences of certain ideas that were developed over thousands of years and are still being refined today. The conference will help you to better understand and act on these ideas, to thrive in your ventures and relationships, and to support liberty on solid ground. If those are your goals, this conference is for you.

Dress comfortably! We recommend casual attire for the social mixer and daily lectures, and cocktail attire for the Saturday banquet.

Internet access for conference attendees is free throughout the hotel.

A great way to meet other attendees is to join LevelUp Europe on WhatsApp. Simply click “Join,” say hi, and enjoy a warm welcome. You can meet other attendees, find roommates, ask questions, post suggestions, and discover fun things to do in the Sofia area.

For international travelers, we recommend using Google Flights to find the most affordable and suitable flights.

If you register and, for any reason, are unable to attend the conference, LevelUp will refund your registration fees, including banquet tickets, in full. Simply email team@objectivestandard.org with the subject line “Cancel LevelUp Europe Registration,” and we will refund your registration fees in full. For Lodging scholarship recipients, please note that we will NOT reimburse you for unused travel tickets. We recommend that you purchase refundable travel tickets and/or appropriate cancellation insurance.