The Course
The Liberty Seminar
Learning How Think Well About Freedom
Listen About Our Approach
Learning through Dialogue
Reimagine the fundamentals of how we learn through dialoguing about ideas.
Socratic Method
A time-tested mode of discovery, a place for open dialogue, examination, disagreement, and understanding of ideas.
Application Beyond the Seminar
Expand beyond the seminar circle and apply the Socratic method in other areas of the learning environment.
Living in a Free Society
Learn basic principles necessary for living in a free society. Schools don’t teach this stuff, but it will change you and your child’s life.
Listen About the Socratic Method?
“Education is the kindling of flame, not the filling of a vessel.”
-Socrates
Technology
What You Need for the Liberty Seminar?
Less is More
Internet Browser
A Quiet Place to Get Lost in Thought
Headphones to Listen to Lessons
Journal for Writing Your Thoughts
Lessons are in audio and designed to engage your imagination.
“Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.”
– Virginia Wolf
Listen to the Lesson
Audio lessons vary in length from 7-15 minutes. They’re designed to improve your listening skills. Kick back with a cup of coffee, get lost in thought as you imagine scenarios designed to prompt thoughts in your own mind.
Thought Experiments
Play with ideas in your mind and experiment with the possibilies. Thought experiments help you imagine situations, evaluate problems, reflect on your own thinking, and propose solutions.
Journal Your Thoughts
Learn to leverage the advantages of handwriting your thoughts. You’ll use your journaling notes to aid in organizing your thoughts and evaluating your own thinking skills. Self-evaluation is a crucial part of thinking well.
On Demand Hybrid
Learn Through Dialogue
All lessons are on demand and self-paced and are accompanied by monthly interactive web calls. You will be joined by fellow students currently enrolled to participate in Socractic style Zoom calls with your Socratic Seminar Coach.
Experiential
Learn how to learn by becoming a better thinker
Reflective
Learn to self-evaluate through self-directed learning
Practice Skills
Private forum with current and previous students
Introspective
Engage your thought process instead of using short cuts
Dynamic
Appreciate the value of considering new ideas
Challenging
Embrace the process of intellectual perserverence
“If you never ask yourself any questions about the meaning of a passage, you cannot expect the book to give you any insight you do not already possess.”
– Mortimer Adler
A Holistic Approach
Course Modules
Module 1:
Self-Reflection
Lessons and dialogues are geared to building self-awareness of the student’s responsibility in the process of learning, their own capacity for thinking, and be comfortable with mistakes.
Module 2:
Becoming Challenged
Lessons and dialogues are geared toward “brain stretching.” Expanding beyond comfort zone to ask questions and explore one’s own ignorance.
Module 3:
Practicing Thinking
Lessons and dialogues geared toward practicing the skills of thinking by learning to ask questions more strategically aimed at the goal of discovering new ideas.
Learn Self-Evaluation
Fifteen Socratic Dialogues
Take the lessons of the modules deeper by joining weekly Zoom calls with your Socratic Guide and other students. These Socratic Seminars help you become accustomed to learning through dialogue, while allowing the lessons congeal in your mind.
Your Socratic Guide
Listen to Why I Love Teaching this Course!
Kerry Baldwin
Founder of Mere Liberty Courses,
Author, Independent Researcher, B.A. Philosophy
I’m a veteran homeschool parent and have now branched out teaching critical thought using the Socratic method and dialoguing about the principles of a free society. One of those fundamental principles is in the freedom to think, explore, and discover how the world works. I use the Socratic method as a means of discovery and self-improvement in the key skills of critical thinking.
FAQs
Are these courses self-paced?
Weekly lessons are self-directed, including any additional time you may wish to spend on them. The live seminars are not self-directed, and are a necessary part of the course.
Are Zoom calls secure?
The owners of Zoom learned very quickly that they had security flaws shortly after the COVID-19 lock downs. As of April 2020, Zoom has taken steps to increase their security. Though the Internet can never considered 100% guaranteed safe, we believe Zoom has made important changes to their platform to improve security and protect users. You can read their Security Guide here:
https://zoom.us/docs/doc/Zoom-Security-White-Paper.pdf
Am I (or my student) going to master the content of this course?
Not necessarily. The aim of the course is teach critical thinking through the Socratic method. Everyone learns at different speeds and abilities. We will not be testing knowledge of the course content as an assessment of success. Success in these courses means demonstrating you’ve learned at least one of the Course Objective and Outcomes. However, success cannot guaranteed by your coach or Mere Liberty Courses.
Is this a Christian course?
This course does not teach ay theological or doctrinal standards. On occassion, students will bring up God and morality as explainers during the discussion. I won’t discourage this level of inquiry, and do encourage parents to offer further explanations outside of our seminar.
What am I paying for?
You’re paying for 15 live webinar sessions with Socratic coach guiding the discussion.
Are the Zoom calls recorded?
We will NOT be recording live Zoom calls. We want to encourage students to join each week’s session, but we also want to ensure the safety of our students.
My student is under 18, how will their information be protected?
It’s vitally important that you read our site Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy. It is understand that your purchase indicates your agreement to them. We do not maintain student records beyond progress made in the course they are registered for. User accounts are created by the parents at registration. Access to the student portal cannot be obtained until a purchase is made. The only other personal information we’ll have of your minor student are their names. After the completion of the Seminar, you may request their user account is deleted as they will no longer have access to it. To request this, you may use the contact information provided in the Onboarding Guide.
WE NEVER SELL INFORMATION TO THIRD PARTIES.
My student is too young for the age group I want to register them for, but I know they are capable of the work expected. Can I still register them?
We will consider younger students on a case-by-case basis. This will involve a video chat with you and your prospective student so we can verify that they are capable of handling the lessons provided.
Simple pricing
How Do You Sign Up?
“Life, Liberty, & Property”
(Middle School)
Get Started Now!
- 15 Self-Paced Audio Lessons + Worksheets
- 15 45 min Socratic-Style Zoom Calls
- Access to Private Slack Group – Middle Schoolers only
- A Complete Set of the Tuttle Twins books ($97 Value)
Zoom calls: Fridays, 9:00am MT
Spring Seminars Begin:
Week of Aug 29th
$297
per student
Only 15 Spots Available
“Praxeology &
Societal Order”
(High School)
Get Started Now!
- 15 Self-Paced Audio Lessons + Worksheets
- 15 45 min Socratic-Style Zoom Calls
- Access to Private Slack Group – High Schoolers only
- Lesson for the Young Economist by Robert Murphy (PDF)
- Teacher’s Manual (PDF)
Zoom calls: Fridays, 10:00am MT
Spring Seminars Begin:
Week of Aug 29th
$297
per student
Only 15 Spots Available
“For a New Liberty”
(Adult)
Get Started Now!
- 15 Self-Paced Audio Lessons + Worksheets
- 15 45 min Socratic-Style Zoom Calls
- Access to a Private Slack Group – Adult students only
- For a New Liberty by Murray Rothbard (PDF, MP3)
Zoom calls: Saturdays, 10:00am MT
Spring Seminars Begin:
Week of Aug 29th
$297
per student
Only 15 Spots Available
Notice: You can learn more about our Terms of Service
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
-Margaret Mead