A selection of humanist and freethought events for May, 2008
The Iraqi War: An Object Lesson in Hubris and Ignorance w/Boe Meyerson
Sunday, May 4; 11:00 AM
This disastrous and unprovoked war which has taken so many young American and Iraqi lives, wounded in body and soul so many others, and produced nothing but misery and greater insecurity, is America’s greatest boondoggle since the Vietnam War. It teaches us how little we learn from experience. The speaker will give a brief presentation followed by a guided open discussion in which the audience is invited to participate.
Boe Meyerson is the leader of the Ethical Culture Society of Essex County and is also the Humanist Chaplain at Columbia University.
Ethical Culture Society of Essex County
516 Prospect Street, Maplewood, New Jersey 07040
Corner of Parker and Prospect
Phone 973-763-1905
Meet the Author: Carol Tavris
Monday, May 5; 7:00 PM
Why is it often so hard to admit mistakes, change our minds, or give up a wrong belief? What blocks us from even being aware that we are wrong and might need to change? Our cognitive biases and blind spots help us sleep at night, but they can also have disastrous consequences: for professionals clinging to outdated methods, for scientists unable to discard faulty hypotheses, for politicians determined to “stay the course” even as it leads into quicksand, for those who weave self-justifying narratives to explain their cruelties, for any of us who defend our way as the only right way . . . in short, for all of us on this shrinking planet.
CAROL TAVRIS is a social psychologist, lecturer, and writer. Her books include Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion and The Mismeasure of Woman, and she has written articles and book reviews for many publications. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science, a member of the editorial board of Psychological Science in the Public Interest, and a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
The Center for Inquiry / NYC Skeptics
SLC Conference Center (352 7th Ave 16th Fl.)
NY, NY
Contact: (212) 504-2945 or nyc [at] centerforinquiry [dot] net
Of Paradigm Shifts and the Objectivity of Science
Tuesday, May 6; 6:30 PM
Dr. Massimo Pigliucci, Professor of Ecology and Evolution as well as of Philosophy at Stony Brook University, will give a talk on paradigm shifts and the objectivity of science. Elected an Honorary Member of SHSNY in 2007, Dr. Pigliucci is published in such magazines as Skeptic, Skeptical Inquirer, Philosophy Now and The Philosopher’s Magazine, is a consultant to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, and is the author of the popular science book Denying Evolution: Creationism, Scientism and the Nature of Science.
This lecture is based on a chapter in his new book, the working title of which is Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell the Difference Between Science and Bunk.
Secular Humanist Society of New York
Muhlenberg Branch Public Library
209 West 23rd Street (at 7th Ave)
NY, NY - Contact: (212) 308-2165
Estelle Meislich on the Anthropic Principal
Saturday, May 10; 10:00 AM
Retired Professor of Chemistry, Estelle Meislich will speak on the Anthropic Prinicple, which states that humans should take into account the constraints that human existence as observers imposes on the sort of universe that could be observed. In other words, the only universe we can see is one that supports life. If it were a different type of universe, we would not exist to see it.
The late evolutionary biologist, Steven Jay Gould and others have observed that known causes and effects seem to have been reversed in the Anthropic Principle. Dr. Gould compared the claim that the universe is fine-tuned for the benefit of our kind of life to claiming that sausages were originally made long and narrow so that they would fit modern hotdog buns, or that ships had been invented to provide homes for barnacles. These critics cite the vast store of physical and evolutionary evidence which shows that life has been fine-tuned by the universe, through natural selection, to match the conditions in which life exists. Fossil, genetic and other biological evidence abundantly supports the observation that life adapts to physics, not the other way around.
The Humanists of North Jersey
Maurice M. Pine Public Library
10-01 Fair Lawn Ave., Fair Lawn, NJ
No contact info
Making the Transition to Living Sustainably on our Planet
Sunday, May 11; 11:00 AM
In this talk, Dr. Dwight Collins will present some frameworks for thinking about how to become sustainable as a species on our planet. Topics he will discuss include climate change, our evolutionary epic, our human pro-social instincts, religions’ contributions to sustainable development, and the role of business in our becoming sustainable on the planet.
Dwight Collins teaches Sustainable Operations & Production at the Presidio School of Management, one of a handful of graduate schools of management in the US that integrates environmental and social sustainability throughout its MBA curriculum. At the Presidio, he also directs the Project Oriented Learning Program. In this capacity he coaches students in their initiatives to help businesses improve sustainable management practices. Dwight also runs the Collins Family Foundation, whose mission is to “provide leadership in humanity’s efforts to live sustainably on earth.” The foundation contributes to key nonprofits that are making notable contributions to sustainability, cosponsors conferences on profitable sustainability, and sponsors research projects related to sustainability. It’s publishing division, the Collins Foundation Press, publishes books and articles on sustainability related topics. Prior to working in sustainability, Dwight’s career focused on working with companies to optimize their supply chains. He holds a B.S. degree in Engineering Physics and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Operations Research, all from Cornell University.
Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County
687 Larch Avenue, Teaneck, NJ
Contact: 201-836-5187