Tag Archives: Freethought

Guest Speaker Chris diCarlo: “We Are All African”

17 Jul

The Saskatoon Freethinkers are excited to announce a special public event.

When: Tuesday, August 10, 2010 6:30 PM
Where: Frances Morrison Public Library
311 – 23rd St. E.
Saskatoon, SK S7K 0J6
975-7558

Dr. Chris diCarlo will give a talk related to his recent Free Inquiry article (PDF) titled We are all African! Can scientific proof of our commonality save us?

His lecture tour We Are All African has been presented across North America and has helped raised awareness of evolutionary theory and funding for the Bracelet of Hope campaign, which is a charity raising money for an HIV awareness program and the Tšepong HIV/Aids clinic in Lesotho, Africa.

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Agenda

6:30 pm Doors Open
7:00 pm Welcome and Lecture followed by questions
9:00 pm Social

We’ll probably continue the discussion at a pub.
No food or drink is allowed in the theatre, but there will be coffee available outside the room.

Free admission (donations appreciated) – Minimum suggested donation: $10
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Short Biography

Ontario’s Best Lecturer 2008 and Canada’s Humanist of the Year 2008, Christopher diCarlo is a Philosopher of Science and Ethics whose interests in cognitive evolution have taken him into the natural and social sciences.

His personal research focuses on how and why humans reason, think, and act the way they do. He is interested in how and why the human brain has evolved to its current state and what cross-cultural and cross-species behaviour can provide insight into universally common modes of reasoning. He is also interested in the application of neuroscience (specifically fMRI work), in an effort to better understand psychoneuroendocrine feedback looping in problem solving.

Dr. diCarlo is a Fellow/Advisor with the Centre for Inquiry Canada. His most recent book (just released by McGraw-Hill Ryerson) is entitled How to Become a Really Good Pain in the Ass: A Practical Guide to Thinking Critically.

He is also a past Visiting Research Scholar at Harvard University in the Department of Anthropology and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology where he conducted research for two books he is currently writing called The Comparative Brain: The Evolution of Human Reasoning and The Evolution of Religion: Why Many Need to Believe in Deities, Demons, and the Unseen.

As an outspoken activist for freethought, humanism, and secularism, Dr diCarlo supports and is a life member of the Humanist Association of Canada and the Society of Ontario Freethinkers. He is also a board advisor to Freethought TV, an annual workshop presenter at Camp Quest Ontario, and has given many enlightening talks at numerous humanist events across the country. He was also the first Atheist invited to speak at the annual World Religions Conference in Kitchener, Ontario.

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There is an article about diCarlo and the controversy this topic caused in Humanist Perspectives.

If anyone would like to donate to this event, you can do that in person at our meetup on July 18 and you can also send mail to

Saskatoon Freethinkers
Box 31043 RPO Broadway & Taylor
Saskatoon, SK, S7H 5S8

This is a bit short notice, but was a great opportunity because Chris is driving through Saskatchewan on a lecture tour. We hope everyone will try to attend and support this event. Tell your friends and help us get the word out!

We are looking for volunteers to help out on the day of the event with greeting, set up, and clean up. Let us know if you are willing to lend a hand.

RSVP to this event on Facebook or on our Meetup site at http://www.meetup.com/Saskatoon-Freethinkers/calendar/14127550/.

Open Thread Meetup

29 Jun

July 18th, 11:30AM to 2:30 PM

Venice House

906 Central Avenue
Saskatoon, SK S7N 2G8
306-373-6666

For July, we will have an informal type of Meetup. This will allow people to socialize more in a casual atmosphere.

We’ll suggest a few questions (e.g. What is a freethinker?) and just let people discuss those or other ideas in small groups. We’ll check in at the end to see how members like this format and what interesting things everyone discussed.

Visit our Facebook page or the Meetup site to RSVP!

Film: Dawkins’ “The Enemies of Reason”, June 11th

26 May

Rusty Macdonald Branch Library – Auditorium – Friday, June 11th, 6PM

225 Primrose Drive
Saskatoon, SK S7K 5E4
(306) 975-7600

Come out to a public film screening of “The Enemies of Reason“, followed by a discussion. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.

Hosted by the Saskatoon Freethinkers and the Saskatoon Skeptics.

Agenda

6:15 pm Welcome

6:30 pm Film

8:15 pm Discussion

There will be coffee. We’ll probably continue the discussion at a pub – maybe the soccer centre (next door to the library) if the weather is good.

Film Summary

From the Richard Dawkins Website:

There are two ways of looking at the world – through faith and superstition or through the rigours of logic, observation and evidence – in other words, through reason. Reason and a respect for evidence are precious commodities, the source of human progress and our safeguard against fundamentalists and those who profit from obscuring the truth. Yet, today, society appears to be retreating from reason.

Apparently harmless but utterly irrational belief systems from astrology to New Age mysticism, clairvoyance to alternative health remedies are booming. Richard Dawkins confronts what he sees as an epidemic of irrational, superstitious thinking…

He explains the dangers the pick and mix of knowledge and nonsense poses in the internet age, and passionately re-states the case for reason and science.

What is a Freethinker?

21 Apr

The term freethinker is defined in the dictionary as “one that forms opinions on the basis of reason independently of authority; especially one who doubts or denies religious dogma.” This means that to be a freethinker, one has to be willing to consider any idea and any possibility, as long as it can stand up to the tests of reason, and does not fall into the traps of dogma or arbitrary authority.

So, how do we determine these tests? The scientific method and the principles of logic provide much of the basis of freethought; they form a practical way to turn ideas into concrete knowledge:

  • Knowledge must be testable; without supporting evidence, there is no way to prove something is accurate or correct.
  • Knowledge must be falsifiable; without the ability to disprove an idea, then how can you know if you are wrong?
  • Knowledge must be parsimonious; it should require as few assumptions as possible. If an assumption can be shown to be invalid, then the entire idea may be worthless!
  • Knowledge must be logical; it must be free of contradictions, non sequiturs, and ad hominem character attacks.

While this is a strong basis for freethought, it is not a complete foundation. The scientific method itself can be viewed as a form of dogma, and thus the freethinker is also free to explore ideas that do not have a scientific basis. However, this is where many people get the mistaken idea that a freethinker must consider any idea, no matter how ridiculous it may seem. Ideas that are not testable become debatable, but as soon as an idea falls into the realm of logic and scientific inquiry, their principles must be applied. It may not be possible to test for the existence (or non-existence) of a supernatural deity, but the idea of creationism certainly can be! Therefore, religion is a valid point of debate for the freethinker, but an obvious non-truth becomes nothing more than uninformed opinion.

It is very important to stress that freethinking does not require a religious point of view, or even a non-religious point of view. Freethinking is a philosophical position, not a political one. Freethinkers are not necessarily atheists. It is quite possible to be one without the other, as long as the principles of reason and logic are employed. It is the process that matters, not the conclusions being made.

Some additional links and references:

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