American Humanist Association (AHA)

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Comment by Geraldo Cienmarcos on January 18, 2011 at 1:21pm

new book on Stephen Jay Gould's philosophy

http://www.monthlyreview.org/books/stephenjaygould.php

New Book promotion : Monthly Review
[just posting this for interest. No, I don't have any financial interest in the sales, but I liked Gould a lot and I like seeing a book on his philosophical views. There is also an informative bio about Gould on wsws.org

On the death of paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/jul2002/goul-j01.shtml

 - Gary ]

The Science and Humanism
of Stephen Jay Gould
 
by Richard York and Brett Clark
 
223 pages / $16.95 paperback

"This thoughtful and perceptive presentation of the remarkable work of Stephen Jay Gould is most welcome. With skill and insight, the authors elucidate Gould’s contributions to evolutionary theory and to the understanding of the interactions of science and human life in many dimensions, from the social factors that enter into serious scientific inquiry to the ways in which recognition of the meaninglessness of nature sets the conditions for a humanistic concern for the achievements of creative intelligence and for how to live a decent life. Not least, they bring forth Gould’s dedication to presenting to the general public the discoveries of biological science, and what it reveals about the wonders of nature, and his inspiring commitment to justice and freedom in his life and work." — Noam Chomsky

"York and Clark present a sympathetic and expansive overview of Stephen Jay Gould’s scientific and popular writings, emphasizing how his humanism penetrated every aspect of his work. They offer an insightful interpretation of Gould’s scientific, historical, and philosophical endeavors, giving the reader a refreshing and unified view of his life’s accomplishments." — Elisabeth A. Lloyd, Indiana University, Bloomington; author, Science, Politics, and Evolution

"Stephen Jay Gould will be remembered for many things. He made major contributions to post-Darwinian evolutionary theory, its philosophy, and history. His many essays and books are models of popular science writing. Above all he had a passionate concern for social justice and was a powerful analytical critic of the ways in which 'science' has been used in support of racism and sexism. Here, sociologists Richard York and Brett Clark bring together many facets of Gould's vast output in an accessible exegesis of his ideas." — Steven Rose, editor, The Richness of Life: The Essential Stephen Jay Gould

 

Comment by Geraldo Cienmarcos on January 1, 2011 at 5:23pm

a gift of the human... music

"Music is a human right ... art as a right of the people." - conductor and social philosopher, Gustavo Dudamel 

"If you put a musical instrument in a kid's hand he will never pick up a gun." - José Antonio Abreu
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Antonio_Abreu

Tavis Smily special and blog. WONDERFUL documentary.
 1 hour and worth the time!
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/reports/s1e4/

covers "El Sistema", Dudamel's social philosophy, and career in Los Angeles.

Several times during the program it was said that the arts and music education teaches sensibility.

posted by Gary

Comment by Geraldo Cienmarcos on November 23, 2010 at 4:04pm

Yes. It took me over an hour to transcribe. I misplaced "person" for "gender". Completely my fault. I had gender or "same sex" on my mind but I failed to read what I actually typed. I hope people can play back on You Tube. It was a poignant moment when Michael Shermer went off script. He said more than just that and got some applause when he pointed out that discriminating against people just because they are different is "unChristian".

Bye the way. Do not under estimate Mexico. There is a thriving intellectual and political life, and many doubters. And the Constitution has a stricter separation of church and state than the USA according to the opinion of some Mexicans.
-- Gary

Comment by Geraldo Cienmarcos on November 23, 2010 at 12:16am

a link to a YouTube video of a debate (participants including Dawkins, Shermer) : Does the Universe Havea Purpose?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6tIee8FwX8


Michael Shermer: "What is our purpose? We come from stardust. All of the elements of which we are made of were cooked inside stars, coalesced into new solar systems like ours, and here we are complex organisms. For 3 and 1/2 billion years life has evolved from one generation to the next not one broken chain in this long link. Darwin said instead of finding this to be depressing as our opponents think this is a grim world view, in fact it's an ennobling world view. Darwin said, "When I view all beings not as special creations, but as the lineal descendants of some few beings which lived long ago they seem to be to become ennoble. It's ennobling to think how fortunate we are to be part of that 3 and 1/2 billion year long chain. We are an integral link in that. What could be more uplifting than that. But there is more than that. We have big brains. We can do many different things to contribute to this lineal descent of hitting our genes into the next generation. In fact there is a science that studies this. It is what makes people happy, fulfilled, and feeling like they have purpose. There are four things you can do. 1. Deep love, family commitment, commitment to another person, even a person of the same person ... 2. Meaningful work and career, that is doing something productive makes people feel fulfilled, happy and have a sense of purpose. Not just to make money, but to actually do something in the world that makes a difference. 3. We are a social primate species. How we interact with other people matters. So the third thing you can do is be involved socially, politically, in your community, not just your family and your extended family but people you don't know, strangers, manning the soup kitchens, volunteering for non-profits, helping other people in some way. This is one of the things that people report makes them feel better, happier, fulfilled, giving them deep purpose in their lives. And finally 4. Some sense of transcendence, something beyond you. Now religion claims this as their monopoly, their exclusive rights to the idea of being spiritually fulfilled. This is nonsense. The religious world view is so small, so medieval in this tiny little proscenium right here at the stage on earth of which we're acting out this drama just for some grand life to come. No, that's not what counts. What counts is the here and now. If there is no after life, if there is no God, how important it is now what you do. Now is when it counts. Your relationships with other people now is what counts and matters. Not so you can chalk up some points for next life, to get a bonus and move up the ranks of to some special country club on high. No, what you do now matters. Now I'm going to close with a quote from Helen Keller most of you probably know that Helen Keller was blind, deaf, and dumb, 1930s, who found deep significance, wrote, "I know no study that will take you nearer to the way of happiness than the study of nature and I include in the study of nature, not only things and their forces, but mankind and their ways and the molding of the affections and the will into an earnest desire not only to be happy, but to create happiness and it all comes down to this, the simplest way to be happy is to do good."

Comment by Geraldo Cienmarcos on November 13, 2010 at 8:54pm

The Casablanca Call for Democracy and Human Rights
in the Arab World

CasaBlanca
The Casablanca Call for Democracy and Human Rights

We, the signatories to this call, as politicians, intellectuals and civil society advocates, believe that the achievement of democracy and the embodiment of human rights in the Arab world is an absolute necessity and requires a broader engagement of all citizens and political and social forces. We observe, with great concern, the dramatic and alarming backsliding of political reforms in the Arab world, due to several structural obstacles since the beginning of the new century. We hereby appeal to all parties concerned with the future of democracy - governments, civil society institutions, political organizations, trade unions, and the media - in the belief that the achievement of real and effective reforms is the responsibility of all parties.

READ MORE on line of the 12 point call...
https://www.csidonline.org/component/content/article/591-casablanca...

Comment by Geraldo Cienmarcos on November 10, 2010 at 9:35pm

'The planet won't be destroyed by global warming because God promised Noah,' says politician bidding to chair U.S. energy committee

By Mail Foreign Service
10th November 2010
A Republican congressman hoping to chair the powerful House Energy Committee refers to the Bible and God on the issue of global warming.

Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1328366/John-Shimkus-Global...

tiny URL: http://tinyurl.com/2u4tnto

Comment by Geraldo Cienmarcos on November 10, 2010 at 3:42pm

AHA
Don't Miss Our First Humanist TV Ad this Friday!

http://www.considerhumanism.org/

Comment by Sarah Walton on October 10, 2010 at 1:52pm

Wow, lots of great stuff. Thanks again, Geraldo!

Comment by Geraldo Cienmarcos on October 10, 2010 at 10:27am

CSW: The Evolution of God with Robert Wright
On 2 December 2009, The Center for Science Writings at Stevens Institute of Technology featured
ROBERT WRIGHT discussing his book.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxMVo3Yf448
Talk by Wright begins about 7 mins. 18 seconds.

Comment by Geraldo Cienmarcos on October 10, 2010 at 10:16am

Greg Graffin's dissertation
TITLE Monism, atheism, and the naturalist worldview: Perspectives from evolutionary biology

http://www.thebrpage.net/news/?newsID=290

[excerpts of abstract]
Evolutionary biology has deep significance for religion, ... studies reveal progressively declining belief in god and immortality among American scientists through the 20th century. ... We are left with no adequate means of determining ... the degree of compatibilism among evolutionary biologists with respect to evolution and religion. ... This study reveals the following statistics about the participants from 22 countries: 83.89% are irreligious; 87.92% reject life after death; and 77.85% affirm philosophical naturalism as their world-view. Only 1.3% of the participants have a traditionally theistic world-view; an additional 3.3% blend theism with naturalism, resulting in the lowest frequency of theistic belief ever reported among a group of scientists, 4.6%. ... Only rarely, influential evolutionary biologists allow religious conceptions to enter their naturalistic world-view. They appeal to a unique blend of monism and deism that allows a small, relatively insignificant, role for god as a careless creator. The majority of the respondents see no need to invoke theological concepts in their naturalistic world-views at all, and yet, still maintain a technically compatibilist stance with respect to evolution and religion. Only 10.07% of the participants express a complete incompatibilism between evolution and religion. The majority, 71.88%, believe that religion is a social adaptation, and they find compatibility by expressing religion in evolutionary biological terms. Most participants believe that evolutionary biology is crucial for understanding the many social institutions of the human species, of which religion is only one. ... the respondents reveal a naturalist world-view that accepts traditional religion only on the condition that religion remains mute on the most meaningful matters of human experience.

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