Confessions of a Lefty, Godless
Magazine Editor

Jennifer Bardi

October 28, 2012

Now in her sixth year at the helm of the Humanist magazine, Editor Jennifer Bardi has some confessions to make, namely that she never knew Humanists were sexist, gun-toting, anti-abortion, homophobic, sexually inhibited, free-market loving conspiracy theorists. Well, a few of them anyway.

Bardi will speak about hot-button social and political issues on which Humanists differ in their opinions, the history of the AHA’s stance on core issues, and how the AHA continues to advocate for nonbelievers of all stripes.

 
 

Humanist Community Forum (2012-10-28): Confessions of a Lefty, Godless Magazine Editor (Jennifer Bardi) from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

 

Our Home, The Mind – Understanding it better, Enjoying it More, and Using it Well

Martin Squibbs

October 21, 2012

Martin Squibbs

Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, Psychology, and the study of Memory and Consciousness are all focusing on understanding the nature, behaviour and living reality of our home; the human mind, living within our human brain.  Weighing 3lb, being 6.5″x5.5″x3.5″ in size, having 2% of our body’s weight, consuming 20% of our body’s energy, containing around 100 billion neurons and establishing around 100 trillion connections, the human brain is, or should I say most likely you are, perceiving and reading and interpreting these words within its neural networks right now.

What does this relatively new form of life, this highly self aware and complex human brain, bring to Earth, to our Solar system, and to this Universe as a whole, so far as we know? And how do we find joy within it and do well by it? I intend to share new scientific insights into the structure and processes of our memories in mind, and then offer some of my own thoughts and theories regarding the very nature and form that our human minds take within reality as a whole, and in doing so, seek to propose some answers to these questions.

To see Martin’s excellent slides click here.
 

Beyond Nature’s Housekeepers: American Women in Environmental History

Nancy C. Unger

October 14, 2012

Nancy Unger

Fifty years ago Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, exposing the devastating impact of pesticides, especially DDT, on the whole web of life. Time magazine dismissed her as “hysterically overemphatic” and the New Yorker published a letter from a reader who complained, “As for insects, isn’t it just like a woman to be scared to death of a few bugs!”

Why is it that men and women have often responded so differently to the environment and environmental issues?  From pre-Columbian Native Americans to the modern environmental justice movement, gender has played an underappreciated role in environmental attitudes and actions.  In this illustrated presentation based on her new book Beyond Nature’s Housekeepers: American Women in Environmental History (Oxford University Press), historian Nancy C. Unger reveals how women have played a unique role, for better and sometimes for worse, in the shaping of the American environment.

 
 

Humanist Community Forum (2012-10-14) – Beyond Nature’s Housekeepers: American Women in Environmental History (Nancy C. Unger) from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

 

You and Humanist Manifestos

Sandy Smith

October 7, 2012

Sandy Smith

Have you ever thought about writing your own personal Humanist Manifesto?  Sandy Smith, a member of the Humanist Community, will give a brief history of the Humanist Manifestos written under the auspices of the American Humanist Association and other organizations, and then there will be an opportunity for you to consider how you would write your own.

Sandy’s slides provide an excellent history of  Humanist Manifestos:

 
 

Humanist Community Forum (2012-10-07): You and Humanist Manifestos (Sandy Smith) from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

 

Orwell Was An Optimist: The Political Landscape of the U.S. Today

Paul George

September 30, 2012

Paul George

In this talk, Paul George uses as a framework George Orwell’s famous themes of “war is peace”, “freedom is slavery”, and “ignorance is strength”, as a way of examining modern-day America, which translates to endless war, the national security state, and propaganda (along with lousy journalism).

Paul George has been a peace activist and grassroots organizer for nearly forty years. He is the Director of Peninsula Peace and Justice Center (www.peaceandjustice.org) in Palo Alto, CA.

 

Humanist Community Forum (2012-09-30) – Orwell Was An Optimist: The Political Landscape of the U.S. Today (Paul George) from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.