{"id":887,"date":"2012-04-21T04:13:31","date_gmt":"2012-04-21T04:13:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/?page_id=887"},"modified":"2026-05-14T23:37:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T23:37:42","slug":"free-thought-discussion","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/free-thought-discussion\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Thought Discussion – Online"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are holding our meeting online via Zoom and in person at either the Sunnyvale, Mountain View or Palo Alto\u00a0 Public Library. If you wish to join us, please sign up at\u00a0https:\/\/www.meetup.com\/humanistcommunity\/events\/307349792\/edit\/?fromSeries=true,<\/a> and the link to the meeting will be available to you. If you wish to join us in person, send an email to webmaster@humanists.org <\/strong>requesting the meeting place.
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New Book:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>:\u00a0We are reading now: Animal Farm by George Orwell,<\/strong>
Animal Farm by George Orwell is a timeless allegorical novella that critiques political corruption and the pursuit of power through the lens of a seemingly simple tale about farm animals. Set on a fictional farm, the animals, led by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, overthrow their human farmer to establish a society founded on equality and freedom. However, as the pigs gain control, the ideals of the rebellion are subverted, and a new tyranny emerges, encapsulated in the chilling maxim, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” …….more see: https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Animal-Farm-George-Orwell\/dp\/1956861378\/ref=sr_1_6?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HY9kxknfFDtV0vR7kDRglKf53P_BKG0w4bve2d-Hvdd1w8JE4jTtg5wLgjwfDSjKKfDpbM3pSRsDjiVa44OIuANpiuFQg0BzsZBGluGmhNzS448Z7U2BFXKDVRBYehmVrMMFuc_MdwbfvWX9EYUMvMRKtwaG2k6-K7BVgMBdbBAPQvzvN-h_SwhKzi3ABxe4QdL4UZi4T4HrwIzuPA0OSB-BcsvLirxrh_nbFe855Dk.P8JB72utlkTGmEwSXI_BCF61JMUuplc3U7_er2T9Rfw&dib_tag=se&keywords=animal+farm+george+orwell&qid=1778158328&sr=8-6<\/p>\n

20 May<\/strong> – We are reading Chapters 4 through 6, Pages 29 to 57, 28 pages over one week.
3 June<\/strong> – Freethought Discussion. Bring a topic to share and discuss<\/p>\n\n\n

Past Books We Have Read<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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o Justice-Centered Humanism: How (and Why) to Engage in Public Policy For Good (Humanism in Practice), by Roy Speckhardt<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

o Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering, by Malcolm Gladwell, 2024, 368 pages<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o “Autocracy, Inc.”, by Anne Applebaum, 7, 176 Pages Total<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction by Philip E. Tetlock (Author), Dan Gardner (Author), <\/p>\n\n\n\n

o The Dawn of a Mindful Universe: A Manifesto for Humanity’s Future, August 22, 2023
by Marcelo Gleiser (Author)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o “Revolt in 2100” by Robert A. Heinlein<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o “How Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Them.”, Barbara Walter, 293 pages, , Barbara Walter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o “Discrimination and Disparities”, March 5, 2019 by Thomas Sowell<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o As A Man Thinketh, James Allen,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o The Once and Future Liberal: After Identity Politics, by Mark Lilla, 2017, 160 pages<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir, 2021, 496 pages<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o “The Territorial Imperative: A Personal Inquiry into the Animal Origins of Property and Nations by Robert Ardrey.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point, by Steven Levitsky, Daniel Ziblatt, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o “The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo” by Tom Reiss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o “New China Playbook” , by Keyu Jin, 368 pages, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o “The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America, by Amy Chua, Jed Rubenfeld, 2015<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o “Defying Hitler”, by Sebastian Haffner, Oliver Pretzel (Translator), written in 1939, published in 2003, 309 pages<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o “The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong”, Laurence J. Peter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o “The Measure of Civilization: How Social Development Decides the Fate of Nations”, by Ian Morris, 2014, 235 pages<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o Survive: Why We Do What We Do, by Jerry Pannone, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst, Robert M. Sapolsky, 2017<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cOur Own Worst Enemy: The Assault from within on Modern Democracy”, 2021, by Thomas M. Nichols<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cThe Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity”, March 24, 2020 by Toby Ord<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cThe System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It\u201d by Robert Reich<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o “The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life”, by Anu Partanen,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o “It Can’t Happen Here” by Sinclair Lewis<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o “Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity\u2015and Why This Harms Everybody”, by by Helen Pluckrose (Author), James Lindsay (Author), Hardcover \u2013 August 25, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cBiased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice that Shapes What We See, Think, and Do\u201d by Jennifer L. Eberhardt, PhD, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o\u201cThe Tyranny of Merit: What\u2019s Become of the Common Good\u201d by Michael J. Sandel, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cTalking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don\u2019t Know\u201d by Malcolm Gladwell, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cInfluence:  The Psychology of Persuasion\u201d by Robert B. Cialdini, PhD, 2009<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cI, Robot\u201d by Isaac Asimov, 1950, 1977<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cA Confession\u201d by Leon Tolstoy, 2011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cFactfulness: Ten Reasons We\u2019re Wrong about the World and Why Things Are Better than You Think\u201d by Hans Rosling, 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cThe Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley\u201d by Malcolm X, Alex Haley, and Attallah Shabazz, 1992<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o “The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People’s Economy” by Stephanie Kelton, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o “Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and other Animals” by John Gray, 2007<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cNonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny” by Robert Wright, 2000<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o “Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion” by Paul Bloom, 2016<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o “Consciousness and the Brain: Deciphering How the Brain Codes Our Thoughts” by Stanislas Dehaene, 2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cThe Knowledge: How to Rebuild Civilization in the Aftermath of a Cataclysm\u201d by Lewis Dartnell, 2015<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cThinking, Fast and Slow\u201d by Daniel Kahneman, 2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cThe New Confessions of an Economic Hitman\u201d by John Perkins, 2016<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cThe Ravenous Brain: How the New Science of Consciousness Explains Our Insatiable Search for Meaning\u201d by Daniel Bor, 2012<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cThe Skeptics Guide to the Universe: How to Know What\u2019s Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake\u201d by Dr. Steven Novella & 4 more, 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cCreating Change though Humanism\u201d by Roy Speckhardt, 2015<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cThe Fourth Turning\u201d by William Strauss and Neil Howe, 2009<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cThe Human Web: A Bird\u2019s-Eye View of World History\u201d by J. R. McNeill & William H. McNeill, 2003<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cCapital in the Twenty-First Century\u201d by Thomas Picketty, 2017<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cThe Origins of Totalitarianism\u201d by Hanna Arendt, 1973<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cSapiens: A Brief History of Humankind\u201d by Yuval Noah Harari, 2015<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cThe Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom\u201d by Jonathan Haidt, 2006<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cThe Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion\u201d by Jonathan Haidt, 2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cJustice: What\u2019s the Right Thing to Do\u201d by Michael J. Sandel, 2009<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cListen Liberal: What Ever Happened to the Party of the People?\u201d by Thomas Frank, 2017<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cPlato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won\u2019t Go Away\u201d by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, 2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cIntuition Pumps and other Tools for Thinking\u201d by Daniel C. Dennett, 2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

o \u201cThe Swerve: How the World Became Modern\u201d by Stephen Greenblatt, 2012<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are holding our meeting online via Zoom and in person at either the Sunnyvale, Mountain View or Palo Alto\u00a0 Public Library. If you wish to join us, please sign up at\u00a0https:\/\/www.meetup.com\/humanistcommunity\/events\/307349792\/edit\/?fromSeries=true, and the link to the meeting will be available to you. If you wish to join us in person, send an email to … Continue reading “Free Thought Discussion – Online”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/887"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=887"}],"version-history":[{"count":499,"href":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16682,"href":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/887\/revisions\/16682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}