Here is a youtube version of last night's Newsnight discussion between Richard Dawkins, ex-Bishop Nazir-Ali and Ruth Gledhill:
Newsnight
The Bishop's claims are just the sort of rewriting of history that was the subject of my talk at our February meeting. His claims that christians were behind the reforms such as the abolition of slavery and improved work conditions in industry ignores the plain fact that many christians, including many churchmen also argued for the opposite causes. The fact that the spokespeople for these causes in parliament were anglicans was due to the fact that until 1828 only anglicans were allowed to stand as MPs. Often the reforms would have happened much earlier if the recommendations of reformers like Tom Paine and Robert Owen had been followed.
Our @HastingsHumanists twitter account responded to quite well last night shortly after the broadcast (there are three of us posting at present).
I have now put a version of my talk onto my webpages:
Rewriting of History by Christian Apologists
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Free Speech Rally
The PodDelusion has a recording of all the speeches given at the Free Speech Rally on Saturday in London: poddelusion Essential listening for anyone who couldn't get there.
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Rewriting of History
Our 9 February Meeting is on The Rewriting of History by Christian Apologists. Are we part of the "Judaeo-Christian" or "Graeco-Roman" traditions, or something new? Hastings Humanists Secretary George Jelliss will present some arguments from history, to be followed by a discussion.
This subject was prompted in part by the Prime Minister's recent speech in which he claimed we are a Christian Nation, and also by a letter in the New Humanist, by Canon Michael Halliwell of Romsey, in which he claimed Christian leadership in all sorts of social reforms.
A PDF poster for this meeting is now available here: http://www.mayhematics.com/r/hastings.htm.
As usual we meet at the White Rock Hotel for a 7 pm start.
This subject was prompted in part by the Prime Minister's recent speech in which he claimed we are a Christian Nation, and also by a letter in the New Humanist, by Canon Michael Halliwell of Romsey, in which he claimed Christian leadership in all sorts of social reforms.
A PDF poster for this meeting is now available here: http://www.mayhematics.com/r/hastings.htm.
As usual we meet at the White Rock Hotel for a 7 pm start.
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Our January Meeting: A Debate
Our January meeting is an experiment in using a Debate format. The proposition to be debated is: "A disembodied mind is impossible." Joe Fearn will argue that the notion of the soul as a disembodied person, or discarnate consciousness, is unintelligible. Stephen Milton will argue the opposing case. The arguments are likely to cover such related concepts as ghosts and spirits and artificial intelligence. Others present will be able to take part in the discussion at the end of the debate phase, and perhaps vote on who they think has won the debate.
The venue is the Notley Room at the White Rock Hotel, 7 pm on Thursday 12 January 2012.
The venue is the Notley Room at the White Rock Hotel, 7 pm on Thursday 12 January 2012.
Monday, 19 December 2011
Prof Brian Cox: Physics or Metaphysics?
Much as I appreciate the work of the physicist Brian Cox in popularising scientific knowledge and countering nonsense or pseudoscientific "woo", there were a couple of occasions in his programme "Night with the Stars" on BBC2 TV last night where it seems to me he slipped from physics to metaphysics.
This was also noted by Arifa Akbar in a review in The Independent:
Similarly David Butcher in The Radio Times:
It is good to see the actual equations of quantum physics, or a version of them, in this case Feynman's path-integration method, actually being shown in a popular presentation, but the interpretation given to it is just one of many, none of which are yet entirely satisfactory. The problem is that electrons are not analogous to "particles" of sand, although that term is still used to describe them. I sometimes think that they are perhaps more like a "cloud" or "swarm". Surely his interpretation of the Pauli exclusion principle is just plain wrong.
This was also noted by Arifa Akbar in a review in The Independent:
Physics began to sound first like metaphysics ("Particles that make this diamond are in communication with every one of you and with everything in the universe") and then, like Buddhism ("When I heat this diamond up, all the atoms in the universe change their energy levels... Everything is connected to everything else"). These wondrous statements made quantum physics seem suddenly clear cut, until it got complicated again.
Similarly David Butcher in The Radio Times:
he shows how diamonds are made up of nothingness, and how one such precious gem in the heart of London is in communication with the largest diamond in the cosmos. He also reveals how things can be in two places at once
It is good to see the actual equations of quantum physics, or a version of them, in this case Feynman's path-integration method, actually being shown in a popular presentation, but the interpretation given to it is just one of many, none of which are yet entirely satisfactory. The problem is that electrons are not analogous to "particles" of sand, although that term is still used to describe them. I sometimes think that they are perhaps more like a "cloud" or "swarm". Surely his interpretation of the Pauli exclusion principle is just plain wrong.
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
December Free-For-All
Our December meeting, at 7pm on 8th December in the Notley Room at the White Rock Hotel will be open for anyone present to give a five-minute talk or presentation on anything they think may be of interest to us. It doesn't have to be a rant or specifically about Humanism. The timing will be flexible.
We will also vote on the decision that was held over from our AGM, whether to change our relationship with the BHA from Affiliation to Partnership. We will also review other activities such as attendance of members at meetings of BHA Group and SACRE Representatives and at the NSS AGM, and the successful launch of our Twitter account @HastingsHumanists).
We will also vote on the decision that was held over from our AGM, whether to change our relationship with the BHA from Affiliation to Partnership. We will also review other activities such as attendance of members at meetings of BHA Group and SACRE Representatives and at the NSS AGM, and the successful launch of our Twitter account @HastingsHumanists).
Friday, 11 November 2011
Decisions at our AGM
The following are the decisions made at our Annual General Meeting. Since the minutes I took are rather illegible, and my memory is known to be fallible, please notify me if you spot any errors or omissions. There were 16 members in attendance and one apology for absence.
The annual membership fee remains at £5, and the cost of attending a meeting will be £2 (this is to cover the cost of the room which is currently £30 for two hours but may go up next year). The start-time of meetings will be 7 pm instead of 6:30 pm in future.
The Chair, Stephen Milton, and Secretary, George Jelliss, were reelected. Lesley Arnold-Hopkins stood down as Treasurer but becomes Deputy Chair. Duncan Cleverly becomes Treasurer as well as Social Secretary. Helene White remains formally Assistant Treasurer.
Lesley and Duncan will open a twitter account (@HastingsHumanists). Helen Mitcham will act as a Group Representative at GRAM. The decision whether the group should be an Affiliate or Partner of the BHA was postponed, and Felicity Harvest agreed to examine the BHA proposals in more detail and report back to the committee. We will continus to send Humanist Observers to the East Sussex SACRE, and lobby for more formal recognition.
So far only two meetings are definite for next year: January will feature a formal Debate between Joe Fearn and Stephen Milton on "Is a Disembodied Mind Possible?". June will be a talk from Barbara Burfoot about the Sea of Faith organisation. Enquiries for other outside speakers are in progress. Offers of talks from members (Joe Fearn on the Anthropic Principle, George Jelliss on Rewriting of History, and on Scepticism) are so far available to fit in the programme as needed.
The annual membership fee remains at £5, and the cost of attending a meeting will be £2 (this is to cover the cost of the room which is currently £30 for two hours but may go up next year). The start-time of meetings will be 7 pm instead of 6:30 pm in future.
The Chair, Stephen Milton, and Secretary, George Jelliss, were reelected. Lesley Arnold-Hopkins stood down as Treasurer but becomes Deputy Chair. Duncan Cleverly becomes Treasurer as well as Social Secretary. Helene White remains formally Assistant Treasurer.
Lesley and Duncan will open a twitter account (@HastingsHumanists). Helen Mitcham will act as a Group Representative at GRAM. The decision whether the group should be an Affiliate or Partner of the BHA was postponed, and Felicity Harvest agreed to examine the BHA proposals in more detail and report back to the committee. We will continus to send Humanist Observers to the East Sussex SACRE, and lobby for more formal recognition.
So far only two meetings are definite for next year: January will feature a formal Debate between Joe Fearn and Stephen Milton on "Is a Disembodied Mind Possible?". June will be a talk from Barbara Burfoot about the Sea of Faith organisation. Enquiries for other outside speakers are in progress. Offers of talks from members (Joe Fearn on the Anthropic Principle, George Jelliss on Rewriting of History, and on Scepticism) are so far available to fit in the programme as needed.
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