A Philorum Event

- Are Buddhism and Science conflicting or complementary enterprises?
- This talk covers a range of topics including; the views of famous mathematicians and scientists on Buddhism; the evidence for the maharishi effect, sub-atomic 'kalapas', and re-incarnation; the latest in mindfulness-based meditation, positive psychology, buddhist psychology, and the 'Shamatha Project'.
- Finally an 'overlapping magisteria' model is presented to understand how Buddhism and Science should co-exist.

The NSW Humanists and Sydney Mechanics' School of the Arts present a Darwin Day event, on Monday 12th February. Join us in celebrating Darwin's birthday, with presentations on the contemporary tension between religion and science, and the historical context behind Darwin's theory.

Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution has had an incredibly profound effect on how we view and understand the natural world. Every year on February 12th colleges, universities, libraries, museums, churches, and individuals worldwide recognise this revolutionary man by celebrating Darwin Day.

Dr Andrew Simpson is a Palaentologist who teaches Museum Studies at Macquarie University. His interests include the history of the natural sciences and the public understanding of science.

Charles Darwin's revolutionary concept of natural selection has had wide reaching implications in many areas of human endeavour. As with most scientific and intellectual revolutions it's easy to lose sight of their historical precursors and original social context that provided the template for such revolutionary ideas.

Andrew's talk is "Fossils, Natural History, Museums and Charles Darwin".
Much as we might criticise current day creationist views of world history, prior to Darwin attempts to make sense of the geological record were nevertheless genuine and tried to make the best use of scientific ideas of the time. But the world changed with the arrival of Darwin's theory.

This presentation explores pre-Darwinian notions of biological thought, the popular culture of natural history collecting, particularly in Victorian England, and our struggle in comprehending the antiquity of the Earth. We shall briefly explore a colourful interlude in our history populated by mavericks, clergymen, idealists and gentlemen scientists. The presentation will conclude with some thoughts on how Darwin has fundamentally changed the nature of Natural History collections and some recent research into the effectiveness of how modern museums interpret evolution.

Dr Robin Holliday is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and the Australian Academy of Science. He obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge, England.

His first work was in genetics and he devised a DNA intermediate in genetic recombination now known as the "Holliday structure." He also pioneered the new field of epigenetics and worked on ageing. In 1988 he moved to a CSIRO laboratory in Sydney, Australia, where he continued to study both these topics, and his book Understanding Ageing was published in 1995.

Robin's talk will be on the "The Fundamental Incompatibility Between Science and Religion".

Selected highlights from Chasing God, The God Who Wasn't There, The Life of Brian, Penn & Teller, interviews with Sam Harris & Richard Dawkins, & even Simpsons & South Park!

The God Who Wasn't There
Film produced in 2005 by former Christian fundamentalist Brian Flemming.
Chasing God
Recent documentary featuring Phillip Adams.
Penn&Teller
Holier than though episode tackles the basic idea that "nobody's perfect" by shining on light on people we may think are (e.g. Mother Theresa).

Let's follow sessions with round table reflections.
Would like to conclude by exploring the limitations of atheism and what humanism may offer.

Bring your friendly smile and 10 bucks! :)
Going for lay back vibes and quality chats.
5pm till 7pm. Dinner after if keen.

Film..
The God Who Wasn't There
Your guide through the world of Christendom is former fundamentalist Brian Flemming, joined by Robert M. Price, professor Richard Dawkins, author Sam Harris and historian Richard Carrier. See the movie the Los Angeles Times calls "provocative - to put it mildly."

See the official site. For another perspective have a read of this review

The DVD actually has hours of footage.. so let's aim to see two 20min sessions at our meetup.
I may also show a few short other video clips.
Let's follow each session with some round table reflections.
Perhaps the in-depth analysis can be left for our message board after.

After the film we'll try and see if we can steer conversation quickly from atheism to the more positive humanism!
In particular let us make sure we discuss the issue, raised on our message board earlier, on how we want to ENGAGE with HUMANISM.
Future meetups will be influenced by your opinions here!

Agenda Items..
10.00 - Setup room and socialise
10.15 - Open meeting and introductory words
10.30 - Watch session A
10.50 - Discuss A
11.00 - Watch session B
11.20 - Discuss B
11.30 - Tea and comfort break
11.45 - How to engage with humanism?
12.30 - Discuss future meetups
12.45 - Complete questionnaire and finish

For information on how to get to Kirribilli Neighbourhood Centre click here.

Note: The $10 event fee from everyone won't cover all costs
However at the same time if $10 is prohibitive I am flexible.