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Sunday Platforms
Weekly Platform meetings are held at 11 a.m. September through May. Our
Platforms are free and open to the public. A coffee hour follows for
discussion and conversation. We have Ethics for Children classes starting each
Sunday morning at 10:45AM; child care provided for children to seven
years. Free parking is available with a permit you can get inside the
Society's office. Classical piano interludes are performed by Katarzyna ("Kasia") Marzec-Salwinski.
February 7, 2010
Why President Obama is Wrong about Afghanistan
Speaker: Richard L. Kiniry, Leader, Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia
The President has justified expanding the
war in Afghanistan as a "just war." Just
War Theory has through the years been
used by those who would justify their
aggression and conversely used by those
opposed to aggression. Rather than
questioning the justice of any particular
war, I want to offer other ethical values
that challenge American foreign policy.
February 14, 2010
The Evolution Controversy: Implications
for the Separation of Church & State
Speaker: Ed Joyce, President of the
Bucks County Chapter of Americans
United for Separation of Church &
State
Only about a third of Americans agree
that evolution is a viable science in spite
of the impact that evolutionary theory has
had on modern medicine, agriculture
and biology. In addition, the evolution
of fossil groups is used routinely to
identify the occurrence of hydrocarbons
in the subsurface of the earth. A large
and growing segment of the American
population wants to replace what is
taught in the science classroom with
Biblically-based accounts of creation.
It is imperative to recognize the efforts
of fundamentalists for what they are
and keep religion from where it has
no place by maintaining a healthy
separation between church and state.
February 21, 2010
Challenging Children's -- and Adults'
-- Misperceptions about the African
Continent
Speaker: Anastasia Shown,
Assistant Director of the University
of Pennsylvania's African Studies
Center
Why do we need to know more
about Africa? How can we demystify
stereotypes and promote a better
understanding through how we teach,
parent, vote and shop? Anastasia will
highlight some of her projects in
Cameroon, Ghana and Ethiopia.
February 28, 2010
Feminism in the Twenty-first Century
Speaker: Kate Lovelady, Leader of
the Ethical Society of St. Louis
The issues of women--including work,
motherhood and our relationship to
men--have been a part of Ethical Society
discussions since the founding of our
movement. Some of these questions
have been resolved for now, whereas
others remain controversial or uncertain,
such as what innate differences if any
exist between men and women. Where
is the feminist movement today, and
what are the ethical issues related to
sex and gender roles that affect all our
lives?
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