Our meeting topic for August, suggested by Jon, is free will. For those of us who do not believe in the intervention of supernatural agents, this is an important issue. On the one hand, we do not believe our lives are predetermined by the Fates (or just Fate) or God. On the other, does our acceptance of science and the understanding of natural laws - which are based on the reliability of cause and effect - mean we have no free will?

There are many concerns with either accepting or rejecting free will. How much control do we have over our own lives? What can we be held responsible for?

There is no one definitive article on such a broad topic, but I think a good starting place is the Skeptics Dictionary article:
http://www.skepdic.com/freewill.html

An author's personal account of why he doesn't believe in free will - and the benefits of his shift in thinking:
http://www.naturalism.org/homunculus.htm#Ch1

Some believe that while cause and effect applies as much to human behavior as any other part of nature, we still have free will. This is called compatibilism:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/compatibilism/

You don't have to read all 3 links; the 1st one will suffice to give you a grounding for conversation. But I've provided all 3 to try and give a more comprehensive picture.

I'm sure this will spark some excited debate. Hope you all can make it of your own choosing (or not)!

This will be the second meeting of the Drinking Skeptically group here in Pittsburgh. All skeptically minded freethinkers are invited to commune, eat, and have a few drinks together. This event is organized by Laura.

Our meeting topic for the July meeting, suggested by Stan, will center around the book "The Wave" by Todd Strasser, which is a fictionalized account of the "Third Wave" teaching experiment by Ron Jones that took place in a Cubberley High School history class in Palo Alto, California.

The experiment was designed to teach students about how easily people can be led to support practices that they might usually consider unappealing or even atrocious. This says much about the power of propaganda and how ideology can shape behavior. From Wikipedia's article on the "Third Wave Experiment":

"Jones, unable to explain to his students why the German citizens allowed the Nazi Party to exterminate millions of Jews and other so-called "undesirables", decided to show them instead. Jones started a movement called "The Third Wave" and convinced his students that the movement is to eliminate democracy. The fact that democracy emphasizes individuality was considered as a drawback of democracy, and Jones emphasized this main point of the movement in its motto: 'Strength through discipline, strength through community, strength through action, strength through pride'."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_Wave

The book is short - 138 pages - and multiple copies are available through the Carnegie. You can also probably find a used copy easily.

You can also read Ron Jones' account of his experiment here:
http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/Auxiliary/Psychology/Frank/Thirdwave.html

I think this will be an interesting segueway from our June discussion, which included the issue of "child abuse" and the maturity of adolescents. I think that this experiment drives home just how easily young minds can be shaped by ideology, and thus raises questions about what kinds of beliefs and practices they should be exposed to.

Of course, the impact of propaganda and ideology is not restricted to youth - it can twist the psyche of anyone, no matter their age. As secularists, we need to question where the line is between freedom of religious expression and practices that lead to indoctrination, brainwashing, and the violation of human rights.

I got this message from Barbara Oakley, a member of the Center for Inquiry. I don't know if I can make this for sure, but if you can look for any other members who have RSVPed.

I'm a member of the Center for Inquiry, and have been speaking nationally under their aegis about the science behind "evil" behavior. Would you be interested in coming to the talk I'll be giving in relation to this at Barnes & Noble, the Stacks at the Waterfront?

I'd be delighted to see you and members of your secular freethinkers meet up group. You can find a lot more about the book I'll be speaking about at www.barbaraoakley.com. Since my book talks about the neuroscience involved in "bad" behavior, rather than religion, I think it will be right up your alley. It's a fun evening--I've had a lot of different nonacademic experiences (like working with the Soviet KGB), that make for a pretty interesting discussion.

I look forward to hearing from you, and hopefully seeing you and members of your group. I'd also like to help build the links between your group and the Center for Inquiry.

Warmly,
Barb Oakley
oakley@oakland.edu

At the suggestion of Lara, we will be discussing the new "documentary" Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, narrated by Ben Stein. It's about some professors who were supposedly kicked out of universities for criticizing evolution and promoting intelligent design. Here's the movie's official site:

http://www.expelledthemovie.com/

From all I've read, this movie is just horrible, being deceptive about the circumstances of the professors involved, claiming that Darwinism leads to genocide, and that the scientific community is made up of closed-minded, dogmatic elitists. Here's the message Lara sent me:

"I'd like to focus on the Science and Religion angle and also the Hitler and Eugenics angle. I found the statement that the RTB made in regard to the movie quite interesting as well. My idea is to provide those three links as well as the link to the larger site if people wanted to explore more into the movie, its claims, and marketing. (Maybe a link to the blog as well because that shit is upsetting.) The question I want to pose is this: The fact is that this movie is being distributed to more theaters than any other "documentary" in history. (1000 theatres -- that is 250 more than Fahrenheit 911 -- any idea how it is doing at the box office?). What responsibility does that pose to the counter side to educate the public? As atheists, agnostics, deists, etc (SECULAR FREETHINKERS!), should we enter into that territory, or would that hurt the mission of the scientists by feeding the creationist fear that atheists run hard science?? Obviously a bit of information is being disseminated online, but that is only available to those who seek it. When evolutionists are being compared to Hitler, I view that as an attack on rational minds everywhere. So should we sit on our hands and be pissed? Or is this where we take action?"

Lara poses some intriguing questions. The links she referenced can be found here on a site dedicated to critiquing the film:
Expelled Exposed - The Truth Behind the Fiction: http://www.expelledexposed.com/index.php/the-truth
Expelled Exposed - Science and Religion: http://www.expelledexposed.com/index.php/the-truth/science-religion
Expellled: RTB Response: http://www.reasons.org/resources/apologetics/expelled.shtml
Expelled Exposed- Hitler and Eugenics: http://www.expelledexposed.com/index.php/the-truth/hitler-eugenics

Also check out the blog on the movie's site which has some upsetting comments including the fact that they are showing this to legislators in hopes of getting funding for promoting intelligent design in education.