EthicalStL.org

Americans have never had more opportunities to express their views or greater access to information. Even so, we face an unprecedented crisis of free speech. Resource disparities and identity discrimination create deep disparities in speakers’ opportunities to reach audiences. Disinformation and the limits of human attention undermine our public discourse. Governments work overtime to suppress political protest and dissent. If the freedom of speech isn’t making our society better, then it isn’t the kind of freedom we need and deserve. To get that kind of freedom, we need to change the legal and political structures that keep failing us.

Ethical Culture is a tradition with a proud history but an uncertain future. While some Ethical Societies are strong and growing, the movement as a whole is shrinking, and it may not be long until there are only a handful of Ethical Societies left. How can we avoid this future? What do we need to change, in our home Societies and in our movement, to make Ethical Culture radical, vibrant, and growing once again?

Learn from the Founder and President of Skepticon Lauren Lane about how this unique conference came to be and how it continues to find success today.

Lauren Lane is the Founder and Executive Director of Skepticon, a national conference located annually in St. Louis, MO that promotes skepticism, science education and community building. She earned her BFA in drawing from Missouri State University and her MFA in Interdisciplinary Studio from The Memphis College of Art.

She currently makes art, things, and trouble in St. Louis, MO.

How can we meet the economic needs of all in the present while leaving equal or better economic opportunities for those of the future? This is the question of economic sustainability, and economic sustainability is not possible without ecological and social sustainability. There is no economic incentive for a person to do anything for the sole benefit of anyone else, and certainly not for the benefit of those of future generations. Thus, the question of economic sustainability is ultimately a question of ethics.

Article 18 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion." Freedom of thought is thus considered a foundational liberty, one of the most important freedoms which must be protected by all governments and societies. But why is freedom of thought so important, and how can we honor it in our country, our city, and our lives?

Professor Anand Chandrasekhar will discuss the discovery of stem cells and ethical issues associated with research using embryonic stem cells. He will explain how ethical concerns related to stem cell research have receded due to the discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The impact of iPSCs and applications on personalized/precision medicine and research using model organisms will be discussed.

The word skeptic literally means inquirer. And to inquire into things is good, right? But skepticism has a complex and much misunderstood history, from the Pyrrhonists who abstained from holding any opinion to modern scientific skeptics focused on criticizing pseudoscience. In his talk, Pigliucci will argue that skepticism can and should be a philosophy of life and a path to happiness. And there is a lot more to life and happiness than just debunking nonsense.

Massimo Pigliucci is an author, blogger, podcaster, as well as the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. His academic work is in evolutionary biology, philosophy of science, the nature of pseudoscience, and practical philosophy. His books include How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life (Basic Books) and Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk (University of Chicago Press). His forthcoming book is The Quest for Character: What the Story of Socrates and Alcibiades Teaches Us about Our Search for Good Leaders (Basic Books).

Vivian Gibson will discuss her best-selling memoir The Last Children of Mill Creek that chronicles the triumphs and daily struggles of her large family. You’ll hear about the friends, shop owners, church ladies and teachers who made Mill Creek into a tight-knit African American Community. In 1959, Mill Creek, a segregated working-class neighborhood in St. Louis was razed to build The Daniel Boone Expressway, an act of racism disguised as "urban renewal."

Vivian Gibson was raised on Bernard Street in Mill Creek Valley and has lived in New York City and Liberia. She started writing short stories about her childhood memories after retiring at age sixty-six. Her work has been produced as part of 50in50: Writing Women into Existence, at the Billie Holliday Theater in Brooklyn, and published in The St. Louis Anthology (Belt Publishing, 2019). She is the 2020 winner of the Missouri Humanities Literary Achievement Award. Gibson lives in St. Louis.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has swiftly become the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War 2. Thousands of civilians have been killed, and more than a million refugees displaced. What can we learn from the history of armed conflict in Europe to determine how we might respond to this new crisis?

In this special Platform, Ethical Society Leader James Croft will be joined by Prof. Krister Knapp of Washington University, a specialist in the history of crisis and conflict, for a discussion of the invasion of Ukraine and what it means for the US and for the world.

An exploration into how our commutes and other daily decisions contribute to prejudice and marginalization of Black people throughout the St. Louis region.

Tabari A. Coleman, MPA is a training consultant and social justice advocate known for his thoughtful but direct approach in facilitating dialogue sessions that focus on building empathy. With more than 19 years of experience in diversity and inclusion training and social justice work, he brings a wealth of knowledge, passion and expertise to his work. He worked for the Anti-Defamation League for 13 years as the education director and national director of Professional Development. He left in 2021 to start his own consulting company, The Coleman Group, LLC. He travels nationally and internationally delivering training programs, workshops and giving presentations. He is a doctoral candidate at the University of Missouri-St Louis where he is applying his practical knowledge and experiences in the Social Justice in Education, Ed.D program.