EthicalStL.org

It wasn't too many years ago that the coming "population bomb" was front-page news, with dire predictions of a soon-overloaded Earth. More recently, the news has switched to the "baby bust" in some countries as birth rates decline rapidly, with dire predictions of economies soon unable to support their aging populations. And yet global climate change, driven in part by swelling numbers of people, remains the most serious threat to many species, including humans. This platform address will explore the current state of population-related issues and the ethical questions that arise, from family planning to social policy.

Raymond Adams will speaks about his experience in social work with hundreds of people in crisis situations. Episodes of crisis in our lives are inevitable and people with poor self-care skills are particularly prone to frequent trouble. Ray will propose that we all need to learn to treat ourselves in a kind and gentle manner and that caring for others is difficult, if not impossible, unless we learn to care for ourselves first. lt;brgt;lt;brgt;Raymond Adams is a retired social worker with 30 years of experience in medical and psychiatric hospitals, children’s agencies and with the elderly. He received his degrees from the University of Missouri -Columbia and the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in India. Recently, Ray began facilitating Ethical Mindfulness Meditation on Tuesday mornings at 9 a.m. in the Leader's office.

Each religious tradition has its core narrative. The life of the Buddha or Christ, the sagas of the peoples of Israel or the Greek gods, the adventures of the Hindu deities - these accounts "define" a tradition. Interpretations and moral/ ethical edicts are built into the fabric of each narrative and elaborated by clerics, and spiritual responses are supported by art and ceremony. In these traditions, nature is usually framed with respect to the human, often as a human resource. lt;brgt;lt;brgt; Scientific inquiry has provisioned us with a mindblowing core narrative - the story of the cosmos and our place within it - where its coherence is a very recent achievement. Humans don't show up until the very last moment, albeit our evolution is anticipated in all of its biological chapters and was made possible by the nucleosynthetic marvels called stars. lt;brgt;lt;brgt; A naturalist can be said to take nature seriously, to adopt this account as a core narrative. This then raises a question: what would it mean to be a religious naturalist? lt;brgt;lt;brgt; Are there ways to work with the narrative religiously? What is its interpretive, spiritual, and moral potential? Dr. Goodenough will explore these questions, concluding that the religious naturalist takes nature seriously and takes nature to heart. Taking something to heart means that your heart can be broken: you experience moral outrage when that which is revered is desecrated. lt;brgt;lt;brgt;Ursula Goodenough is Professor of Biology at Washington University and author of The Sacred Depths of Nature.

'Tis the season … of many holidays and events both religious and secular, marking the end of one year and beginning of another. Many if not most of these holidays and events usually involve gifts, and America’s economy relies in large part on the extra buying people do at this time of gift-giving and receiving. This platform address will explore some of the ethical issues surrounding gifts, such as why we give gifts, what gifts communicate, and questions that "the season of giving" raises about our commercialized culture and our economy.lt;brgt;lt;brgt;NOTE: In this platform Kate read’s Patrick McDonnell’s delightful book lt;a href="http://www.giftofnothing.com" target="_blank"gt;The Gift of Nothinglt;/agt;. This section has been removed to protect the author's copyright.

How does one make an effective argument in politics? How does one defend against inaccurate information that seems to take on a life of its own? This talk will discuss how language is used to frame political arguments, specifically in political campaigns.lt;brgt;lt;brgt;David W. James is a native of St. Louis, Missouri and holds a B.A. in political science from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has extensive experience in media relations which began in 1995 with then-U.S. Senator John Ashcroft. James served the entire Senate term with Ashcroft in a variety of press capacities and was the Communications Director for the 2000 Senate campaign for Ashcroft. James went on to serve in the Office of Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Justice, in the White House Office of Communications, as Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party’s Victory 2002 effort, as Regional Spokesperson for the RNC, and as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Public Affairs. Most recently, James served as spokesperson for the Senate Campaign in Florida for Congressman Connie Mack.

Presumably there will have been an election with a decisive result the Tuesday preceding this platform. Now what? It has been yet another antagonistic campaign season full of bitter accusations and inflammatory rhetoric. But despite the threats people make to leave the country if their candidate doesn’t win, most of us will continue to live here, side-by-side. How can we heal and move forward as a united country so that we can address the problems we all face?

Join us for a special Platform celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Ethical Society of St. Louis's original home, Sheldon Memorial Hall. Named for Walter Sheldon, the founding Leader of the Ethical Society, the building is famous for its acoustics. Hear the wit and wisdom of Leaders present (Kate Lovelady, playing herself), and past (member Ron Williams, playing the part of Walter Sheldon). Find out what we today have in common with Ethical Humanists of a century and more ago, as well as how our views and language have changed over the years.

Most of what the vast majority of people believe about the historical past are actually historical myths. On such questions as the beliefs and motivations of America's founding fathers, the causes of the Civil War, and the fall of the Roman Empire, the public generally hold ideas that have little or no basis in actual evidence. Those ideas are nevertheless adopted and spread by those who find certain ideological value in them, and they are repeated in the public realm until they solidify in people's minds as facts. Academic historians have not done a good job of tackling them as they have generally dismissed them as falsehoods that they do not need to waste time discussing in class. Given the enormous social and political impact historical myths can have in society, it is important not only to establish what in fact are historical myths versus historical facts, but also to understand how they spread, why people accept them so readily, and how they function within belief systems.lt;brgt;lt;brgt; Dr. Kang has lived in Korea, Austria, New Zealand, Iran, Brunei, Germany and other countries. He served in the army of the Republic of Korea and earned his Ph.D. in European History at UCLA. He is the author of several books and currently professor of European History at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

About this platform, Kate says: A couple years ago I was asked to speak at a forum on "The Ethics of Social Security." Recent debates in our elections process about rights and responsibilities, individual initiative and societal support, have motivated me to revisit and expand on those thoughts. What are the pros and cons of our social contract? How has the definition of that contract changed over time? What are the values, beliefs, and theories that lead to different political positions? Is there perhaps more common ground than heated rhetoric would suggest?

Each year lt;a href="http://prisonartsstl.org/" target="_blank"gt;Prison Performing Artslt;/agt; provides arts opportunities to more than 4000 incarcerated youth and adults. Prison Performing Arts is a 21-year-old, multi-discipline, literacy and performing arts program that serves incarcerated adults and children at St. Louis City Juvenile Detention Center, Hogan Street Regional Youth Center, Northeastern Correctional Center (NECC) in Bowling Green, MO, and Women's Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center (WERDCC) in Vandalia, MO.lt;brgt;lt;brgt;Prison Performing Arts promotes learning through the arts, channeling creative energies in constructive ways and using the arts to provide an environment for self-discipline, commitment, and teamwork. They use the arts to help inmates learn the life skills that prepare them to become productive, creative, and law abiding citizens. Prison Performing Arts is the only organization in Missouri with the specific mission of creating and presenting performing arts in correctional institutions. 97% of the people incarcerated in Missouri will return to our communities; Prison Performing Arts uses the performing arts to help prepare them for that transition.