EthicalStL.org

Charles Darwin revolutionized Western thought by providing a plausible mechanism for the evolution of species. In this talk, I will discuss the radical shift in worldview that Darwin's work represented, and I will describe five distinct theories that can be recognized within Darwinian evolution. I will then discuss the fates of these theories over the last 150 years and some of the ways in which they have been confounded and misunderstood — both within the scientific community and by the public at large. Finally, I will discuss the risks inherent in attempting to apply Darwinian theory to human behavior and society. lt;brgt;lt;brgt;Dr. Ken Olsen is Assistant Professor of Biology, Washington University, and Research Associate, Missouri Botanical Garden. A native St. Louisan, he is a plant evolutionary biologist. In his lab, they address one of the major unanswered questions in evolutionary biology: what is the genetic basis of evolutionary change in plant species? One way that they look at this question is by studying the process of crop domestication. His research projects in this area have traced the geographical origins of several crops, including cassava (tapioca), rice, and coconut. They also study the process of adaptation in wild species; currently studying clover plants that have evolved to release cyanide as a protection against herbivores. Dr. Olsen's funding sources include the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and the National Geographic Society.

At every turn in his life, Abraham Lincoln faced ethical challenges. They were evident in his childhood and youth, influenced his quest for a career, prompted him to become a lawyer, shaped his practice of law, inspired him to enter politics, and drove him to seek the presidency. They played a big part in his courtships, marriage, and family life. Most significantly, ethical concerns impelled him, as president, to seek solutions to slavery issues that haunted him and the nation and to persevere in an unimaginably costly war. In the platform address, a series of vignettes will illuminate the challenges he faced as president. lt;brgt;lt;brgt;In 2001, Myron Marty and his wife Shirley moved to Monticello, a town in the Land of Lincoln named for Thomas Jefferson--an appropriate place for someone who taught courses at Drake University centered on Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln. Since then, he has reviewed at least thirty Lincoln books, twenty of them in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and published a chapter in Lincoln’s America (Southern Illinois University Press, 2008). Frank Lloyd Wright has displaced Jefferson in Marty's work: with Shirley Marty he is coauthor of Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin Fellowship, and in April Northern Illinois University Press will publish his Communities of Frank Lloyd Wright. After serving successively as Dean of Arts and Sciences and Professor of History at Drake from 1984 until his retirement, he is now the Ann G. and Sigurd E. Anderson University Professor Emeritus. His graduate degrees are from Washington University and Saint Louis University.

It's when we really don't want to talk about money that we most need to. Tough times test us all--our positive resilience, the potency of our values, and our power as a community to continue to be a force for good. This platform address will kick off our yearly pledge campaign by tackling straight on the tough questions: What the *#@! is going on with the economy? What does it mean for us as individuals, as a society, and as an Ethical Society? Most important, how can we continue to live our values of responsibility, generosity, and sustainability so that we come out of this crisis stronger as a community? lt;brgt;lt;brgt; To read this platform see the lt;a href="http://ethicalstl.org/platforms/platform020109.php" target="_blank"gt;transcriptlt;/agt;. To discuss our podcasts please visit lt;a href="http://www.live.ethicalstl.org/platforms" target="_blank"gt;http://www.live.ethicalstl.org/platformslt;/agt; on our community site.

In this 30 minute talk, storyteller Bobby Norfolk will present a trilogy of stories that are international in their nature, but go to the core of what it means to be human on this earth. lt;brgt;lt;brgt; There are basic character traits and moral/ethical considerations that we must all contend with to evolve as a species. Using rich language, sound effects, and movement, these stories will point out that what we see with our eyes when we look at one another is "an illusion," but the reality is we are all one, and must take delight in our superficial differences. lt;brgt;lt;brgt; lt;a href="http://www.folktale.com/" target="_blank"gt;Bobby Norfolklt;/agt; is an Emmy Award-winning story-performer who promotes cultural diversity, self-esteem and character education in all his performances. Bobby has eight storytelling CDs, six of which won the prestigious Parent's Choice Gold Award and is co-author of the book, The Moral of the Story: Folk-tales for Character Development. lt;brgt;lt;brgt; A professional storyteller since 1975, Bobby also serves on the Board of Directors for the National Storytelling Network. His impressive resume includes three Emmy Awards as host for the CBS television series "Gator Tales" and the Emmy nominated cable series "Children's Theater at Bobby's House."

Almost all of us suffer in our lives, and we suffer from the suffering of those we love as well. I believe that it is good to be alive, and I believe that compassionate and loving acts and moments of wonder and joy outnumber cruel acts and senseless tragedy in the world. But that still leaves quite a lot of suffering and pain that people experience. And the more we can talk about these things with compassion and curiosity and knowledge and humor, the more help and healing we give each other and ourselves. . . . So I offer this platform today as a conversation-starter.

"If the Ten Commandments had been posted at Columbine High School," said Bob Barr at the time, "the massacre would never have happened." In fact, a great deal is known about how moral development works, and recent research indicates that raising children with an authoritarian, "commandment-based" morality actually impedes their moral development. Author Dale McGowan will speak about the ways in which nonreligious parents are leaving traditional religious moral education behind in favor of developing active moral reasoning as a lifelong skill. lt;brgt;lt;brgt;Dale McGowan is editor and co-author of lt;a href="http://www.parentingbeyondbelief.com/" target="_blank"gt;Parenting Beyond Belief - On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religionlt;/agt;, which Newsweek called "a compelling read," and Raising Freethinkers, due for release in February. He teaches nonreligious parenting seminars nationwide and was Harvard Humanist of the Year for 2008. Dale lives in Atlanta with his wife Becca and their three children.

There is a substantial body of Jewish mystical tales that constitute the legendary dimension of the Jewish mystical tradition. These tales cover a range of mystical experiences, not only of mystical union but of visions, dreams, soul travel, encounters with angels and demons, possession by both good and evil spirits, miracles and experiences out of body and out of time. This lecture is based on the stories collected in Gabriel's Palace: Jewish Mystical Tales, edited by Howard Schwartz. lt;brgt;lt;brgt; Howard Schwartz is Professor of English at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He has published three books of poetry, Vessels, Gathering the Sparks and Sleepwalking Beneath the Stars, and several books of fiction, including The Four Who Entered Paradise and Adam's Soul. He has also edited a four-volume set of Jewish folktales, which includes Elijah's Violin and Other Jewish Fairy Tales, Miriam's Tambourine: Jewish Folktales from Around the World, Lilith's Cave: Jewish Tales of the Supernatural, and, most recently, Gabriel's Palace: Jewish Mystical Tales. He has also edited three major anthologies. Reimagining the Bible: The Storytelling of the Rabbis, was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award for 1999. In addition, Schwartz has also published ten children's books, including The Diamond Tree, which won the Sydney Taylor Book Award in 1992, Next Year in Jerusalem: 3000 Years of Jewish Tales (which won the National Jewish Book Award and the Aesop Award of the American Folklore Society, both in 1996), A Coat for the Moon (with Barbara Rush, which won Anne Izard Storyteller's Choice Award for 1998 and the 1999 Honor Title of the Storytelling World Awards, and The Day the Rabbi Disappeared: Jewish Holiday Tales of Magic (which won the National Jewish Book Award and The Aesop of the American Folklore Society for 2000). His book Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism, won the National Jewish Book Award in 2005, and his children's book Before You Were Born won the Koret Jewish Book Award the same year. His most recent book is Leaves from the Garden of Eden: One Hundred Classic Jewish Tales. Schwartz lives in St. Louis with his wife Tsila, a calligrapher.

No matter your background or belief system, we all share certain realities about December. We see the days getting shorter, we feel the cold increasing, we smell the foods and hear the music. We feel the weight of our past and of tradition, for good and/or ill. Yet the glory of humanity is that even as we all face the same seasonal realities, every person, family, group is unique. This platform will review the long history of winter holidays and explore how each of us can resist the forces seeking to herd us into a few marketable groups, and instead celebrate in ways that fulfill our unique needs.

Does a person need to believe in an afterlife in order to heal present wounds? Is an eternal reward needed to motivate giving help to others? Perhaps there is something in experience that triggers a leap to the conclusion, "I will go on after death!" This conclusion is then given credence beyond further examination. Yet further examination may take us to more robust conclusions, and lead to finer conceptions of our own consciousness. The surprise is that, instead of life becoming meaningless when the simple idea of immortality is taken away, life becomes a celebration, the mystery of consciousness becomes more wonderful, and the draw of loving neighbor as oneself becomes more compelling. lt;brgt;lt;brgt; Bob Greenwell is Leader of the lt;a href="http://www.ethicallife.org/" target="_blank"gt;Ethical Society Mid Riverslt;/agt; in St. Charles County. Mid Rivers, a satellite of the St. Louis Society, began accepting members in January, 2004, and its membership now stands at 48. Bob has an M.Ed. in counseling, is married to Kathleen, and is the proud grandfather of four.

Much of Fritz Williams' work as an Ethical Culture Leader has been an effort to reveal the contours of goodness and trace its roots. It hasn't been easy. Goodness is not just a matter of conforming to some external standard of right and wrong. It starts out as something small and barely detectable inside us and ends up transforming our lives. lt;brgt;lt;brgt; "An Island of Goodness" goes right to the heart of the matter. It's the story of LeChambon, a French village where people joined hands during World War II to protect and rescue Jews. "I've told a lot of stories," Fritz says, "but this may be the most moving, most powerful story of all." lt;brgt;lt;brgt; Fritz Williams is Leader Emeritus of the Baltimore Ethical Society, where he is appreciated especially for the pastoral quality of his work and the power of messages framed in personal narrative. Before becoming an Ethical Culture Leader, Fritz served as a parish priest in the Episcopal Church and worked as a writer and producer at public television stations in Harrisburg, PA, and Detroit, MI. His television productions include Peacework, the centerpiece of a Pennsylvania campaign against family violence, Parenting Puzzle and Gunsense, Emmy-winning productions for Detroit Public Television, and The Pennsylvania Germans, a cultural history which aired on public television stations across the country and on German regional television. For a number of years he was a feature writer for Central PA magazine, and he is the author of Investing for Life, a hand-book on saving and investing for teens. Fritz has an MDiv from the Philadelphia Lutheran Theological Seminary and ThM in Bible and Biblical Languages from Princeton Theological Seminary.