Science Without Pedestals

Saturday 11^th February 12.00pm/2.00pm 
Bournemouth International Centre, Exeter Road, Bournemouth, BH2 5BH

A Darwin Day Celebration with Philosopher Julian Baggini

Celebrate Darwin Day in style with a delicious three course buffet lunch in Bournemouth International Centre’s (BIC) Purbeck Lounge, followed by a fascinating talk from our special guest Julian Baggini.

Humanists and free-thinkers rightly celebrate the many achievements of science, however some go too far in their admiration, and make science the model for all reason. Julian will argue that the scientific method cannot provide the template for reason, partly because there is no such thing as the scientific method, and most importantly, science cannot be the source of ethics nor can it debunk it. By challenging the pretensions of those who elevate science too high, we can better appreciate it for what it really is and more fully understand what it means to value reason and rationality.

Please note that entry to this event requires you to have a ticket. For booking information, see below.

Julian Baggini is a philosopher, journalist, author, and editor and co-founder of The Philosophers' Magazine. His books include: The Edge of Reason, Atheism: A Very Short Introduction, and The Pig That Wants to be Eaten.

	Booking Information Italian buffet lunch and presentation (12:00pm start): £25 per person Presentation only (2:00pm start): £3 per person (inc tea/coffee) For tickets, please see Lyn Glass at one of our meetings, or phone 01202 767323, or email lyn.glass@btinternet.com (Please book lunches by 30th January at the latest).

Please indicate your interest in attending this event on Meetup.com and/or facebook as it helps raise our group’s profile on these sites (Meetup also offers you timely email reminders and an easy way to discover other interesting groups in your area). To help you find them, here are the direct links to our event listings on these sites:

http://www.meetup.com/Dorset-Humanists/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dorsethumanists/events/

You can also help us promote Dorset Humanists and this event by displaying an A4 poster. Download an A4 printable copy here, or email Dave at DHcensus(at)hotmail.co.uk for a PDF.

Click here to view details of other forthcoming and recent events on this website.

Predatory Dinosaurs and the Evolution of Birds

Saturday 13th February 2016  12.00pm or 2.00pm 
Bournemouth International Centre, Exeter Road, Bournemouth, BH2 5BH
 
Dorset Humanists proudly present a Darwin Day celebration with Vertebrate Palaeontologist Darren Naish
 
Celebrate Darwin Day in style with a delicious three course buffet lunch in BIC’s Purbeck Lounge, followed by a fascinating presentation by palaeontologist Darren Naish.

Recent discoveries of a wealth of fossil feathered dinosaurs and early birds have helped scientists show how birds emerged as the end-products of a sustained phase of miniaturisation within theropods, which enabled this group to be the only dinosaur lineage to survive and thrive beyond the Cretaceous mass extinction event around 66 million years ago. 

In addition to explaining how birds evolved, Darren will also consider the diversity, anatomy, biology and behaviour of some of the most awe-inspiring predators ever to walk the earth. These include spinosaurs, allosaurs and tyrannosaurs, as well as the remarkable scythe-clawed therizinosaurs and sickle-clawed dromaeosaurs. 

Darren Naish is a vertebrate palaeontologist whose technical work mainly covers theropod (beast-footed) and sauropod (lizard-footed) dinosaurs. His best-selling books include Walking with Dinosaurs: the Evidence and The Great Dinosaur Discoveries.

Booking Information

• Lunch & presentation tickets: £20 each (£10 students) - 12.00 noon: welcoming glass of wine or soft drink followed by a 3 course Italian buffet lunch in the BIC Purbeck Lounge
• Presentation only tickets £3 each (£1 students) - 1.50pm arrival for 2:00pm start includes coffee or tea on arrival.
• For tickets, please see Lyn Glass at our meetings, or phone 01202 558763, or email lyn.glass@btinternet.com (Please book lunches by 30th January).

Everyone Welcome!     Please ensure you book your tickets in advance.

Please indicate your interest in attending this event on Meetup.com and/or facebook as it helps raise our group’s profile on these sites (Meetup also offers you timely email reminders and an easy way to discover other interesting groups in your area). To help you find them, here are the direct links to our event listings on these sites:
http://www.meetup.com/Dorset-Humanists/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/dorsethumanists/events/
 
You can also help us promote Dorset Humanists and this event by displaying an A4 poster. Download an A4 printable copy here, or email Dave at DHcensus(at)hotmail.co.uk for a PDF.

Click here to view details of other forthcoming and recent events on this website.

The Difference that Darwin has Made

Thursday 12^th February 5.30pm 
Bournemouth Natural Science Society, 39 Christchurch Rd, Bournemouth BH1 3NS

A Darwin Day Celebration with Professor A. C. Grayling

Join us for a Darwin Day celebration with renowned humanist philosopher A.C.Grayling. Professor Grayling will be explaining how Darwin’s theory of evolution represented a new paradigm in human history, radically changing our understanding of our place in the universe, and that Darwin’s discoveries continue to have a huge impact on our lives due to their ongoing influence on a multitude of scientific disciplines. His talk will be followed by light refreshments.

Note that this is one of a very limited number of ticketed events organised by Dorset Humanists, so please be aware that that you will need a ticket to attend, and availability is limited.

***Update: Please note that all tickets for this event have now been sold***

Booking Information and Ticket Prices

Advanced Booking: Members: £2 per person; Non-members: £4 per person; On the door (if any seats are still available): £5 per person. To check ticket availability and/or purchase tickets please contact Lyn Glass on 01202 558763, or email lyn.glass(at)btinternet.com.

A C Grayling MA, DPhil (Oxon) FRSL, FRSA is Master of the New College of the Humanities, and a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford. Until 2011 he was Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London. He has written and edited over thirty books on philosophy and other subjects; among his most recent are "The Good Book", "Ideas That Matter", "Liberty in the Age of Terror" and "To Set Prometheus Free". He is a frequent contributor to the Literary Review, Observer, Independent on Sunday, Times Literary Supplement, Index on Censorship and New Statesman, and is an equally frequent broadcaster on BBC Radios 4, 3 and the World Service. In addition he sits on the editorial boards of several academic journals, and for nearly ten years was the Honorary Secretary of the principal British philosophical association, the Aristotelian Society. He is a past chairman of June Fourth, a human rights group concerned with China, and is a representative to the UN Human Rights Council for the International Humanist and Ethical Union. He is a Vice President of the British Humanist Association, the Patron of the United Kingdom Armed Forces Humanist Association, a patron of Dignity in Dying, and an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society. Anthony Grayling was a Fellow of the World Economic Forum for several years, and a member of its C-100 group on relations between the West and the Islamic world. His latest books are "The God Argument" (March 2013) and "Friendship" (September 2013).    Anthony Grayling's new book, "The Challenge of Things" will be published in March 2015.

Please help us promote Dorset Humanists and this event by displaying an A4 poster. Download an A4 printable copy here, or email Dave at DHcensus(at)hotmail.co.uk for a PDF.

Please indicate your interest in attending this event on Meetup.com and/or facebook as it helps raise our group’s profile on these sites (Meetup also offers you timely email reminders and an easy way to discover other interesting groups in your area). To help you find them, here are the direct links to our event listings on these sites:

http://www.meetup.com/Dorset-Humanists/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dorsethumanists/events/

Click here to view details of other forthcoming and recent events on this website.

How to Point and Laugh at Irrational Nonsense!

 ***************************************************************************************************************Update 3/2/2014: Menu option tickets have now sold out, but a limited number of presentation-only tickets are still available (1.50pm start. Price: £5 including coffee on arrival). If you haven’t already booked your place, please do so ASAP to avoid potential disappointment.                                                               *****************************************************************************************************************Saturday 8^th February 12.00pm 
The Purbeck Lounge, Bournemouth International Centre, Exeter Road, Bournemouth BH2 5BH

A Darwin Day Celebration with Crispian Jago

 

Celebrate Darwin Day* in style with a delicious two course meal in BIC’s Purbeck Lounge, followed by an entertaining presentation from the irreverent and irrepressible Crispian Jago (entertainment-only option also available. See booking information panel below).

With a selection of classic comedy clips, Crispian will be demonstrating that whilst we should respect a person’s right to hold whatever beliefs they like, ridicule of those beliefs (not the person) is not off-limits and can be one of many effective ways to highlight and combat irrational ideas.

“Celebrate Darwin Day in style with a delicious lunch followed by entertainment from the irrepressible Crispian Jago”

Crispian Jago writes the popular satirical skeptical blog Science, Reason & Critical Thinking, and co-founded and co-organises both the Hampshire Skeptics Society, and Winchester Skeptics in the Pub.

Everyone welcome! (ticketholders only to this event)

Booking Information Meal and presentation (12:00pm start): £20 per person (£17 for members) Crispian Jago presentation only (1:50pm start): £5 per person Main Course options : 1) Lemon & Thyme Infused Chicken with green beans, asparagus & confit vine tomatoes, new potatoes & Hollandaise sauce) 2) Charred Mediterranean Vegetables (v) served in a cheddar basket, with sautéed petit pans & romesco salad, new potatoes & chive beurre blanc Dessert options: 1) Bitter Chocolate Tart with kirsh steeped cherries & Dorset clotted cream 2) Fresh Seasonal Fruit Salad To book, please see Lyn Glass at a Dorset Humanists meeting, or phone 01202 558763, or email lyn.glass(at)btinternet.com Please note: Places for the menu option are strictly limited, so book early to avoid disappointment (last booking date for menu option: January 31st 2014) *Darwin Day is actually on the 12th February, but our celebration is always on a Saturday near to it, to ensure more people can attend.

Please help us promote Dorset Humanists and this event by displaying an A4 poster. Download an A4 printable copy here, or email Dave at DHcensus(at)hotmail.co.uk for a PDF.

Click here to view details of other forthcoming and recent events on this website.

Darwin Day: Jurassic Coast

Saturday 9^th February 12.00pm
The Purbeck Lounge, Bournemouth International Centre, Exeter Road, Bournemouth BH2 5BH

Dorset Humanists’ Annual    Darwin Day Celebratory Lunch and Presentation

Celebrate Darwin Day in style with a delicious three-course Italian buffet lunch in BIC’s Purbeck Lounge, followed by an entertaining talk from Professor Vincent May.

Dorset’s ‘Jurassic Coast’ has revealed an amazing number of fossils over the last 200 years, including many specimens new to science. In this well-illustrated presentation, Professor May takes us on a fascinating 250 million year journey beginning in the Triassic period, when the continents were joined and Dorset was a desert, through to the recent achievement of World Heritage Site status. We have the Purbeck Lounge booked through to 5:00pm, so there will also be plenty of time to socialise together after Professor May’s presentation.

Booking Information

Italian buffet lunch and presentation ticket (12:00pm start): £16 per person (Please book lunches by 30th January. Places are limited)

Jurassic Coast presentation only ticket (2:00pm start): £2 per person

Order tickets  at a Dorset Humanists meeting, or email lyn.glass(at)btinternet.com (Presentation only tickets may also be purchased on the door).

Professor May spearheaded the application to UNESCO for recognition of the Dorset and East Devon Coast as a World Heritage Site. He continues to chair the Science and Conservation Advisory Group for the Site, which provides professional advice to the Counties of Devon and Dorset. He is also Chair of the Purbeck Heritage Network.

He has been awarded the B.P. Prize for Environmental Science & Management, and has pioneered and implemented multi-disciplinary practice-based masters courses at Bournemouth University in Coastal Zone Management, Water Environment, and European Tourism Management (with French, Dutch & German partners).

 

Please help us promote Dorset Humanists and this event by displaying an A4 poster. Download an A4 printable copy here, or email Dave at DHcensus(at)hotmail.co.uk for a PDF.

Click here to view details of other forthcoming and recent events on this website.

 

Robin Ince & Dorset Humanists celebrate Darwin Day 2012