Sam Harris’ bestselling book The End of Faith ignited a worldwide debate about the validity of religion, and his combustible February presentation at TED is still fueling that fire. Now Harris, author of The Moral Landscape, tears down the wall between scientific facts and human values, showing that we know enough about the human brain and its relationship to events in the world to say that there are right and wrong answers to the most pressing questions of human life. Presented as part of Seattle Science Lectures, with Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Series sponsored by Microsoft. Series media sponsorship provided by KPLU.

Tickets are $5 through Brown Paper Tickets.

P.S. PZ Meyer is in town tonight (check pharyngula for details).

Harry Gilbert is a science writer, an author, a science teacher, a retired Rocket Engineer. Every month, he holds “science salons,” for about a dozen local regulars, on a variety of science topics. A few weeks of research, buttressed by his own knowledge, and “I can talk about any subject they choose,” he says.

He will speak about dark matter in the universe.

There will be light refreshments and a chance to network after the talk.

Check out the Seattle Times story about Harry!

Dr. David Barash, psychology professor at the University of Washington, will discuss the evolution of a drive for religion. He’s currently writing a book on mysteries of human behavior. The title of this talk is “Homo Religiosus: Can evolution help explain why so many people believe things that are so palpably untrue?” Prof. Barash was one of the early contributors to the field of sociobiology. He examines the underlying evolutionary factors influencing human behavior, called “evolutionary psychology,” and has been active in researching, promoting, and practicing the field of Peace Studies. He feels that the issues of animal behavior, evolutionary psychology and Peace Studies are fundamentally linked, because they involve questions of how biology affects behavior. He co-authored the book “Madame Bovary’s Ovaries: a Darwinian look at literature,” and was recently profiled in “The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America” by conservative commentator David Horowitz.

After short break,  we will welcome Paul Constant, who recently wrote the letter, “Dear Catholic Church: Excommunicate Me” for the Stranger.  He will be speaking about his life and the letter. His talk will take place after David Barash’s, instead of the Town Hall normally held.

This event is sponsored by the Seattle Atheists. If you have concerns about transportation to/from any of our events, please contact Becky, Member Relations Committee Chair.
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We also encourage you to bring canned food items for our year-round Seattle Atheists SeasonLESS Food Drive. Food goes to the non-sectarian distribution network of Northwest Harvest.  Please consider donating healthful non-perishable items (suggestions here).

Contact:
Mike Gillis
Board Member of Seattle Atheists
P.O. Box 283, Seattle, WA 98111-0283
(206) 826-0770
seattleatheists@seattleatheists.org
www.seattleatheists.org

SEATTLE ATHEISTS CELEBRATE DARWIN DAY

SEATTLE — On Saturday February 6th, Seattle Atheists will join other free-thought groups to celebrate the 201st birthday of Charles Darwin, the brilliant scientist whose revolutionary work became the foundation of modern biology.

Seattle Atheists and our fellow organizations in the Northwest Freethought Coalition (NWFC) will come to together to celebrate Darwin, science, humanity and in appreciation of verifiable knowledge that has been acquired solely through human curiosity and ingenuity.

The event is family-friendly and will include speakers, educational evolution-themed games, activities, and food. The public is encouraged to attend.

WHERE:
Juanita Community Club
13027 100th Ave NE
Kirkland, WA 98034

WHEN:
Saturday, Feb. 6, from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m.

Seattle Atheists is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to serving the atheist community in the Seattle area. We strive to promote understanding and respect toward all freethinkers by providing information, creating a sense of fellowship, actively opposing discrimination, and above all, emphasizing reason, critical thinking over supernaturalism, and the separation of church and state.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Mike Gillis, Board Member of Seattle Atheists, (206) 826-0770, seattleatheists@seattleatheists.org

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Seattle Atheists is offering four 50% scholarships to the Northwest Freethought Alliance Regional Conference. The cost for the conference is $125, so scholarship recipients will be able to attend the full conference (3 days) for only $62.

To apply for the scholarship, send us a brief essay explaining why would like to attend the conference and what you hope to gain from the experience.

Deadline: Feb. 1st. We will notify recipients by Feb. 15.

In addition to the presentation and a Q&A session with Mr. Adams, there will be discussion, announcements, and updates from both Humanists of Washington and Seattle Atheists. Many thanks to Humanists of Washington for co-sponsoring this event with Seattle Atheists.

This event is free and open to the the public, but the venue is limited to 75 people, so arrive early.

WHEN AND WHERE: Sunday, Jan. 10, 2:00 pm at the Miller Community Center, 330 19th Ave. E in Capitol Hill. There is parking available in adjacent lots.

WHEN AND WHERE: Tues., Jan. 12, at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. The talk will be held in Kane 210 on the University of Washington campus. This event is free and open to the public.

Capitol Hill Public Library
425 Harvard Ave. E.
Seattle, WA 98102
(206) 684-4715

How does the concept of hope fit into the life of a person that doesn’t believe in the afterlife? Religious believers make a claim that they have a corner on the “hope market” and Jim has set out to prove otherwise in this provocative speech.

Jim Corbett has been an Atheist and Humanist for over 35 years; this state of grace was achieved despite his misspent youth in Catholic elementary school, Catholic High School and Catholic college. Jim has enjoyed his several experiences being the “stand-up” guy for the Humanists of Washington, the Humanists of North Puget Sound and the American Atheists in public debates with various ministers over the question, “Does God Exist?”

Jim has a Masters Degree in Library Science attended law school and has worked in the online legal research field for over 30 years. He assisted Michael Newdow with legal research and editing in his recent federal brief in the case against Supreme Court Justice John Roberts et al. Jim is listed as a co-plaintiff and encouraged many other groups to sign up as plaintiffs as well. Jim’s articles have appeared in the publications of American Atheists and the American Humanist Association (AHA). He will be presenting his program on “Hope for Humanists” at the AHA’s national conference in June in Phoenix.

After that there will be a Q&A, and then we’ll be recruiting pirates for the upcoming Flying Spaghetti Monster appearance at the Solstice Parade and then have a Town Hall on issues facing atheists as well as a discussion on death and dying from a secular perspective.

Our president, Paul Case, was interviewed about the bus campaign by KOMO News, and you can get the story here: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/41618287.html