Manitoban Atheists, Skeptics, and Humanists

On the 18th of October, seven people came out to a Humanism talk given by Barrie Webster, president of the Humanist Association of Manitoba (HAM).

Barrie’s talk was interesting and informative. He gave an overview of Humanism’s core principles, noting that those principles are, in a general sense, not that different than the principles held by most religions, as they are based on human morality. When you dig a bit deeper though, Humanism differs in ways such as having no associated mythology, not being based on fear, and supporting scientific inquiry. Barrie then went into the history of Humanism, noting that it goes back to the ancient Greek philosophers, and has played a part in the development of religious and philosophical discussions since then. He listed some well known Humanists, including Charles Darwin, Carl Sagan, and Isaac Asimov. Barrie ended the talk with the contributions Humanists have made in the past, and are currently involved in, both worldwide and in Manitoba specifically. Some of the current Canadian projects are implementing secular oaths instead of defaulting to the bible and offering compassionate care in hospitals, as currently public funds are going towards spiritual care.

Barrie provided us with a number of publications that provide more in-depth explanations of what Humanists stand for:

• Humanist Manifesto I and III [wikipedia]
• Amsterdam Declaration [wikipedia]
• Defining Modern Humanism by Pat Duffy Hutcheon

After the talk, Barrie answered questions from the audience. During the talk, Barrie discussed Humanism’s denial of cynicism; like John Locke, Humanists believe that humans are born naturally altruistic, and learn to be self motivated as they grow up. Members of the audience challenged this view, citing that caring about self-interest is good for survivability, and that some acts of altruism can still be self-motivated. Barrie held firm that altruism is human nature. Barrie went into more detail on some Humanist views, such as a refusal to capitalize words referring to supernatural beings, and the denial of an afterlife.

Regardless of their views, everyone left with a better knowledge of Humanism. We would like to thank Barrie Webster for coming and sharing with us his expertise, and answering our questions thoroughly. MASH looks forward to a long and prosperous relationship with HAM!

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Barrie Webster, President of the Humanist Association of Manitoba, will come and give a talk entitled “Humanism - a rich and enduring life stance,” then answer our questions about humanism. The talk will last approximately 30 minutes, leaving lots of time for discussion afterwards. Barrie is a retired professor in the Department of Soil Sciences at the U of M, and has been a member of HAM since the early 1990s.

Time: October 18th at 4:30PM
Location: EITC E2-304

After the talk, we will have a short meeting to update everyone on how the group has been growing over the past month. If necessary, we will hold elections–please get your nominations in as soon as possible!

Discuss this event on our forum.
Feel free to distribute this flyer to advertise the event where appropriate.

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The decisions made during this, MASH’s formative year, will heavily influence how our organization grows. People interested in being part of our first executive must email in your nominations by October 13, 2007. Include in your email: your name, the position you are nominating yourself for, and (if desired) a short description of your campaign platform.

Details of each position are available on the Executives section of this website. On October 13th, the final list of nominees will be published and members will be informed by email. Elections will occur during a general meeting on October 18th.

The current nominations are detailed below. Once you have emailed your nomination to webmaster (at) ummash.org, you will receive a confirmation email, and the list below will be updated.

President

• Trevor Bekolay - I created the group, and it would please me greatly to continue building this group on the ideals of rationalism, scientific inquiry, and respect.

Vice President

• Brian Latour - I am very happy to see a group like this started and would like to help build the group by helping to organize fun and intellectually stimulating events and get togethers.
• Katie Higham - I have waited for a while for a group like this to come along. But, I’ve always been too pre-occupied to get one started. That said, this year I have ample time to help with the running of UM MASH.

  If I am elected, I will work hard to help this group prosper and grow. If the opportunity arises, I will defend our position against any student group that wishes to debate us. We can make this group work if we all try.

Treasurer

• David Wesst

Secretary

• Steven Coutts

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If you’ve come to this website from the flyers we’ve put up on the U of Manitoba campus, you can go straight to the discussion happening on our forums.

The Omnipotence Paradox
Evolution and Creationism: Mutually Exclusive?

The flyers are available below in PDF format. Everyone is welcome to distribute these flyers in appropriate locations; please make sure that you have permission to post this flyer in a particular location.

Flyer - Omnipotence Paradox
Flyer - Evolution and Creationism: Mutually Exclusive?

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Welcome to the home of Manitoban Atheists, Skeptics, and Humanists, or MASH. We are a University of Manitoba student group who believes that we can live fulfilling, moral lives without the need for dogma or social crutches. We meet to discuss the important questions in life, enjoy the wealth of media humans have created, and learn from each other and from invited speakers. We may also have fun; our executive is discussing this possibility, so expect a decision in the near future.

We are only just starting out. It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision in September 2007, after noticing that the majority of student groups at the U of M are religious, fraternities/sororities, academic departments, or activist. We strive to provide a secular alternative to religioius groups, an inclusive alternative to fraternities/sororities, a diverse alternative to department based groups, and a more relaxed alternative to activist groups. Certainly, we will participate in events and causes that we feel are important, but members are free to simply enjoy a nice chat every now and then if they choose.

Please check out the rest of this site for a bit more information. There isn’t a whole lot to see at the moment, as we are still just starting out, but if you’re interested, please come and get involved! Post something to our forum, or drop us an email.

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