Local Group Blogs - Humanist Society of Scotland

AGM - Convenor's Report

The Edinburgh Group has had a busy year, with meetings almost every month over the last year apart from August when the society sponsored the Festival of Spirituality and Peace. Thanks to vice convenor Jack Gold for taking the chair on many occasions when I wasn’t able to attend and to Cathy Crawford and Roger Redondo for chairing events at The Filmhouse.

Our talks were as follows

May - Dr Josh Brickman, on the Ethics of Stem Cell Research
June - John Wiltshire on Evolution
July - John Blair Fish about the World Development Movement
(our summer picnic was rained off)
August      The Festival of Spirituality and Peace ( http://www.festivalofspirituality.org.uk/)
September   MEP David Martin on the proposed European Constitution
October         Donald Reid on his work with the Interfaith Movement and FoSP
November    Jack Gold on “The Problem with Science”
December    Rabbi David Rose on Judaism
January     Joan Gibson on Confucius
February    Nicholas Phillipson on Adam Smith
March       HSS Education Officer, Bob Mckay on our new Education Policy

During November, members of the Edinburgh Group also supported a stall at the Scottish Green Party conference and took part in the Bio-Ethics film festival.

In addition to our monthly meetings, we have a very popular philosophy group, led by Ray Newton & Nigel Bruce. Among other books they discussed Bertrand Russell's "Problems of Philosophy" and “Man for Himself”, by Eric Fromm.

The film evenings at The Filmhouse on Lothian Road which Cathy Crawford initiated some years ago have continued and are now almost a monthly event, mostly thanks to Juliet Wilson who has taken over the liason with the Filmhouse programmers. These have generally been very well attended, as have the discussions for which about 1/3 to a 1/2 the audience have generally stayed behind. The Filmhouse now prints the HSS signature & logo in their brochure whenever we sponsor a film and they tell us this always leads to increased attendances.

Among other films, we saw The Bridge, about suicides on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco; Shut up and Sing about The Dixie Chicks and ‘patriotism’ in the USA; Black Gold about the ethics of the coffee trade; Darrat a film from Chad about revenge & redemption; The Counterfeiters, about morality within a concentration camp; 4 months 3 weeks 2 days a Romanian film about abortion, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly about Jean Dominique Bauby and Jesus Camp, a documentary about Fundamentalist Christian summer camps in the USA. At Christmas, we saw the Frank Capra classic It’s a Wonderful Life, after which we had a small but well-attended party in the Filmhouse Bar.

Over the last year we have developed links with The University of Edinburgh Humanist Society . At last year’s AGM, we gave them a small grant and we have since ensured that they now have a diary page on the HSS site and links to their own web site. The EUSHA proposed that I become their chaplain, a request that the University Chaplaincy Centre declined; instead I am to be the University’s humanist contact. I’m pleased to note, however, that other Scottish Universities are more open to the idea and that three Universities in Glasgow (Glasgow, Strathclyde and Glasgow Caledonian) now either have or shortly will have humanist chaplains.

In April 2007, the Edinburgh group had 188 memberships. It now has 339. Of these, 134 are individuals and 205 are family, giving a total of 544 members – an impressive growth in so short a time. The web site lists all of our events and as you can see, we now have this Blog where reports of them are posted.

In 2007, celebrants in the Edinburgh area conducted 477 ceremonies including 175 weddings – a slight decrease from 2006, when the total was 507. In February, celebrants held a reception for Funeral Directors at the Royal Scots Club on Abercrombie Place to present our new identity and leaflets and get feedback on their services that was unanimously positive.

My predecessor, the much-loved Ivan Middleton, managed fifteen years in the chair, but as I believe democracy is best served by frequent changes of administration, I’m stepping down after only two years as convenor. It’s been great fun and I think we’ve achieved a lot, but it’s time for somebody new to step up to the plate and take us forward.

My sincere thanks go to the other members of the committee - Secretary Cathy Crawford, Treasurer Peter Macdonald and Vice-Convenor Jack Gold, EUSHA representative Roger Redondo, Joan Pisanek, Jean Llewellyn and Juliet Wilson, for their kind hospitality support and tolerance. I hope their new convenor is better organised - and less impatient!

With best wishes

Tim Maguire
Convenor 2006 - 2008

Glasgow Blog- Summer 2008

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Glasgow Group grows and thrives.

Welcome to the the initial blog from the Glasgow branch of the HSS.

We cover an extensive area on the on the West of Scotland. From Denny to Dumfries and from Bute to Benderloch all are welcome.

Promotion of Humanism, Dundee City Centre – 21 June 2008

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For most of us who ‘volunteered’, yesterday’s Dundee city centre promotion of Humanism was a venture into unknown territory.   We are relieved to report that no eggs were thrown, and that many leaflets were distributed.   In fact, our only problem lay in hanging on to the gazebo when the occasional gust of wind had us all grabbing the nearest pole to prevent the whole thing taking off up the High Street.   That little bit of excitement aside, the day went off pretty smoothly, and it was a tired, but satisfied little group that packed everything away at 4pm.

What was achieved?   Well, we might get a partial answer to this if membership enquiries increase in the coming weeks, but that will not, I think, reflect the overall success of the venture.   Our reason for being there was the belief that although many people may have heard the term ‘humanism’, they might be hard pressed to describe what it means.   This day in Dundee gave our members a chance to give away literature and to chat to people about their attitudes to the things we hold to be of benefit to the human race.   The Amsterdam Declaration was massively helpful in quickly outlining just what we stood for, and those who stopped to speak were mostly in agreement with its approach to life and the human condition.   In discussing our Manifesto, it also became apparent that many people were positive about our stance on euthanasia.

However, that is not to say that all conversations were held on common ground; some lively discussions took place.   One chap declared he wished there were more people going for humanist ceremonies because he, as a minister, was fed up with the non-religious asking for his services.   This particular conversation ranged from the atheism of Nazism and Communist Russia and the acknowledged atrocities carried out in the name of religion, to secular v. religious schools and the mixing of church and state.   In another case, a young mother seemed to welcome, indeed was intent on discussing the issues of religion v. secularism despite the increasingly vocal demands of her children for attention.   She seemed hungry for this debate.   She was not alone.   Some people even approached us of their own volition!   A young father, who was in a hurry when first approached, came back and said that he now had some time, so please tell him about Humanism.   We had a Muslim who stopped, heard me out, and left having imparted the message that everybody should believe in God.   No surprise there.   Another local man told me, en passant, that salvation lay in Jesus, “the way, the truth and the light”.   Three young Ghanaians traded the use of our pen for an outline of Humanism.

I hope this gives you get the flavour of the day.   Some of the conversations with the more intrepid were intense, but no blows were exchanged, and parting was always with a smile.   Sam’s guitar music and singing of popular songs from the 1960’s right up to date added greatly to the relaxed atmosphere, and entertained us all.   The children also liked the balloons bearing the message for both them and their parents; “We’re a' Jock Tamson’s bairns”.

Frances McDonnell
Hon. Secretary, Dundee Group

Philosophical Counselling

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At our May meeting the group were treated to an immensely interesting talk by our newest member, Sam Brown, PhD in Philosophy and a philosophical counsellor.    We heard him expand on the methods by which people facing difficulties in their lives can be helped by those trained this new type of counselling.   Counsellors do not challenge the views of clients, rather they urge a balance of representation.   He illustrated how the counsellor's approach is frequently initially misunderstood, and that new clients normally arrive ready to talk about a particular issue of concern, and assume that the session will be an exercise in testing their defence of the view they already hold, and can be flummoxed when the counsellor keeps side-stepping, or coaxes them on until they end up in an absurdity.

Sam pointed out that philosophical counselling should not be seen as a debate.   To debate is to take up a particular point-of-view and defend it against alternatives, with the aim of persuading someone that you are right.   Philosopher counsellors don’t coach in rhetorical techniques, as the Greek Sophists once did.   Indeed if they detect argumentative rhetoric they try to dissemble it, like an intellectual massage to get out muscular knots or a talking therapy to alleviate neurosis.   Socrates (and Jesus) made the mistake of deconstructing emotive opinions, making important people feel foolish, and was put to death for it. Instead of a counter-argument, a philosophical counsellor uses Socratic dialogue - questioning to tease out absurdities or inconsistencies.   It can be illustrated that conflicting perspectives can be held by equally intelligent and moral people, and that everyone would benefit from understanding the alternative views as genuinely moral and defensible positions.   It does not help to portray them as unreasonable or wicked caricatures.

In a counselling session, the counsellor would switch to a less controversial or sensitive issue (such as politics in Northern Ireland, the US or the Middle East) or a classical philosophical problem (such as the nature of truth or morality, or the existence of God).   That would allow him to draw out the benefits of philosophical analysis, before returning to the hot topic and applying the same method.   As a benchmark of progress, the initial arguments can then be revisited in retrospect, and the problematic patterns are much easier to see.   This process can, it seems, turn out to be amazingly therapeutic.   The client may well return to exactly the same position at the end, but with a greater understanding, which is often enough to resolve the associated emotional difficulty.

Sam also addressed the issue of emotions overwhelming philosophical thought, quoting Hume, "Reason is, and ought to be, the slave of the passions”.   Good practical philosophy engages the emotions and tries to harmonise them, he explained.   It is not about the intellect controlling the emotions, but about using the intellect wisely to ensure that some emotions do not eclipse others.   That is arguably why it evolved, according to the Darwinian view.   Recent research in psychology indicates that rational judgement breaks down when emotions are omitted from personal decision-making.

2008 Edinburgh Group AGM

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Last night's Edinburgh group AGM was lively affair with many inspiring and helpful contributions from the floor!

Outgoing convenor Tim Maguire talked us through last year's activities and I'm sure that everyone agrees it has been an interesting and productive year for our group. His full report is posted separately.

The new committee was voted in:

Convenor: Juliet Wilson
Vice Convenor: Jack Gold
Secretary: Cathy Crawford
Treasurer: Peter MacDonald
Committee members: Jean Llewellyn and Roger Redondo

As the new Convenor, I would like to take this opportunity to remind our members that although they may not want to sit on the committee they are always welcome to come up with suggestions and be actively involved in the running of the group's activities.

There were some suggestions from the floor that along with our monthly meetings at the Quaker Meeting House, other types of meetings would be welcome. Having discussions in pubs was a very popular idea! The committee will be discussing this and other ideas in its first meeting at the end of this month and hopes to have some new events in our calendar.

If you couldn't make it to the AGM but would like to be on the committee, please let us know.

It only remains for me to extend a warm thank you to Tim Maguire who has put in considerable effort over the last two years to organising and chairing events for the group. He has been dedicated and considerate and has played an integral role in many of the new developments in the Society such as our new leaflets and website.

Tim is standing for the post of Media Officer in the Board of Trustees at the HSS AGM on the 20th of April.

Any questions and suggestions regarding the Edinburgh group should be directed to me:

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I hope to see you at the next meeting on Monday, 05 May 2008, 19:30 - 21:30 at the Quaker Meeting House, Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2JL. (just off the Royal Mile), where Professor Dabir Tehrani will talk about religious attitudes to sexuality.

Warmest regards,

Juliet Wilson

Nicholas Phillipson on 'Adam Smith in Edinburgh’

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Edinburgh Group Meeting 4 February

If the Edinburgh Group decided to claim Adam Smith and his ideas for themselves and the Humanists we would be in very varied company, according to our very well-informed and entertaining speaker, Nicholas Phillipson. Adam Smith may currently be best known as Margaret Thatcher’s favourite economist, but it is interesting to learn that Putin is preparing his version of ‘The Wealth of Nations’, that Castro is also a fan and while biographers can be partial, it does seem that there is a great deal of the philosophy of Adam Smith which can appeal to us.

Adam Smith was not so much a son of Edinburgh and our members from Fife would feel affronted if his roots in Kirkcaldy were overlooked, but it appears that between 1748 and 1750 Adam Smith delivered two courses of highly significant public lectures on Rhetoric and Jurisprudence, thereby establishing his credentials within the Edinburgh Enlightenment and influencing a formidable group of intellectuals of the age. While many of his audience were clergy, Smith never felt the need to appeal to a deity to provide the answers to his questions about where ideas of justice come from.

To explore all the ideas which our lecturer introduced, about the ideas of society being an exchange of sentiments, and the political economy an exchange of commerce simply a part of that study of sentiments, is probably better left for our Philosophy Group to debate in greater depth. It is easier to say here that the questions Smith raised about such things as whether our idea of fairness is always shifting and shaped by our material situation were certainly enough to keep our group fascinated and ready to rush out to buy Prof Phillipson’s book as soon as it hits the bookshops.

Cathy Crawford.

'Not for Sale'

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Margaret Brown

Margaret Brown, of Dundee Women's Aid was last night's speaker when the group began an important debate, which it is hoped will be addressed by all the groups within HSS in order to formulate a humanist viewpoint. The subject, euphemistically called 'the oldest profession' is now beginning to be recognised as a crime against women.