Presentation

Terry L. Smith will conduct a discussion on contemporary applied ethics and the foundational assumptions, ideas and ideals of Ethical Culture. Ethical culture focused on applied ethics rather than philosophical ethics, promoting the knowledge and practice of social and personal ethics to help people find meaning by living lives of moral worth.

Ron Katz Ron will focus on three questions. 1) How do I navigate voting? 2) How do I find the positions of the candidates on the issues I care about? 3) How can I do more? Ron's talk and discussion is at the Intersection of Social Justice and Voting.

Flourishing, in this context, includes moving toward wholeness, exercising compassion, and experiencing joy. Guy Sayles will draw on a variety of wisdom traditions and psychological perspectives to explore practices which help us flourish and contribute to the flourishing of others and of creation.

We will view the March 2024, David LaMotte 18 1/2 minute talk - "Why Heroes Don't Change the World” - given at TEDx Asheville followed by Zoom discussion with David LaMotte.

David’s talk focuses on the downside of hero narratives, and how stories that we tell to inspire people can often have the opposite effect. It’s a hopeful message, reminding us that we don’t have to be extraordinary to make change, we just have to work together.

Ty will explore why the “Environmental Movement” mostly failed to motivate people to change their consumption behaviors. He will review some dark episodes in the nation’s history (Native American relocations, slavery’s profitability, numbing responses to today’s school shootings) as informative to today’s failures, that is, knowing something is morally wrong won’t likely change behaviors around the convenience of consumption, profit and loss, or national policy.

In a culture that often values autonomy above most other principles and values, the challenges of aging impact our sense of self, the stories we tell about our lives, and our sense of meaning and spirituality in profound ways. How can we navigate changes and transitions with agency and intention and find the gifts that this unexpected and often unwanted journey brings?

“The Power of Vulnerability”, a TEDx talk by Brene Brown will be viewed and discussed at the Sunday, March 23, 2025, meeting of the Ethical Humanist Society of Asheville, 2:30 – 4:00 pm. This will be a Zoom only meeting. All are welcome to attend.

In today’s contentious climate—in which a seemingly unbridgeable divide persists between religious and secular worldviews— Tim will address the relative merits and viability of religion versus secular humanism from the perspective of the psychological and social sciences.

With the current societal polarization, open-mindedness is the first step to self-care, rational thinking, and discarding the “scare script” that leads to demonizing others. Rick will offer practical strategies for engaging in conversations with individuals holding opposing political views. He emphasizes the importance of understanding, empathy, and effective communication to bridge political divides.