Humanists4Science: Affiliate CFI becomes a BHA Section

Tuesday, 22 March 2011

Affiliate CFI becomes a BHA Section

Ref: BHA e-bulletin, BHA Chief Executive, Andrew Copson, 21 March 2011.

Read BHA Press Release 17 March 2011; CFI UK Press Release 14 March 2011.

The mission of the Centre for Inquiry (CFI) internationally is to "foster a secular society based on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values". Obviously it's a goal which is rather familiar to us at the British Humanist Association!

Stephen Law, CFI / BHA

So last week we were delighted to announce that the affiliate of CFI in the UK, formerly "CFI London", has been incorporated as a section of the BHA. The new CFI UK will, as part of the BHA, enable both organisations to expand the collective events programme, reach new audiences, and together promote the causes of reason, science and human curiosity.

CFI in the United States was founded by humanist groups merging together, and is led in the UK by philosopher Stephen Law, also a member of the BHA's Humanist Philosophers. Of course, it's not always the case that organisations, even with many shared goals and excellent humanist credentials, can join forces as we are doing here. But with CFI UK our aims overlap perfectly and CFI UK will retain its distinctive focus and image as we begin to work together.

People often comment about the natural tendency of groups of people to fracture into sub-groups and "denominations". But, as with our relationship with the AHS student federation, this is another example of two organisations already on friendly terms seeing an opportunity to improve their work all round, identifying no obvious downsides, and so taking the decision to unite. It's all very "humanist"! and we're looking forward to working together.

About CFI

ref: CFI UK (Accessed 22 March 2011)

CFI UK's primary aim is education, with the focus on the following three areas:

(i) the application of science and/or reason to questions regarding religion and the supernatural (e.g. questions about the divine, parapsychological questions, etc.)

(ii) the application of science and/or reason to pressing contemporary ethical dilemmas and social/political problems (e.g. stem-cell research, global warming)

(iii) the question of what is, and is not, good science (e.g. is intelligent design, or cold fusion, or magnet therapy, good science?)

CFI UK is concerned to defend and promote academic freedom, particularly from unjust legal threats, and to promote science-based policy.

We put on regular talks and events focussing on all of the above - from, say, exposing medical quackery (Ben Goldacre and Simon Singh), to examining the relationship between science and religion (recent debate between Alister McGrath and Stephen Law, and upcoming debate between Rev. John Polkinghorne and David Papineau) to examining the roots causes of the Holocaust and how best to prevent such catastrophes in future (a likely Autumn 2010 fixture). Fascinating, informative and sometimes provocative talks from leading experts and commentators in their fields. Talks take place at Conway Hall, central London, and at The Oxford Literary Festival at Christ Church Oxford, where we contribute several events each year.

Stephen Law (Provost), Suresh Lalvani (Executive Director and Company Secretary)

2 comments:

crabsallover said...: I welcome CFI UK becoming a section of BHA. CFI will strengthen the role of science within British Humanist Association.; 22 March 2011 at 05:10
Epiphenom said...: I think so too. CFI in the US is essentially their BHA, and so setting up a parallel group here was always a bit odd.; 22 March 2011 at 15:36

About Humanists4Science (Hum4Sci)

Humanists4Science (H4S) Mission "To promote, within the humanist community, the application of the scientific method to issues of concern to broader society."

H4S Vision "A world in which important decisions are made by applying the scientific method to evidence rather than according to superstition."

H4S is for humanists with an active interest in science. We believe that science is a fundamental part of humanism but also that it should be directed to humane and ethical ends. Science is, in our view, more a method than a body of facts.

H4S take a naturalistic view and believe, like 62% of the UK population, that science, the scientific method & other evidence provides the best way to understand the universe.

H4S are a Special Interest Group of the British Humanist Association (BHA).

Since 2008 H4S members have discussed many Humanist-Science topics in our Yahoo Group.

Prof. Jim Al-Khalili - 11TH BHA President - On Scientific Method

'I have a rational unshakeable conviction that our universe is understandable, that mysteries are only mysteries because we have yet to figure out, the almost always logical answers. For me there is simply no room, no need, for a supernatural divine being to fill in the gaps in our understanding. We’ll get there, we’ll fill in those gaps with objective scientific truths: [with] answers that aren't subjective, because of cultural or historical whims or personal biases, but because of empirically testable and reproducible truths. We may not get the full picture, we may never get the full picture, but science allows us to get ever closer.’ Jim Al-Khalili, BHA AGM 2013

"A lot of people say science is just one way of looking at the world, at reality, and poets and musicians and, of course, people of faith, have said there are other ways. I don't buy that. For me there is an objective reality that is there and real. For a theoretical physicist who's trained in thinking about quantum mechanics, which involves the idea that by observing something you alter its nature, you have to have some sort of working definitions of reality"
Jim Al-Khalili in New Humanist magazine Mar Apr 2013

Lord Taverne

Science depends on reason and regard for evidence. For me, the scientific approach lies at the heart of humanism as well as atheism. We all accept that science has made us healthier and wealthier. What has been seldom acknowledged or realised is that since the Enlightenment, which it helped to bring about, science has played an essential part in making us more civilised.

Science is the enemy of autocracy because it replaces claims to truth based on authority with those based on evidence and because it depends on the criticism of established ideas. Scientific knowledge is the enemy of dogma and ideologies and makes us more tolerant because it is tentative and provisional and does not deal in certainties. It is the most effective way of learning about the physical world and therefore erodes superstition, ignorance and prejudice, which have been causes of the denial of human rights throughout history. Science is also the enemy of narrow nationalism and tribalism and, like the arts, is one of the activities in this world that is not motivated by greed.

What can compare, for example, with the recent achievement of the Large Hadron Collider, a venture of collaboration by 10,000 scientists and engineers from 113 countries, free from bureaucratic and political interference? Those people put aside all national, political, religious and cultural differences in pursuit of truth and for the one purpose of exploring and understanding the natural world.

Without the contribution of science, which is, in my view, the rock on which atheism and humanism are built, we would be less inclined to be critical, tolerant and understanding and more prone to prejudice, bigotry and tribalism. We would be a less civilised society.

Lord Taverne, 25th July 2013, House of Lords debate on contribution of Humanism and Atheism

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Tuesday, 22 March 2011

Affiliate CFI becomes a BHA Section

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