Discussion Groups

Thursday Science & Philosophy Discussion Group

Meeting every Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 12 pm in the UUCLC Social Hall

This is not a class. It is a meeting of persons interested in the topics to have an open discussion to express their knowledge of the subjects and to exchange ideas and opinions.

Moderator: Franklin Pennington

February Discussions:

Feb 06  Our cultural history is cluttered with VAST numbers of PROTECTIVE rituals, many of which use FIRE to remove demons or keep evil spirits away. NOW, in the depth of Winter (even somewhat in Florida), our ancestors were stalked by freezing temperatures, starvation and disease with NONE of our scientific explanations. So how DID they explain their problems and what kind of symbolic actions did they take for protection? How many of these actions do you still see in your world, your family and yourself? Remember "Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, etc.? (For reference, "The New Golden Bough" is useful.)

Feb 13  TRUE or FALSE: At the end of Desire, the Restless Mind finally finds PEACE! That is the message of Lao Tsu in "Tao de Ching" and the Buddha in the Dhanapala, but HOW often in modern times ARE we without desire? ON the contrary, is it not the goal of ADVERTISING to create desire on an endless scale, lest our economy and GDP fail? Hey, let the radio or TV create the NEED for the latest gadget and hopefully, others will go to WORK to gain that EXACT item, whatever utility it might promise! Today ponder with me the perks and problems with this process. Suggested reading:  With All Its Faults: A Candid Account of Forty Years in Advertising by Fairfax M. Cohen.

Feb 20  "Farming is everybody's bread and butter!" read a 70's bumper sticker. But NOW, the age of Agribusiness, hydroponics, vege-burgers and so forth, WHAT should or shouldn't we be eating and WHY, and how did HEMP come to be on the menu? Are GMOs and current farming practices SAFE for consumers, even as Monsanto assured us Roundup was no problem? Let us share our collective knowledge about our FOOD choices and our FDA watch dog!

Feb 27  Do you ever kind of hear VOICES in your head that are a remix of our life COACHES, namely parents, teachers, pastors, other relation? How did you react (accept, question, reject?) to their messages THEN, and how do you see that message NOW? This is a critique of ENCULTURATION really, how one generation attempts to inform the next, and how it must have failures due to "Future Shock" RE Toffler. After all, in the PRE credit card and huge debt times there was the saying "Use it up, wear it out, make it DO or... DO WITHOUT!"