Gator Freethought's fourth meeting of the Spring 2012 semester will be Wednesday, February 29th at 8:00pm in Matherly 105. Our topic for discussion will be the second-most requested topic of the semester, Politics and Religion.
This meeting was originally intended to be Dr. Witmer's talk with us on "Rational Religious Disagreement?" but due to unforeseen schedule complications he has had to reschedule for later in the semester. Dates will be announced as soon as they are confirmed.
Also, we will still be carpooling to Dr. Witmer's Christian Study Center talk this Thursday.
Gator Freethought's faculty sponsor, Dr. Gene Witmer, will be speaking from 7:00 - 8:30 at the Christian Study Center, and we will be organizing a carpool from UF Campus to make sure that everyone who needs a ride to the CSC for the discussion can get one.
Please post on the facebook event if you need a ride, or if you can offer a ride, and how many people you can take.
The full title of the talk is: “Religious Belief, Rationality, and Religious Experience: An Atheist’s View” by Gene Witmer, Associate Professor of Philosophy at UF Part II of “Theism, Reason, and Faith: In Conversation with the New Atheists.”
The address of the CSC is
112 Northwest 16th Street
Gainesville, Florida 32603
Gator Freethought is a registered student organization at UF that provides freethinkers of any religious background the opportunity to discuss religion and nonreligion alike.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Meeting #3 - LGBT Rights
Join Gator Freethought on Wednesday, February 15th, at 8pm in Matherly 105 for our third meeting of the Spring 2012 semester. The topic of discussion will be LGBT Rights.
The topic of discussion will be LGBT rights, including the battle for marriage equality, examination of which rights are unalienable and what makes them so, and the legitimacy of federal classifications based on religious practices. See you there!
Administrative Notes
Officer elections will be held at the end of the semester. Get involved! Get active!
Gator Freethought T-Shirts are still available for sale, for $10. If we sell out of last year's batch, we will hold a new design competition and order new shirts.
The topic of discussion will be LGBT rights, including the battle for marriage equality, examination of which rights are unalienable and what makes them so, and the legitimacy of federal classifications based on religious practices. See you there!
Administrative Notes
Officer elections will be held at the end of the semester. Get involved! Get active!
Gator Freethought T-Shirts are still available for sale, for $10. If we sell out of last year's batch, we will hold a new design competition and order new shirts.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Meeting #2 - Logical Fallacies and Paradoxes
Join Gator Freethought on Wednesday, February 1st, at 8pm in Matherly 105 for our second meeting of the Spring 2012 semester. The topic of discussion will be Logical Fallacies and Paradoxes.
To start the meeting, we will present some of the more common fallacies and paradoxes so that everyone is familiar with them. Free thinking relies upon honest evaluation of evidence and the ability to draw valid conclusions, so the ability to recognize faulty reasoning not only in the speech of others, but also in ourselves, is vital.
Key points of discussion will include:
Officer elections will be held at the end of the semester. Get involved! Get active!
Gator Freethought T-Shirts are still available for sale, for $10. If we sell out of last year's batch, we will hold a new design competition and order new shirts.
To start the meeting, we will present some of the more common fallacies and paradoxes so that everyone is familiar with them. Free thinking relies upon honest evaluation of evidence and the ability to draw valid conclusions, so the ability to recognize faulty reasoning not only in the speech of others, but also in ourselves, is vital.
Key points of discussion will include:
- Recognizing common (and uncommon) fallacies, and why they create invalid conclusions
- Places that we see and use those, and how to handle invalid reasoning
- What we can do to avoid using these in discussion
Officer elections will be held at the end of the semester. Get involved! Get active!
Gator Freethought T-Shirts are still available for sale, for $10. If we sell out of last year's batch, we will hold a new design competition and order new shirts.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Fall 2011 - Meeting 4 - Sexual Ethics
Gator Freethought's fourth meeting of the semester will be on Wednesday, October 19th at 7:30pm, in Matherly Hall 105. Continuing our coincidental trend of birth-related meetings, the primary discussion topic will be sexual ethics.
Some people have also expressed interest in discussing the various Occupy movements. Since this is a current and time-sensitive issue, if there is overwhelming interest at the meeting AND we are able to hold rational, levelheaded discussion on it, we may switch to that topic and postpone sexual ethics for two weeks.
Additionally, Gator Freethought T-Shirts are still on sale! Bring $10 to any meeting, or email the officers at gatorfreethought@gmail.com to get yours. If we sell out of last year's (and we're close), we will hold a new design competition and order new shirts for this year.
Some people have also expressed interest in discussing the various Occupy movements. Since this is a current and time-sensitive issue, if there is overwhelming interest at the meeting AND we are able to hold rational, levelheaded discussion on it, we may switch to that topic and postpone sexual ethics for two weeks.
Additionally, Gator Freethought T-Shirts are still on sale! Bring $10 to any meeting, or email the officers at gatorfreethought@gmail.com to get yours. If we sell out of last year's (and we're close), we will hold a new design competition and order new shirts for this year.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Fall 2011, Meeting 3 - Need We Worry About Overpopulation?
Our third meeting of the Fall 2011 semester will be Wednesday, October 5th, at 7:30 PM in Matherly 105. We will be discussing the potential consequences of overpopulation, including whether we need to worry about Malthusian crises or not, and what, if anything, should be done to preserve the future.
Sorry for the late notice on this one. For future reference, even if no facebook invite is sent out, meetings are every other Wednesday at 7:30pm, Matherly 105. The complete semester schedule is also on gatorfreethought.com
Sorry for the late notice on this one. For future reference, even if no facebook invite is sent out, meetings are every other Wednesday at 7:30pm, Matherly 105. The complete semester schedule is also on gatorfreethought.com
Monday, September 19, 2011
Fall 2011, Meeting 2 - Blonde Baby Battalion: Where Genetic Engineering Meets Eugenics
Gator Freethought's second meeting of the Fall 2011 semester will be Wednesday, September 21st at 7:30 pm, in MAT 105. We will be discussing the present and future of genetic engineering, especially whether or not we have a moral duty to select for (or not for) certain traits in children, and why.
Additionally, we will be taking suggestions for and then voting on topics for other meetings throughout the year. Speak up so we can discuss the things that you want to talk about!
Gator Freethought T-Shirts will also be available for $10.
Additionally, we will be taking suggestions for and then voting on topics for other meetings throughout the year. Speak up so we can discuss the things that you want to talk about!
Gator Freethought T-Shirts will also be available for $10.
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
Post-Meeting #1 Comments
Thank you all for coming out tonight and making our first meeting of the semester a success! A couple of administrative issues to address:
1) We want to know what YOU want to discuss! If you have an idea for a meeting/discussion topic, please post it here or mention it at our next meeting. We will vote at our next meeting, and try to cover the topics that garner the most interest this semester.
3)T-Shirts! We have Gator Freethought t-shirts for sale, for $10. The design is linked below. Email an officer or bring cash to the next meeting if you're interested. If there is enough interest, next semester we will be taking design submissions and printing a 2011 version.
4) As was pointed out at today's meeting, most Freethought meetings end formally around 9:00 or 9:30, and then anyone who's interested in discussing further is more than welcome to stick around. These additional conversations usually carry us across University or elsewhere for food/drink, so plan to join us next time!
See you at Meeting #2, September 21st, 7:30 PM, Matherly 105!
1) We want to know what YOU want to discuss! If you have an idea for a meeting/discussion topic, please post it here or mention it at our next meeting. We will vote at our next meeting, and try to cover the topics that garner the most interest this semester.
2) If you have any suggestions/questions/criticisms about the club or about meetings, please feel free to email the officers at GatorFreethought@gmail.com
3)T-Shirts! We have Gator Freethought t-shirts for sale, for $10. The design is linked below. Email an officer or bring cash to the next meeting if you're interested. If there is enough interest, next semester we will be taking design submissions and printing a 2011 version.
4) As was pointed out at today's meeting, most Freethought meetings end formally around 9:00 or 9:30, and then anyone who's interested in discussing further is more than welcome to stick around. These additional conversations usually carry us across University or elsewhere for food/drink, so plan to join us next time!
See you at Meeting #2, September 21st, 7:30 PM, Matherly 105!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Fall 2011, Meeting 1 - Why you MUST attend this meeting, a discussion of Free Will.
Welcome (back) To Gator Freethought!
Our first meeting of the 2011-2012 school year will be held on Wednesday, August 7th at 7:30 PM. Update: The room is MATHERLY 105
We're looking forward to seeing our returning members, as well as meeting our new faces. The topic of discussion is "Why you MUST attend this meeting, a discussion of Free Will." An overview of the topic will be presented by the officers, as well as a brief introduction to the more prominent theories and the evidence for and against them. The floor will then be opened for discussion. Whether you can't wait to argue your position, are just interested in hearing others speak, or anywhere in between, we look forward to seeing you there!
Our first meeting of the 2011-2012 school year will be held on Wednesday, August 7th at 7:30 PM. Update: The room is MATHERLY 105
We're looking forward to seeing our returning members, as well as meeting our new faces. The topic of discussion is "Why you MUST attend this meeting, a discussion of Free Will." An overview of the topic will be presented by the officers, as well as a brief introduction to the more prominent theories and the evidence for and against them. The floor will then be opened for discussion. Whether you can't wait to argue your position, are just interested in hearing others speak, or anywhere in between, we look forward to seeing you there!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Status Update
The Gator Freethought website now has a new domain, so please update your bookmarks. We are now located at www.Gatorfreethought.com (Previously .org). We are working hard to get everything cleaned up and moved over, but if you find any broken links or missing files please email us so that it can be fixed as soon as possible.
This change should mean more frequent updates and better usage of the website in the near future, so keep an eye out.
Upcoming Meetings:
The meeting schedule for Fall 2011 has not yet been announced, but we will meet biweekly, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 PM, throughout the semester. Official dates will be posted as soon as we get confirmation of room numbers from CSAI.
For up-to-date information about our next events, be sure to check our meeting schedule and facebook group
This change should mean more frequent updates and better usage of the website in the near future, so keep an eye out.
The meeting schedule for Fall 2011 has not yet been announced, but we will meet biweekly, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 PM, throughout the semester. Official dates will be posted as soon as we get confirmation of room numbers from CSAI.
For up-to-date information about our next events, be sure to check our meeting schedule and facebook group
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Fall '10 Meeting #1 - Behind Belief
Gator Freethought's first official meeting of the Fall 2010 semester will be held on Thursday, September 16th, at 7:30 pm in Matherly Hall 119
The topic for discussion is "Behind Belief - What causes and guides the things we believe in?'
We will be discussing what constitutes a belief, how beliefs compare to knowledge or opinions, and examining in depth where some commonly and not-so-commonly held beliefs originate. The meeting topic is not limited to religion, but spans political, philosophical, material, and anything else one could reasonably hold a belief in.
We will also be taking suggestions for future meeting topics. Freethought isn't anything without its members, and we want to hear what possible discussions you find intriguing. Old member or new, come out and have your say in the direction of Gator Freethought this year.
The topic for discussion is "Behind Belief - What causes and guides the things we believe in?'
We will be discussing what constitutes a belief, how beliefs compare to knowledge or opinions, and examining in depth where some commonly and not-so-commonly held beliefs originate. The meeting topic is not limited to religion, but spans political, philosophical, material, and anything else one could reasonably hold a belief in.
We will also be taking suggestions for future meeting topics. Freethought isn't anything without its members, and we want to hear what possible discussions you find intriguing. Old member or new, come out and have your say in the direction of Gator Freethought this year.
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