Naturalism and the meaning of life

Hi gang,

So we saw Religulous, which was pretty good and had some telling moments. One in which Maher says that living with doubt is a luxury, another in which he speaks with Francis Collins, head of the US genome project, who won't admit his belief in the Bible is preposterous by any scientific or empirical standard. But there are many good moments, never slow, overall I recommend it. Of course it needs following up with something a bit more positive about what we can believe in...

For December, I thought we could have fun talking about the meaning of life from a naturalistic perspective. Imagine some one accosts you, the naturalist, and like the song asks "What's it all about, Alfie?" What would you say?

Hope to see you there!

Tom

twc at naturalism.org
[masked]

General description of what we're about (this bit doesn't change from month to month):

Allies of Naturalism welcomes those interested in exploring and promoting a science-based, humanistic and progressive naturalism that can make a difference in our lives. To see what's involved in being a humanistic and progressive naturalist (more or less), check out Naturalism.Org, centerfornaturalism.org and the Guide to Naturalism at http://www.centerforn....

Essentially, naturalism shows our full connection to the world and others, leads to an ethics of compassion, and gives us far greater control over our circumstances. We don't need anything supernatural either above us or inside us to lead moral and meaningful lives: nature is enough. Naturalism is a viable alternative to faith-based worldviews such as traditional religions and new age philosophies, offering a set of ideas with positive personal and social consequences.

The meetings offer a chance to meet fellow naturalists in an informal, relaxed setting, but with at least some structure. That's to say that we'll try to have one or two topics suggested in advance for people to think about, and then discuss when we get together. Ultimately the focus and format of the meetings will be determined by participants, but will certainly include time for socializing and networking. Watch the discussion board for topic announcements and other details. Hope to see you there!