April 2011 Forums

April 3

Title:
Cristian Icons, Mind-Altering Substances, and the Pathway to God

Speaker:
Dr. John A. Rush (via Skype)

Abstract:

Who was Jesus? Was he a real person? What happened to him? Did he die on the cross as suggested by the Catholic Church and many biblical historians? Or did he “die” in some other manner?  In his latest book, The Mushroom in Christian Art: The Identity of Jesus in the Development of Christianity, and in this presentation, John A. Rush will expose the greatest creation myth ever “sold,” that is the creation of Jesus as a living, breathing human being, forged into history after 312 CE by Eusebius of Caesarea once some of the Christian cults were connected to the politic.  Before this time there were numerous cults, the members of which had various experiences of Jesus, the Teacher of Righteousness, through the Amanita muscaria mushroom (and other mind-altering substances) as revealed in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Once connected to the politic the search was on for Jesus, but he couldn’t be found.  The real story of Jesus, and who he was, however, was coded in Christian art for all to see – if you know what to look for.  The message attributed to Jesus, that is, seek knowledge, know thyself, personal responsibility, and human decency was “murdered” by the Catholic church and replaced with a perversion, an oppressive tradition, that promotes ignorance and slavery to the Church.

April 10

Title:

The Philosophical Aspects of Chinese Painting:
The Taoist Influence on Landscape Painting from Tang to Song Dynasty

Speaker:

Sonja Dimoska

Abstract:
This speech provides an overview of the main philosophical implications in Chinese painting. More specifically it will discuss the influence of the Taoist philosophy on Chinese landscape painting in the period from Tang to Song dynasty. Chinese landscape painting as an individual mode of art expression developed during Tang dynasty and flourished immensely. Its second era of glory was achieved during Song dynasty. Landscape painting was considered as a superior art form and it was practiced by the literati or highly educated officials talented in poetry, calligraphy and painting. They were to represent men of virtue, of high morality that revealed their achievement of acting in accord with Tao. The presentation follows with elaborating that landscape painting was not purely a representation of the nature, but was a form through which Tao manifest itself through its vital forces yin and yang. The landscape painting that captured the spirit resonance was considered an achievement worth of admiration as it grasped the harmonious dynamism of the universal principal. Apart from the nature as a motive, other aspects that disclose the Taoist influence are to be discussed such as the empty space, monochromatic painting style, visual perspective, man representation in nature etc.  Chinese landscape painting is inseparable from its philosophical grounding and therefore exploring Chinese aesthetics through philosophy brings us towards better understanding of Chinese painting on one hand and the holistic Chinese philosophy on the other. 

April 17

Title:

Meditation - Meaning, Preparations, Techniques

Speaker:

Stephen Giger

Abstract:

As changes on this globe increasingly are speeding up, more people

ask themselves, where or what it is, that remains stable. Meditation

can give us several answers these questions.

What exactly is meditation?

Is it necessary, to go to the mountains and join a special retreat to

perform meditation?

Why should we even meditate? What are the possible benefits and

might there even be bad things about it?

In this short talk I will try to answer all of these questions and furthermore

provide insight to how exactly we can practice to gain quicker positive

results.

In meditation the place, food, sleep, social habits and a suitable technique are

the key points to gain a greater understanding of this sacred practice. Only

by getting a clear understanding of these points, we are ready to set foot

on this amazing journey inside ourselves.

April 24

Title:

Pseudo-Science, Scientific Denialism and Skepticism

Speaker:

Dan Aldridge

Abstract:

“Science and religion are basically equivalent, as both are based on faith.” 

“Science is always changing its mind, so I don’t trust it.”

“Science is just another culturally-determined system of belief, with no special claim to truth.”  

“Science is subjective”.

“Science is an elitist insiders’ club that colludes in suppressing decent to preserve its privileged status in society.”

“Follow the money!  Funding drives what passes for science now, so what passes for science now isn’t really science.”

Many of us have heard or even made claims like this.  But how carefully do we scrutinize the evidence for them?  The notion that science is essentially a faith-based belief system, for example, is based on a misapplication of the term “faith”, as faith denotes belief in the absence of evidence or even in the face of contradictory evidence, whereas in science, all trust we place in credentials, theories or even scientific laws is always provisional.  To quote ____ Steven J Gould, "In science, 'fact' can only mean 'confirmed to such a degree that it would be perverse to withhold provisional assent.' I suppose that apples might start to rise tomorrow, but the possibility does not merit equal time in physics classrooms."

However, most of us don’t have the thousands of hours necessary to attain expertise in a given field and call ourselves scientists.  That being the case, if, as in science, one’s goal is to become right instead of simply to prove oneself right, how does one distinguish genuine knowledge from what Philosophy of Science Dr. Massimo Pigliucci calls “Nonsense on Stilts” – especially given the media’s profit-driven propensity for promoting the notion of controversy where none exists?

This question leads us to the importance of promoting skepticism - the sleek and powerful engine at the heart of science - which teaches us to spot and avoid the cognitive pit-traps within ourselves, as well as to identify and combat the social manifestations of these pit-traps: scientific denialism and pseudo-science.

Every forum begins at 8pm.

Place: Cafe Bastille 3, Taipei City, Daan District, Wenzhou Street, No. 7 台北市大安區溫州街7號 (in the basement of the cafe). It's near Daan Forest Park (not the one at Gonguan) close to the intersection with Hoping East Road, behind the 7-11.

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March 2011 Events

March 6, 7:45pm

Title: "Can We Control the Climate"

Speaker: Thomas Levene

Abstract:

Man has always tried to control and manipulate his surroundings for his own benefit.

The topic of controlling the weather is a controversial one. Firstly because some people believe man should not “Play God” and secondly because some of the Geoengineering techniques discussed could be seen as harmful if they were misused, if used for war for example.

There are many natural ways we can control our climate. However this talk will focus on the “artificial” techniques.

This talk will highlight the Geoengineering strategies available and technologies and their “effects” both good and bad. It will also pose the question “Are people controlling the weather now” “If so how?” And if we are “Do people have a right to know about it”?

March 13, 7:45pm

Title: "Lao Zi and the Fundamentals of Daoist Philosophy"

Speaker: Aleksandar Stamatov


Abstract:

One of the most influential figures in Chinese thought and culture is Lao Zi. He is considered the founder of what is known as the Daoist philosophy. In this speech I will present various ideas of his which are foundations of Daoist philosophy. In the beginning I will discuss the historicity of Lao Zi and the Dao De Jing, the book that is ascribed to him. I will begin the discussion of his philosophy with the concept of Dao. Dao, according to Lao Zi, is the “un-carved block”, the “undifferentiated One”, the “beginning of all things”, and the “mother of the universe”. Dao is the creator of all things but as itself, it is not a thing. All things have names but Dao cannot have a name because it is not a thing. Then I will relate Dao to the concepts of Being and Non-Being. For Lao Zi, Being comes from Non-Being and Dao is more likely to be identified with Non-Being. I will also try to explain the concept of De which is considered as the manifestation of the Dao in the world and in human beings. In the end I will discuss Lao Zi’s theory of wu wei, the non-action or the effortless action. This theory is directed towards a ruler to whom Lao Zi says that the best government is the one that governs the least. The ruler should not bring many laws and prohibitions, but he should try to rule the state with wu wei which means the least possible interference in people’s lives. Lao Zi believes that because there are too many laws and prohibitions, there are also as many transgressions of them.

March 20, 7:45pm

Title: "Megalithic Stone Builders in Ancient Civilizations"

Speaker: Ethan Kegley


Abstract:

Egypt is home to more than just the 3 “great” pyramids at Giza. There are 10 pyramids at the site of Giza alone. Main stream Egyptology says that the pyramids were tombs. I hope to show that while a few pyramids may have been the final resting places for some specific ancient people, they surely were not built for only that purpose. Through the analysis of construction materials and techniques, I will present alternative answers to the purpose of the pyramids. Through comparison of tombs to the pyramids I will argue that the pyramids themselves were not originally meant to be tombs. I will also focus on other aspects of megalithic stone building in Egypt such as trilithon (trilith) construction and the tunnels and aquifers under the pyramids. As I trace the Nile down from Cairo, away from Giza, a picture will emerge about a people that we might as yet hardly know. I will finish in Egypt with Abu Ballas, The Eight Bells, The Cave of the Swimmer and Nabta Playa. The second half of my speech will focus on ancient Peru and Bolivia. I will talk about the relationship and unknown possibilities between the sites of the Chankillo Observatory, the pyramids at Caral, Oyantetambo, Saksayhuaman and Tiawanaku. I want to contrast the main stream history to what many scientists and explorers are finding to be a newer and more complete view of the past. I hope to show that in both Egypt and Peru, as well as countless other sites around the world, there is a history that we are unaware of, and that ‘civilization’ is much older and possibly stranger than we yet know.

March 27, 7:45pm

Title: "The Creation of Western Religious Myths"

Speaker: Ethan Kegley

Abstract:

Myths; creation, religious, or historical can give us insight into the people who wrote them, they give us perspective and depth. Beyond the creation myth there are layers of religious myth and apologies for those myths by modern scholars. Over the course of thousands of years, myths are born out, carried on and propped up by people in power as a way to create a stable power structure. This history goes back beyond “civilization,” back to shamanistic times. But, the myths really come into play after humans moved from small groups of 50-150 people into urban settings with the need for rule setting structures. I will be giving an overview of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic “historical” myths and how they were needed as “historical” charters to set up what became full political structures. I will discuss how the Jewish myth borrows from Babylonian and Egyptian tradition. From there I will move on to the Essenes (Esau) and how a man named “John the Baptist” helped to create a tradition which eventually led, through the perversion of Paul, to Catholicism in the early 4^th century CE. Briefly, I will connect Islam to Judaism, but I want to focus on the creation of the Jesus myth and how it relates to John the Baptist, Esau, Egypt and pre-civilization shamanistic traditions.

Place: Café Bastille, Taipei City, Daan District, Wenzhou Street, No.7 溫州街7號 (in the basement of the café). It’s close to Daan Forest Park near the intersection with Hoping East Road.


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