First of all, we are back at our usual location starting this week: Koffler House, 569 Spadina Ave., 2nd floor.
Empathy vs. Persuasion in the War of Worldviews
Today, the largest growing subculture in the 12-Step addiction/recovery culture is secular Alcoholics Anonymous. All AA eyes have been on Toronto in the last few years as an Ontario Human Rights Tribunal reviewed a Greater Toronto AA body wish to exclude (discriminate) against AA groups for atheists and agnostics.
In traveling around North America, talking about addiction/recovery and worldviews, Joe C has been presenting an argument that personal worldviews/belief isn’t a linear (one dimensional) spectrum with atheists (natural worldview) at one end and believers (supernaturalism worldview) at the other end of the axis, and agnostics in the middle. Worldviews that divide us are bi-dimensional. There is the intuitive axis of supernatural vs. natural worldview. We also have a rational axis with concrete reasoning vs. abstract reasoning on the other axis. So, there are four primary worldviews that divide us; not just two or three.
Joe will share stories of research and advocacy for freethinkers in addiction/recovery and make a case for empathy towards contrary worldviews and discus the five human obstacles that make us want to dominate or convert “others” instead of appreciating them as peers.
Joe C., Rebellion Dogs Publishing https://www.rebelliondogspublishing.com
Snacks and Music
As always we will have coffee and pot luck snacks and music.