Parties, Movements and Humanism, a discussion with Oxford Humanists

How does a philosophical movement such as humanism evolve to fit into organised communities? As we organise for action, how do we avoid the traps of dogma that hinder the very open-mindedness of the movement? Is humanism inherently a political movement?

Led by Claudio and our moderator, we will host a discussion within the local group to share views and opinions on this topic, underpinned by the 'four Cs' that guide the philosophical debate:

Caring: This involves attentive listening, showing empathy, valuing others' contributions, and being sensitive to the needs of the group.

Creative: This encompasses making connections, suggesting alternatives, exploring possibilities, and considering different perspectives.

Collaborative: This includes responding to others' ideas, building on their contributions, and working together to explore concepts and solve problems.

Critical: This involves questioning, reasoning, evaluating information, identifying assumptions, and forming well-supported judgments.

Venue: Note - Access to The Community Works is via the alleyway to the left of 1 Becket Street.

Speaker Bio: Claudio Elgueta is a well-respected member of our local group. Claudio gained his BSc in Sociology from the London School of Economics where he arrived after escaping Pinochet's dictatorship in Chile which brought his short career as a journalist to a dramatic stop. The LSE fuelled his interest in philosophy. Later he was awarded a couple of postgraduate diplomas in linguistics: TEFL from International House, Barcelona and Simultaneous Conference Interpreting from the Autonomous University, also in Barcelona. He has taught linguistic subjects at that Autonomous University, at the University of Westminster and at Puebla University in Mexico. He has lived in five countries and visited over a hundred, but Britain has been his home for more than 40 years. He speaks seven languages. His interest in science began when as a simultaneous interpreter for international conferences he specialised on science, technology, medical and pharmaceutical topics. This was his main activity until he retired some years ago. He has been a humanist with a small "h" since LSE times and is now an official member of HUK.

We are thrilled to have Claudio join us in Oxford in September and we hope you'll register to at https://humanists.uk/civicrm/event/info?id=2378 to join us for what promises to be valuable and thought-provoking discussion about our movement and how we choose to build our community. This event is free to join, however we do request registration to help us manage numbers with the venue and, as always, any donations you are able to contribute will support our running costs.

Not sure if this is for you or have questions about the event? Please get in touch with our Events Manager; we'd love to hear from you at events-oxford@humanistbranches.uk.

We hope to see you there!