Why CFI and not a Different Cruise?
Join us for an enjoyable cruise of stimulating presentations and conversations!
We are pleased to offer this stellar lineup for our 2009 Western Caribbean Cruise. We know you are looking forward to sharing with family and friends, and now is the time to invite them.
Many organizations, magazines, museums—even
PBS—offer cruises and trips. They are usually jam-packed
with famous speakers. So it is with Center for Inquiry. However,
according to one seasoned traveler, who experienced voyaging
with CFI and also with a well-known magazine-sponsored cruise,
our cruises are not only intellectually stimulating, they are
also friendlier, with a “feel right at home,
instantly” familiarity. Plus, you aren’t kept at a
distance from the speakers. Our CFI cruisers truly are a family
of like-minded people who enjoy being able to share their
feelings, experiences, and beliefs with a warm and welcoming
group.
TIME IS SHORT! So now, please accept this
invitation to join us for a positive recharging of your mind and
body as we travel the Caribbean waters once so well known to
buccaneers and the mighty ships of the Spanish Main!
OUR SPEAKERS
Paul
Kurtz Presents~~
1) "The Future of
Books?"
Are we witnessing the decline and possible
demise of the book? If so, this would be a tragedy. Yet
other forms of media—especially the internet—are
replacing books. Unfortunately, the number of readers of
print media younger than 40 is declining. It is
estimated that they spend only seven minutes a day on voluntary
reading of books, magazines, and newspapers.
Paul Kurtz,
founder and chairman of Prometheus
Books (the largest secular, humanist, skeptical, and atheist
press in the world—now celebrating its 40th year), will
reflect on his experience in keeping Prometheus alive and
thriving. Books published by Prometheus are distributed
worldwide and have been translated into 38 languages. He
will discuss the crisis in book publishing today from the
perspective of Prometheus unbound!
2) "The
Turbulent Universe?"
Paul Kurtz, founder of the
Center for Inquiry, has recently completed a new book dealing
with meta-nature; namely, what does science tell us about the
universe and the place of the human species (if any) within
it. Is it an ordered and eternal scene following
intelligent design or strict causal laws? Or is it an
open-ended pluralistic universe, full of uncertainty and
dissonance? He reviews recent inquiries into the biosphere
and natural selection, the physical universe, and human
affairs. Vital questions include: “What are the
implications of a random universe for moral choice?”
“How might a person confront his or her own death?”
“How can we deal with the eventual decline of our
civilization, the possible future extinction of the human
species, our own planet, solar system, and indeed our
galaxy?” One inference is that you should enjoy the
cruise while you can!
Patricia
Schroeder Presents~~
1) "For over 500 years books
have been the pillar of our knowledge-based lives...now
what?"
Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing
press, and in 1452 the first large print run was done: the
Gutenberg Bible. Books have had more than a 500-year
run...what now? Is there a future for books or are all the
doomsayers pronouncing a benediction over books and reading
correct? If they are right, where shall we go for
connected, peer-reviewed thought in this culture of noise and
chaos in which we live?
2) "We hear Reading and Publishing are both
history. Really?"
If publishers go the way of
the Dodo bird, does it matter? What do those guys do
anyway? Is reading no longer important? We live in a
culture where if you don't have ADD, we will teach it to you in
your early years of life. How can reading survive in such an
environment?
Patricia Scott Schroeder is a former 12-term
U.S. congresswomen and is president and CEO of the Association
of American Publishers. She has been a leader in the cause of
education and a champion of free speech, and is in the National
Women’s Hall of Fame.
Lawrence
Krauss Presents~~
1) "Science vs.
Politics"
Science should form the basis of sound
public policy, but it hasn't and doesn't. We are now
emerging from eight dark years of attacks on science and science
integrity from Washington to the classroom. Some things are
getting better. Others aren't.
2) "A Cosmic
Mystery Story"
The past decade has witnessed one of
the greatest revolutions in the past 100 years in our
understanding of the universe, and also produced one of the
biggest outstanding mysteries in physics. In particular,
our picture of the future of life in the Universe has changed in
totally unexpected ways.
Lawrence Krauss, Ph.D. is
foundation professor and director of the Origins Initiative at
Arizona State University, and has been described by such
magazines as Scientific American as a public
intellectual. He has published more than 200 scientific articles
as well as a variety of general articles on physics and
astronomy. Krauss has also authored several celebrated
books, including the best-selling The Physics of Star
Trek, and is the recipient of numerous awards, including
the American Association for the Advancement of Science's
1999-2000 Award for the Public Understanding of Science and
Technology.
Ruth
Frazier Presents~~
1) "From Literacy to
Leadership: Women on the March"
In consulting work
in Afghanistan, Tanzania, and with Native Americans, Ms. Frazier
has been involved in watching dramatic progress as women learn
to read and learn to lead. As women are more than 51 percent of
most of the world's populations, the role of women becomes
redefined with education—and
tolerance. Obstacles? There are many. But the desire
to create better lives for themselves and their children is a
compelling force for women. Frazier will share examples
from these three disparate cultures of women who have overcome
formidable obstacles and have taken significant leadership
roles.
2) "Using Socrates to Teach Critical
Thinking and Change Lives"
Is there a way to use the
questioning techniques of Socrates to examine in depth peoples'
own communities, and to encourage them to move forward on their
own in new and creative ways? For two decades, Ruth Frazier
used a Socratic teaching method in community development. It
was, in many ways, the antithesis of traditional foreign aid,
and this Socratic method of dialogue continues to work today in
both small and large group settings. Why? Because when
people think critically and are motivated to work together
despite their differences on a common goal, remarkable change
can occur. But Socrates had the secret...
Ruth
Frazier was for 23 years the president and CEO of Futures for
Children, a nonprofit focusing on Native American education
opportunities, has consulted widely in organizational
development and Native American affairs, and is on the board of
a family foundation that works with other cultures in several
countries.
Ken
Frazier Presents~~
1) "Reading, Magazines, the
New Media, and the New Skepticism: What's Going
On"
Reading is declining, or is it? Magazines
are going the way of newspapers, or are they? What are the
roles of the new media in spreading literacy (including
scientific literacy), critical thinking, and skepticism? A
consideration of what has been lost as sources of information
and outlets for expression change, and what opportunities have
been created.
2) "Inspiration and Wonder: Frontiers of Science vs.
Textbook Science"
What are our sources of
inspiration and wonder for loving science and nature? If
science is presented solely the dry way it appears in textbooks,
opportunities for engaging the public are lost. Kendrick
Frazier shares what inspired him to engage in a life involving
science (and skepticism), shows some of the sources of
inspiration available today, and discusses some of the passions
and paradoxes (based on up-to-date data) in the public's view of
science in 2009.
Kendrick Frazier is the longtime editor
of Skeptical Inquirer: The Magazine for Science and
Reason and a Fellow of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science. He is the author or editor of ten
books, most recently Science Under Siege
(Prometheus, May 2009). He is a Fellow of the Committee for
Skeptical Inquiry, a member of its Executive Council, and a
member of the board of directors of the Center for Inquiry.
Toni
Van Pelt Presents~~
1) "Civic Days and the
Credibility Project: CFI Office of Public Policy at
Work"
Eighty percent of “dissenting
scientists” in a U.S. Senate Minority Report critical
of global warming haven't published peer-reviewed climate
research, according to CFI OPP's Credibility Project. Learn
about this important project, how it will aid in the passage of
climate change legislation, and how Friends of the Center
participated in the roll-out of the report on Capitol
Hill.
2) "Charitable Choice, Faith Based
Initiatives and the Religious Freedom Reformation Act (RFRA)
– What does it all mean?"
What every secular
humanist needs to know about the encroachment of religious
organizations into taxpayers' pocketbooks. This will be a
very intense discussion with a take-home message to share with
others. You will want to take notes.
Toni Van Pelt
is the director of the Center for Inquiry Office of Public
Policy in Washington D.C., and is the past president of the
Florida National Organization for Women. She has lobbied the
federal and Florida legislatures, helping to write and establish
new law in the state, and is a veteran of Congressional and
state political campaigns.
Derek
Araujo Presents~~
"The Establishment Clause in
Exile: Church and State in the 21st Century"
George
W. Bush transformed the composition of the federal courts
through eight years of judicial appointments. The judges he
appointed have wrought striking changes in the law, including
Establishment Clause jurisprudence. In light of these
changes, defenders of the wall of separation between church and
state must reexamine their strategic approach to protecting our
secular democracy.
Derek C. Araujo is vice president and
general counsel of the Center for Inquiry and the director of
CFI's legal department. He graduated from Harvard College with
an A.B. in physics, and earned a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law
School, where he served as a senior editor of the Harvard Civil
Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. During his college years, he
was the founding president of the Campus Freethought Alliance
(now CFI On Campus) and of the Harvard Secular Society.
Book your cabin
NOW! We sail November 12, 2009!
Call Toni Van Pelt TODAY at 800-398-7571 or e-mail travelclub@centerforinquiry.net
for your cabin reservations!
For full details about the
cruise, please visit www.centerforinquiry.net/cruise2009.
