We engage together in, and record for broadcast, our earnest philosophical dialogues, so that we may:

  1. Enhance our understanding of life and the world in which we live.
  2. Stimulate intellectual curiosity and philosophical exploration in ourselves and others.
  3. Strengthen our intellectual skills of critical thinking and sound reasoning.
  4. Provide a forum for a diversity of thought from a broad spectrum of independent thinkers.
  5. Connect with and form a network among thoughtful and caring individuals, everywhere.
  6. Enjoy the pleasures of intellectually stimulating and philosophically insightful company.
  7. Promote the pursuit of wisdom in everyone.


Civility - Treat everyone with respect. Use helpful, not hurtful language. Listen carefully and patiently when someone else is speaking.

Sincerity - Honest opinions and innocent questions are more valuable than "scoring points" or "looking smart". Strive for intellectual honesty.

Soundness - Favor sound reasoning over emotional rhetoric or sophomoric obfuscation.

Succinctness - Strive to be brief and to the point using understandable language. Speak loud and clear so others can hear.


Amazon Honor System Click Here to Pay Learn More

Saturday, February 09, 2008

What is the Nature of Atonement?

Greetings Citizen Philosophers,

The latest Thinking Out Loud podcast has been released on iTunes. The session was recorded last Wednesday, Feb 6, and the topic was:

"What is the Nature of Atonement?"

Thank you, David Rood, Deborah Martin, and Uriah J. Fields, for your participation. We had a great discussion. For those of you who missed out, here are some of the questions we wrestled with:

Is there something universal about atonement that explains why it seems to be a part of so many religious, spiritual, and personal growth practices? Is it prerequisite for a joyful life? What are the essential elements of atonement? Is the acknowledgement and confession of wrongdoing sufficient? Is it necessary to "make things right"? Can there be atonement in situations where damage cannot be undone? Are words and feelings sufficient? Is action required? Is payment necessary for atonement? Is payment sufficient? What is the role of the wronged party? What if the wronged party chooses not to forgive or cannot forgive? What if the wronged party is no longer living? With whom do we need to make things right? What is the role of a guilty conscience? Is atonement a selfish act to attain inner peace? What is the proper motivation for atonement? What about situations where the wrong is done by one group of people against another group of people collectively? Can one and should one atone for the actions of others? Are we responsible for the actions of your ancestors? Are we responsible for the action of our government? Can we choose to accept responsibility for the action of others, as an act of will? Do we need to atone for the damage being done to the planet as a whole? What debt do we inherit from those who proceed us? Whom do we owe? Whom can we pay?

To subscribe to the podcast with your podcast software (such as iTunes or iPodder) copy and past the following link into your software:

www.citizenphilosopher.com/rss/tol_podcasts.xml

If you have iTunes, you can find us listed in the Apple Music Store directory under Podcasts/Society & Culture/Philosophy, or just do a search in iTunes on Thinking Out Loud People. The direct iTunes link is:

phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=214321935

If you don't have iTunes or other podcast software and just want to download the mp3 file directly, use this link:

Listen to the broadcast (mp3)

You are invited to add your thoughts by clicking on the "comments" link at the lower right hand corner of this post.

The next Thinking Out Loud will be Wednesday, March 5, at 7:00 pm. No topic has yet been chosen. Two possibilities are the topics not chosen last time, namely:

1. What is friendship?
2. What are our biological property rights?

Another possibility came up at the end of our discussion on atonement, which I would phase as:

3. What are our human responsibilities (the flipside of human rights)?

If you have any other suggestions or comments, email me. Your input is always welcome.

Cheers,

Steve

Friday, February 01, 2008

Next Live Dialogue - Feb 6

Cheers Citizen Philosophers,

This is just a friendly reminder that our next Thinking Out Loud gathering will take place this coming Wednesday, Feb 6th, at 7:00 pm as usual. The topic has not yet been chosen, but we have several suggestions. The latest was submitted by David Rood. Here it is in his own words:

" I would like to offer a suggestion for a topic:

What is the nature of atonement? Why do we feel a need to rectify our mistakes, apologize for our misdeeds, and make amends to those we have wronged? What good does it serve? Why do some feel a need to atone and others do not? Can humans who refuse to make amends ever be free?

I add these corollary questions because I'd like to get the group into the meat of the subject without dancing around literal definitions. I think we sometimes wade too slowly into the deep water. I like to plunge in cold."

In addition to David's suggestion we have two ideas submitted earlier by Debbie and Mark as follows:

Mark has suggested: "What is friendship?"
Debbie has suggested: "Is it moral/ethical to collect someone's DNA without their consent?"

If you have other topics you would like to add or modifications to these you would like to suggest, email them to me or bring them with you to the meeting. We will decide on the final topic by consensus when we meet on Wednesday.

Hope to see/hear you then.

Regards,

Steve

******************************************************
Steve Donaldson,
Personal Growth Consultant,
Independent Educator,
Citizen Philosopher
www.citizenphilosopher.com

P.S. If you prefer to just listen in, that is fine as well. The podcast of our conversation will be released on iTunes few days after the live discussion, usually on the following Sunday. Enjoy.