Research
The Center for Inquiry is the world's foremost not-for-profit organization devoted to the public advocacy of reason, science, secular humanism, and the naturalistic worldview. The CFI Transnational headquarters in Amherst, N.Y., across the street from the University at Buffalo, is also a research institute that is emerging as a nurturing environment for students and scholars working on philosophical naturalism, democratic secularism, and humanist ethics. Questions about CFI's research activities may be directed to John Shook, Vice President for Research, at jshook@centerforinquiry.net
UPCOMING EVENTS
CALL FOR PAPERS
TRANSFORMING HUMANITY: FANTASY? DREAM? NIGHTMARE?
Conference at the University of Pennsylvania, December 3-4, 2010
Sponsored by The Center for Inquiry, the Penn Center for Bioethics, and the Penn Center for Neuroscience & Society
Scheduled Speakers: Allen Buchanan (Duke), Arthur Caplan (Penn), Martha Farrah (Penn), Ronald Lindsay (CFI), Maxwell Mehlman (Case Western), Jonathan Moreno (Penn), Rosemarie Tong (UNC-Charlotte)
“Transforming Humanity: Fantasy? Dream? Nightmare?” suggests three of the main approaches that have been taken in addressing human enhancements, namely that it is unrealistic to expect significant changes to human nature through enhancements, that significant changes are both possible and desirable, and that significant changes are possible but are highly undesirable. We invite papers from all academic disciplines that address any aspect of the conference theme, especially where scientific and technological breakthroughs may call for novel approaches to dealing with human transformation.
GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION
• Deadline: September 1, 2010. Early submissions will be eligible for an early decision.
• Papers between 4,000 and 6,000 words. Include a 100-word abstract at the beginning.
• Send paper as an attachment to an email to Arthur Caplan at caplan@mail.med.upenn.edu
CONTACT INFORMATION
• Details about the conference will be updated at http://www.centerforinquiry.net/research/conferences/
• Questions about conference logistics may be directed to John Shook, jshook@centerforinquiry.net
RECENT EVENTS
October 22-24, 2009: John Dewey's 150th Birthday Celebration: An International Conference on Dewey's Impact on America and the World
Invited Speakers include Hilary Putnam (Harvard) and Ruth Anna Putnam (Wellesley); Philip Kitcher, John Dewey Professor of Philosophy (Columbia); Larry Hickman, Director of the Center for Dewey Studies; Peter Godfrey-Smith (Harvard); and many senior scholars on all aspects of the thought and influence of John Dewey.
June 19-20, 2009: Conference on Pragmatism and Science
This conference explored how new scientific research supports pragmatism’s views on learning, intelligence, knowledge, and nature, and how pragmatism can assist reflection on scientific method, realist/antirealist debates, and the naturalistic worldview.
RESEARCH at CFI
The Center for Inquiry pursues a variety of research activities, in order to ensure that its naturalistic and secular humanistic positions are fully supported by the latest scientific research, the best philosophical arguments, and the most advanced legal reasoning.
CFI’s founder and chair emeritus, Dr. Paul Kurtz (Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, SUNY at Buffalo) is an internationally recognized philosopher and secular humanist. Dr. Ronald A. Lindsay, CFI CEO, is also a prominent defender of secular humanism in philosophical, political, and legal fields. Joining them on the CFI staff are skeptics, humanists, philosophers, and lawyers who actively research and frequently publish on a wide variety of topics relating to the defense of science, secular public policy and law, humanist ethics, and philosophical naturalism. Together they lead the many councils, committees, and programs that make up CFI, including the Council for Secular Humanism, the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, the Office for Public Policy, the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion, and the Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health. There are currently four full-time Senior Research Fellows employed by CFI: Ronald A. Lindsay (PhD/JD), John R. Shook (PhD), Joe Nickell (PhD) and Ibn Warraq (MA).
This report concentrates on CFI’s activities which relate in some way to research. The Naturalism Project is under the direction of the VP for Research; other VPs and Directors involved with research are identified below with their programs. CFI’s Naturalism Research Project promotes the study of scientific method and philosophical naturalism. The Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion encourage humanistic, critical and non-parochial approaches to the study of religious traditions and institutions. The CFI Office of Public Policy in Washington, D.C. defends the values of scientific naturalism and secular humanism in the context of U.S. law and public policy, publishing policy papers of new research and analysis about important topics. The CFI Legal Department promotes the mission of the Center for Inquiry and its affiliates by filing amicus briefs in cases involving First Amendment rights, reproductive freedom, assistance in dying, and other issues of importance to the Center and its supporters. The CFI Mission to the United Nations in New York City works to defend the secular, scientific outlook in the international community.
CFI’s 13,600 square foot research building includes offices and seminar rooms, where the Center’s Institute conducts classes and seminars. Additional space for the Libraries and archives, along with study carrels and computing services, is available on the lower level. The three buildings of the Center for Inquiry now total some 35,000 square feet on 7.5 acres. There are additional residences for visitors. The Center’s Libraries hold over 160,000 volumes of books, pamphlets, and periodicals, and several collections of philosophers’ papers. Major collections include the Jo Ann Boydston Library of American Philosophical Naturalism; the Joseph L. Blau Library on religion and philosophy; John Shook’s Pragmatism Archive; the James Hervey Johnson Freethought and Humanist Library; the Humanist Institute Collection; and the John and Mary Frantz Skeptic’s Library. Visit www.cfilibraries.org for more information and catalog searches. The CFI Libraries continue to grow through donations (such as the book collections of Paul Kurtz, Paul Edwards, Richard Taylor, Abraham Edel, and Patrick Romanell).
Scholarly Research in CFI Publications
CFI has a site about CFI publications providing links and more details.
Free Inquiry publishes articles explaining the principles of secular humanism and supporting those living out its ideals. It explores the contributions of science as they increase our understanding of the world and our ability to improve it. It also examines the damage done by ignorance, intolerance, and superstition. The readership includes scholars, researchers, and lay readers with diverse backgrounds.
Skeptical Inquirer explores extraordinary claims from a scientific perspective. It examines what the scientific community knows about controversial subjects within the realms of the paranormal and elsewhere. The magazine exposes pseudoscience and provides expert commentary on hot button issues within society. It avoids the sensationalism often presented by the press, television, and movies and provides critical thinking tools to examine the information presented within the media and cyberspace.
CÆSAR: A Journal for the Critical Study of Religion and Human Values is a bi-annual journal of religious studies offering a wide variety of critical opinions on key religion issues while working to remain carefully balanced between the faithful and the skeptical.
Philo: A Journal of Philosophy is a peer-reviewed academic journal which publishes original, conceptually precise, and argumentatively rigorous articles in all fields of philosophy. Although not devoted to any specific branch of philosophy, Philo encourages the submission of work that examines philosophical issues from an explicitly naturalist perspective. It also welcomes work on the philosophical credentials of both naturalism and various supernaturalist alternatives to naturalism.
The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine is the only peer-reviewed journal devoted exclusively to objectively analyzing the claims of “alternative medicine.” SRAM applies the best tools of science and reason to determine whether hypotheses are valid and treatments are effective.
The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice is the only peer-reviewed journal devoted exclusively to distinguishing scientifically-supported claims from scientifically-unsupported claims in clinical psychology, psychiatry, social work, and allied disciplines.
Naturalism Project
CFI’s Naturalism Project is a major new effort to defend philosophical naturalism against anti-science and pro-religion competitors, and to explain naturalism’s valuable practical implications for real-world human problems. The Naturalism Project’s Advisory Board consists of internationally prominent scholars from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.
John Peter Anton, University of South Florida
Mario Bunge, McGill University
Arthur Caplan, Univ. of Pennsylvania
David Chalmers, Australian National University
Daniel Dennett, Tufts University
Paul Draper, Purdue University
Owen Flanagan, Duke University
Ronald Giere, University of Minnesota
Marc Hauser, Harvard University
Paul Humphreys, University of Virginia
Philip Kitcher, Columbia University
Lawrence Krauss, Arizona State University
Paul Kurtz, Center for Inquiry
Valerií Kuvakin, Moscow State University
John Lachs, Vanderbilt University
Joseph Margolis, Temple University
Manuel Paz y Miño, CIPSI-Peru
Steven Pinker, Harvard University
Huw Price, University of Sydney
Hilary Putnam, Harvard University
Alex Rosenberg, Duke University
John Searle, Univ. of California, Berkeley
Victor Stenger, University of Colorado
Stephen Weinberg, University of Texas
David Sloan Wilson, Binghamton University
E. O. Wilson, Harvard University
The Naturalism Project holds workshops, symposia, and conferences where new scholarly work is presented for both the general public and for academic audiences. The Naturalism Project also sponsors academics working on topics relating to naturalism through residency fellowships, a visiting scholar program, and small travel grants. Fellows and scholars do research using CFI’s Library collections, write articles for publication (including CFI publications such as Philo), give presentations at CFI workshops, symposia, and conferences, and offer instruction for the CFI Education Department. The VP for Research is also the Executive Editor for Philo, and serves in a managing editor capacity for The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice, which provide other important venues for CFI’s defense of the scientific naturalism worldview.
Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion
The Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion, founded in 1983, encourages humanistic, critical and non-parochial approaches to the study of religious traditions and institutions and to develop programs that promote the public understanding of religion in an international context. CSER examines the claims of Eastern and Western religions and of well-established and newer sects and denominations in the light of scientific inquiry. The committee is interdisciplinary and includes specialists in Biblical and Qur’anic studies, the history of religion, archaeology, linguistics, anthropology, the social sciences, and philosophy. Its fellows and consultants represent a variety of secular and religious traditions. While its perspective is broadly humanistic, the Committee values the academic contributions of critical scholarship regardless of orientation.
CSER activities include the sponsorship of conferences and seminars at university sites in the United States and abroad. Two recent conferences are the January 2007 conference on “Scripture and Skepticism” at the University of California, Davis, and the December 2008 conference on “Sources of the Jesus Tradition: An Inquiry” at CFI Transnational in Amherst, N.Y. CSER publishes an academic journal, CAESAR: A Journal of Religion and Human Values, formerly the CSER Review. CSER also facilitates the publication of classic works of religious studies scholarship and newer titles in the critical study of religion, in cooperation with Prometheus Books.
In 2008 the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion announced The Jesus Project. In response to the seasonal hype and scholarly escapades designed to contribute to national Jesus-mania, CSER has gathered together a group of the best biblical experts, linguists, classicists, social historians, archaeologists, and other scholars in order to provide an alternative and more reasoned view. Our ambitious aim is to submit to scrutiny every scrap of evidence bearing on the question of the historical Jesus. We regard the thesis that Jesus of Nazareth existed as testable, and The Jesus Project is determined to test it to the full extent possible.
CSER also sponsors the Islamic Studies Project, devoted to examining the origins of Islam and the Koran. Using the historical-critical methods familiar to Western textual scholarship the project is designed to document the development of Islam’s holy book and its transmission, as well as the development of key ideas in Islamic history. CSER has close ties with Inârah, a consultation of scholars in North America and Europe. Members of the consultation include Professor Dr. Karl-Heinz Ohlig, Dr. Gerd-Rüdiger Puin, Volker Popp, Professor Dr. Markus Groβ, Ibn Warraq, and Professor Dr. R. Joseph Hoffmann. CSER/Inârah held a congress on “Early Islamic History and the Origins of the Koran” at the European Academy in Otzenhausen, Germany on 13-16 March 2008.
Office of Public Policy in Washington, D.C.
The Center for Inquiry’s Office of Public Policy and its Policy Director, Toni Van Pelt, develops relationships with legislators in D.C. and brings experts to testify in legislative hearings. It submits position papers solicited from our network of fellows and scientists, and works with legislators who care about science and reason to effect legislative responses to attacks on secular values. The Office of Public Policy serves as liaison to our nation’s government and friendly legislators, to see that every available means is used to defend and promote science, reason, and free inquiry. The Office of Public Policy also delves into upcoming legislation, undertake appropriate research on bills that relate to our agenda, and coordinate press, legal, and scholarly responses to legislation.
The Office of Public Policy sponsors a series of position papers that provide the background to positions that the Center for Inquiry advocates on major issues. They are listed in alphabetical order:
“A Call to Legalize Physician Assistance in Dying for the Terminally Ill.” Ronald A. Lindsay states the position of CFI/OPP that with appropriate safeguards, terminally ill patients should be allowed the help of physicians in dying. The argument is based on the experience of the Oregon Death with Dignity ACT (ODWA), which is appended to the paper.
“The Ethics of Genetic Engineering.” David Koepsell summarizes arguments for and against genetic engineering and concludes that it should be understood as an extension of already well-accepted techniques and therefore, with appropriate regulations, the benefits of genetic engineering outweigh its harms.
“Global Climate Change Triggered By Global Warming.” Stuart D. Jordan, argues that global warming is a scientifically established fact. Much could be done to mitigate its effects. The obstacles to action are political rather than technological.
“The Importance of Appropriate Sexuality Education.” Gwen Brewer, Margaret Brown, and Michael Migdal argue for comprehensive education in human sexuality for adolescents, as opposed to “abstinence-until-marriage” education promoted by evangelicals and funded by the Bush administration.
“Protecting Scientific Integrity.” Derek Araujo, Daniel Horowitz, and Ronald Lindsay confront the problem of ideological interference with the publication and dissemination of scientific research results and proposes specific language for legislation in three areas—scientific research, advisory boards, and dissemination of information.
“Protecting Scientific Integrity: An Update.” Derek Araujo, Daniel Horowitz and Ronald A. Lindsay issue an update on the previous position paper.
“Public Health and Contraception.” Margaret Brown argues that contraception should be considered a public health not a moral issue as religious groups have characterized it. The paper discusses recent developments in contraception, including the struggle to make Plan B available to anyone who needs an emergency contraceptive.
“Same-Sex Marriage--And Marriage.” Ruth Mitchell sees same-sex marriage as a civil rights issue and argues that LGBT people have a right to complete equality. This means marriage, not civil unions, unless, as CFI advocates, all unions, heterosexual or homosexual, are civil unions, leaving religious ceremonies to individual taste.
“Stem Cell Research: An Approach to Bioethics Based on Scientific Naturalism.” Ronald Lindsay argues that embryonic stem cell research should be funded by the government because of its critical importance in the advancement of medicine.
“The True Meaning of the Establishment Clause.” Edward Tabash provides a history of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, and argues that this history requires the interpretation that government may not favor religion in general or in particular.
“Understanding The Intelligent Design Creationist Movement.” Barbara Forrest was a witness in the Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District case in 2005. She establishes that “intelligent design” is just creationism in disguise and warns that the Discover Institute and fellow creationists will continue to invent ways to subvert the teaching of biology in the schools unless we remain true to the principles of free and critical thinking.
Center for Inquiry Legal Department
The Legal Department promotes the mission of the Center for Inquiry and its affiliates by filing amicus briefs in cases involving First Amendment rights, reproductive freedom, assistance in dying and other issues of importance to the Center and its supporters. Where appropriate, the Center or its affiliates, such as the Council for Secular Humanism, may file their own lawsuit. In addition, the Legal Department of the Center for Inquiry will consider offering free legal assistance to individuals who believe that their constitutional rights are in jeopardy or that they have experienced discrimination because they are not religious.
The Legal Department of the Center for Inquiry is cannot become involved in all the litigation matters that deserve our attention. Especially on issues relating to church-state separation, we rely significantly on the First Amendment Task Force (FATF), a group of volunteer lawyers and others with legal experience, which is chaired by Edward Tabash, a prominent civil rights attorney.
A currently pending lawsuit is “Council for Secular Humanism v. McDonough.” The Council for Secular Humanism has filed suit in Leon County Circuit Court challenging the legality of contracts between the Florida Department of Corrections and two faith-based organizations, Prisoners of Christ, Inc. and Lamb of God Ministries, Inc. The contracts stipulate that Prisoners of Christ and Lamb of God Ministries will receive public money for providing faith-based services to individuals with substance abuse problems. Also joining CSH in the lawsuit are Richard and Elaine Hull, two associate members of CSH. The Hulls are Tallahassee residents and Florida taxpayers. CSH’s complaint is based on the Florida Constitution, not the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. CSH made a deliberate decision to seek relief under the Florida Constitution, because it has a very broad prohibition on aid to religious institutions. Specifically, the “No-Aid” provision of the Florida Constitution, Article I, Section 3, expressly mandates that no revenue of the statue can be provided “directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution.”
The Legal Department also composes Amicus Briefs for submission to courts considering cases involving important constitutional rights. They include: In Re Marriage Cases; McCreary County, Kentucky v. ACLU of Kentucky; Paulson v. City of San Diego; Hein v. Freedom from Religion Foundation; and AU v. Prison Fellowship Ministries.
Mission to the United Nations
The Center for Inquiry has a Mission to the United Nations under the leadership of Derek Araujo, holding special consultative status as a non-governmental organization, or NGO, under the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It maintains official representation at UN headquarters in New York and UN offices in Geneva and Vienna, where it works to defend the secular, scientific outlook in the international community. The UN Mission also assists the coordination of CFI’s international initiatives, which can now be found in India, China, Egypt, Russia, United Kingdom, Holland, Germany, Poland, Romania, Peru, Argentina, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, and elsewhere.
The UN Mission issues reports to share its perspectives and concerns on global issues. Its most recent report critiques a movement at United Nations that would prohibit “Defamation of Religions.” This paper critiques an effort led by the Organization of the Islamic Conference to undermine the universality of human rights by restricting freedom of expression that “defames” religion. The Center for Inquiry spoke at the Ninth Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva to defend the liberty to doubt, dissent, and blaspheme. At the 17 September 2008 briefing at the Council, CFI released its position paper ”Islam & Human Rights: Defending Universality at the United Nations,” written by Austin Dacey and Colin Koproske.
