Central Ontario Humanist Association » COHA Presentations

The Biology of Aging

admin — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 17:53:30 +0000

We are pleased to present last month’s presentation by Dr. Monika Havelka on the biology of aging:

You can also view her previous presentations:

The Biology of Sex (2010)
Evo-Devo (2009)

October Presentation: The Biology of Aging

admin — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:01:05 +0000

On Wednesday, October 26th at 7PM the Central Ontario Humanists are pleased to present Dr. Monika Havelka, biology professor from the University of Toronto. Dr. Havelka is a fantastic speaking having multiple nominations for TVO’s Best Lecturer of the Year. Make sure to invite your friends to hear as Dr. Monika Havelka tells us that aging is an inescapable fact of life — or is it? This talk examines the biology of aging among a variety of organisms and explores mechanistic and evolutionary theories of why we age, raising questions about whether aging is inevitable, preventable or even reversible. We meet at the Barrie Public Library. Guests are welcome.

Doors open at 6:30, and the presentation starts promptly at 7 PM. As is our tradition, we will be meeting for dinner and discussion at 5 PM at Swiss Chalet on Bayfield St. Anyone is welcome to come. If you have any questions about our pre-meeting dinner, please email me and ask. Guests may visit us 3 times for free before buying a membership or paying per event.

RSVP or invite your friends on our Facebook events page for The Biology of Aging, or retweet from our Twitter page.

September meeting: Humanist Perspectives

admin — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:33:59 +0000

On Wednesday, September 28th at 7PM the Central Ontario Humanists will have will talk COHA image, branding and message; grapple with a moral dilemma activities and finish with a consideration of the collective humanist agenda. Should be quite a night; be prepared to share your ideas. We meet at the Barrie Public Library. Guests are welcome.

June Meeting: Living without the Sacred

admin — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 17:54:27 +0000

This month: Living without the Sacred (Video Debate)

On Wednesday, May 29th at 7PM the Central Ontario Humanists will have a video debate with Peterson and de Sousa on Living Without the Sacred. We meet at the Barre Public Library. Guests are welcome.

May Presentation: Dying with Dignity

admin — Fri, 20 May 2011 11:44:21 +0000

Have you considered bringing your friends to one of our meetings? Guests are free on their first visit!

On Wednesday, May 25th the Central Ontario Humanists will have Wanda Morris of Dying with Dignity in to talk about end of life issues including advocating for medically assisted dying and what Dying with Dignity does to support people at the end of their lives. After her presentation she will take questions from the audience. We meet at the Barrie Public Library. Guests are welcome.

February Meeting: the Elizabeth Fry Society

admin — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 20:49:17 +0000

This Monday, March 7th (please note the date change) we will be meeting at the Barrie Public Library for a presentation by Paula King the Executive Directory of the Elizabeth Fry Society in Barrie, where she will discuss their work and some of the innovative approaches they take to justice, assistance for those in need. Doors open at 6:30, and the presentation starts promptly at 7 PM.

As is our tradition, we will be meeting for dinner and discussion at 5 PM at Swiss Chalet on Bayfield St. Anyone is welcome to come. If you have any questions about our pre-meeting dinner, please email me and ask.

January Meeting: Science and Values

admin — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 20:46:11 +0000

This month: Sam Harris on “Can Science Determine Human Values”

On Monday, January 31st (UNUSUAL DAY!) we will be meeting at the Barrie Public Library for a video presentation of a talk Sam Harris gave about his book The Moral Landscape. There is mixed reaction to this controversial work and I’m looking forward to hearing everyone’s opinions on them. We have two copies of this book that you can pick up for a minimum donation of $20. Doors open at 6:30, and the presentation starts promptly at 7 PM.

Interreligious Harmony

admin — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 01:44:11 +0000

Our Thursday, November 25th meeting will feature Dr. Reeshma Haji, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Laurentian University at Georgian College. Her presentation should stimulate an interesting discussion among us secular humanists:

A Quest Toward Interreligious Harmony

How can we promote better relations among people from different religions? The nature of our motivations may be key, specifically whether they are externally motivated, say from peer pressure or fear mongering; or internally motivated, such as by intrinsic satisfaction or spiritual and related quests. There is considerable evidence that the latter correlates with less hostility towards other religions. I will discuss my research on how motivations toward religiosity influence attempts to promote positive interreligious attitudes.

The doors to the Angus-Ross room of the Barrie Public Library open at 6:30. The presentation starts promptly at 7. Guests, as always, are welcome. Remember: you can test us out without paying an entrance fee!

As always, we meet at Swiss Chalet on Bayfield St. at 5PM. Just ask for the Humanist table.

Paradox of Sex by Monika Havelka

admin — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 15:26:56 +0000

Here is Dr. Monika Havelka’s presentation she gave to our group in October 2010:

(This is a YouTube play list of the entire talk, which spans 7 YouTube videos. The above player is set to play through each 15 minute video.)

Slides from the presentation will be posted here soon.

Wednesday September 29: An Officiant Tells All

admin — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 18:39:22 +0000

This coming Wednesday, September 29, in the Angus-Ross room, just inside Barrie Library’s main entrance on the left will feature past President Tom Cooke speaking to us on Humanist ceremonies… an officiant tells all. Tom will share his adventures in the world of Humanist ceremonies. Get ready for his fascinating human interest stories, told as only Tom can tell them. Doors open 6:30pm; start 7:00pm sharp

We will meet as always at 5 PM at Swiss Chalet on Bayfield St. To join us, simply ask for the Humanist table.