Milton Keynes Humanists
VIDEOS
Videos & Podcasts
The videos we have selected for this page deal with various aspects of Humanism / Atheism and having a positive attitude to life. They also deal with ethical and moral issues that we face as human beings. We have grouped the material under the following headings:
1 On Humanism
2 On Humanist Ceremonies
3 On Losing Faith
2 On Humanist Ceremonies
3 On Losing Faith
4 Talking Point
5 Topics we have Discussed in our Meetings
5 Topics we have Discussed in our Meetings
The page is new and the choice of material necessarily eclectic. We are still working on the selection and hope to gradually improve the coverage and balance of material. If you would like to suggest items to add — or videos / comment you think we should remove — please get in touch with your suggestions (and reasoning). Thank you!
If you would like an overview of what it means to be an Atheist, Deist or Theist — or Gnostic or Agnostic — watch this clear explanation.
If you would like an overview of what it means to be an Atheist, Deist or Theist — or Gnostic or Agnostic — watch this clear explanation.
Please Note: Some website operators (like the BBC) don't allow you to show their videos directly, so you need to go to their website. We've provided a link. On a few of the links you will find irritating adverts, but they only last as few seconds...
1 On Humanism
Humanists believe that Man created God, and not the other way around — as Richard Dawkins has observed: "We are all atheists about most of the Gods humanity has ever believed in, some of us just go one God further". In the first set ofshort videos, Stephen Fry talks about how humanists think about happiness, death, truth and right & wrong.
a) That's humanism!
b) Introduction to humanism
Humanism is sometimes mistaken for a form of religion, or something which is very complex. Here, some well known humanists explain that all humanism really is, is people wanting to live ethical and happy lives, thinking for themselves, without religion imposing its own morals on them which are not necessarily compatible with living ethically today. Including interviews with: Richard Dawkins, A C Grayling, Tim Minchin, Andrew Copson, Polly Toynbee, Rumi Hassan, Philip Pullman, & Zoe Margoli.
[30 Jul 2012]
[30 Jul 2012]
This talk by Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of Humanists UK, describes the essential features of Humanism.
Humanists UK
recently teamed up with Sandi Toksvig to launch a new massive open online course (MOOC) about humanism, called Introducing Humanism.
You can sign up for the (on-line) course here.
You can sign up for the (on-line) course here.
c) Humanism
AC Grayling, philosopher, speaking on Humanism at The National Federation of Atheist, Humanist and Secularist Student Societies
2014 Convention.
2 On Humanist Ceremonies
Humanists UK's celebrants create, write and conduct a range of ceremonies to mark the big moments in life, mostly (but not exclusively) weddings, baby naming ceremonies and funerals. For more information visit Humanists UK.
3 On Losing Faith
"If God is omniscient, why do I need to learn Arabic?"
Here are some powerful testaments on the pressures you can come under when you lose your faith — and some of the good people who are there to help you.
a) Faith to Faithless
FaithtoFaithless has produced a number of videos and podcasts that showcase stories of individuals who have left their faith. Here's a selection. For more information visit their website
and or Facebook Page.
b) One Law for All
Campaign against Sharia law in Britain. For more information visit their website.
c) The young Turks rejecting Islam
"In the 16 years that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party has been in power, the number of religious high schools across Turkey has increased more than tenfold. He has repeatedly talked of bringing up a pious generation. But over the past few weeks, politicians and religious clerics here have been discussing whether pious young people have started to move away from religion." The video is of two young peoples' experience of losing their faith.
Watch the video. [10 May 2018; 2:33 mins]
4 Talking Point
This section focuses on what people have said about various moral/ethical issues.
a) Understanding the world
Consciousness
Science vs Philosophy
Two renowned humanists debate: science or philosophy - which is best model for free enquiry? Chemistry professor Peter Atkins and philosopher Stephen Law fight it out. Atkins argues for the primacy of scientific evidence, and dismisses armchair philosophical theorizing as a monumental waste of time. Law has devoted his entire career to armchair philosophical theorizing and believes it is not a waste of time. Who is right? Event chaired by Pavan Dhaliwal (BHA Director of Public Affairs and Campaigns)
[2014 World Humanist Congress
in Oxford]b) God | The Meaning Of Life
c) Religion
d) Atheist's view of life / religion
e) On Islam
f) Attitudes to Women
Stacey Dooley interviews Russian Orthodox priest about his (deeply disturbing) attitude to women.
Watch the video. [2018; 2:49 mins]
g) Secularism
Andrew Copson explains the top ten things we should know about secularism. [He has written a book
on the subject.]
[7 Sept 2017]
[7 Sept 2017]
h) Post Truth
‘Post-truth’ was the Oxford Dictionary word of the year 2016 – but what does it mean, and how can we champion truth in a world of lies and ‘alternative facts’? Renowned journalist Matthew d’Ancona distinguishes post-truth from a long tradition of political lies, exaggeration and spin.
Watch the video. [24 Jul 2017]"How did we find ourselves in a ‘post-truth’ world of lies, deception, and ‘alternative facts’? And can we get out of it? Philosopher Julian Baggini sets out to answer these questions by looking at the complex history of truth and falsehood. He takes us through different types of supposed and real truths and explains there is no one type of truth that we can rely on unquestioningly. That, however, does not mean the truth can never be established. Truth has become much less plain and simple, but people have not ceased to believe in it." [14 Nov 2017]
i) On dying
5 Topics we have Discussed in our Meetings
a) Awe & wonder
A Former Christian Ponders the Cosmos: "since leaving the Christian faith, I see the planet around me and the vast universe in which it moves with a far greater sense of awe and majesty than I ever perceived it as a believer. I took an informal poll of friends whose life-trajectories matched my own, and found that every one of them felt exactly the same way. For myself, and for many of the deconverted, the awe we feel now, having left the faith, is far greater, far more wondrous, far more intoxicating and euphoric than anything we ever felt as believers." [2012]
b) Science
The dark side of the Universe
Stephen Serjeant talks here about his work at the Open University
on dark energy and dark matter.
Stephen spoke with our group in May 2018 and showed the short videos (below).
Stephen spoke with our group in May 2018 and showed the short videos (below).
c) Artificial intelligence
"Computers do a lot for us these days and can sometimes seem intelligent like a person. But really, they’re more like calculators. Most only do exactly what we program them to do and nothing more. But this may change in the future. Today researchers are working on artificial intelligence which has the goal of making computers seem to be as intelligent as humans."
Watch the video.
Watch the video.
d) Mistaken identiy
Philosopher and cultural theorist Kwame Anthony Appiah gave the 2016 Reith Lectures on Mistaken Identiy: creed, country, colour & culture.
Colour: tells the story of Anton Afer who was five when he was brought from the Gold Coast to Germany in 1707 and became an eminent philosopher. He argues that this elaborate Enlightenment experiment illuminates a series of mistaken ideas, including that there is a 'racial essence' which all members of that race carry. We now know that almost all of the world's genetic variation is found within every so-called racial group. Instead, "race is something we make; not something that makes us." Recorded in Accra. [2016] Listen to the podcast.
Culture: The idea of "Western civilization" or "Western culture" is a mistaken one and one we should abandon. Appiah uncovers the history of the idea from its roots at the time of the Crusades to its modern incarnation in the second half of the 20th century. However, we have very little culturally in common with our forebears in say the England of Chaucer's time. And indeed much of the knowledge supposedly at the heart of Western civilisation was actually transmitted via Islamic scholarship. No-one can claim exclusive ownership of culture. "The values European humanists like to espouse belong just as easily to an African or an Asian who takes them up with enthusiasm as to a European." Listen to the podcast.
e) Democracy in Crisis
AC Grayling is Professor of Philosophy and Master of the New College of the Humanities, London. His new book 'Democracy and its Crisis.' [18Jan2018]
f) Freedom of speech
"Should offensive speech be banned? Where should we, as a society, draw the line where permitted speech is on one side, and forbidden speech is on the other? Should we even have that line? And should free speech be limited by things like trigger warnings and punishments for microaggressions? Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, answers these questions and more."
[15 Aug 2015]
g) Freedom of expressions & causing offence
h) Sex robots
'Could sex robots be good for us?' Kate Devlin
"As the robots of the future march into the present, what are the ethical implications for relationships between humans and machines? Computer scientist and artificial sexuality expert Kate Devlin considers a future taboo."
