Salon: Past Events

The Salon on Sunday, March 8, at 4pm: "The Feeling of Knowing: The complex relationship of emotion and reason." Why do some people persistently believe in the existence of impossible supernatural entities? Or reject well-founded science? Or vote against their economic interest? Or put America’s children at risk for measles? Or blindly ignore evidence in favor of fallacious reasoning? A common answer is that in such cases, emotion has overwhelmed reason—e.g. “politics of fear.” Since Jeffersonian times, important parts of our culture have believed that we can be reasonable only when we suppress emotion. Other parts of our culture want to elevate emotion above reason, at least some of the time. Both of these views assume that reason and emotion are opposites or even enemies. But recent brain science, as revealed in books read by the Jeff Center and Brain Books discussion groups, fairly blows this model out of the water. Emotion and reason are intertwined—in all of us, pretty much all the time. Sandra Coyner, as moderator, will lead us to share our experiences with this complex relationship of emotion and reason. She will also present a brief introduction to some evidence-based explanations of how we “know,” leading us perhaps to increased humility, and appreciation of our own flaws and of others’ integrity.

Historian, Victoria Law, will speak about the important history of Ada Lovelace (considered by many to be the first computer programmer). Ada Lovelace Day, which this year falls on October 13th, was established in 2009 and has developed into an international celebration of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Ada Augusta Byron, the Countess of Lovelace, born in 1815, had the genius and vision to see the possibilities for computers that none of her contemporaries, male or female, could see. The daughter of the famous English poet, Lord Byron, Ada’s deep understanding of mathematics gave her an intuitive understanding of the first computer, Babbage’s Analytical Engine.

“Sexy Violence! Violent Sex! The Weird-ass Morality of the Bible” - IS every sperm sacred? Was Paul gay? Where’s MY concubines? David Fitzgerald will be discussing these and many other important biblical morality questions (Please be advised that this talk gets a little racy & contains strong language). David Fitzgerald has been called both “The Ferris Bueller of San Francisco” and “one of the busiest Atheist activists in the Bay Area.” A former Southern Baptist, he had a secular epiphany in his 20's and is now Action Coordinator for San Francisco Atheists and on the national speaker's bureaus of the Secular Student Alliance and Center for Inquiry. He is also co-founder/director of the world’s first Atheist Film Festival and San Francisco's annual Darwin Day celebration, "Evolutionpalooza!" and (with Greta Christina) the Godless Perverts Story Hour. PLEASE NOTE: This salon will be at the Community Center, 59 Winburn Way.

The documentary "Inequality for All" will be shown at the Community Center, 59 Winburn Way, Ashland on Sunday, July 13, 4pm sponsored by the newly formed Jefferson Center Community Action Committee. The general public is invited so bring your friends as well.
Inequality for All is a 2013 documentary film directed by Jacob Kornbluth. The film examines widening income inequality in the United States. The film is presented by American economist, author and professor Robert Reich.
At the heart of the film is a simple proposition: what is a good society, and what role does the widening income gap play in the deterioration of our nation’s economic health? The producers endeavor to accurately show through a non-partisan perspective why extreme income equality is such an important topic for all citizens today – and for the future of America.