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Does Religion Stifle Science?: A Conversation on Galileo’s Jail Time, Creationism, & Whether the Earth Was Ever Flat

One of the most deeply embedded narratives in our culture's self-understanding is the story of the age-old feud between science and religion. Science undermines religion and religion, in turn, stifles science, as the story goes. The Roman Catholic Church's imprisonment, torture, and silencing of Galileo Galilei is commonly adduced as evidence of religion's obstinacy in… Continue reading Does Religion Stifle Science?: A Conversation on Galileo’s Jail Time, Creationism, & Whether the Earth Was Ever Flat

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If There is No God, Are All Things Permitted?: A Conversation on the Meaning of Morality in a Godless Universe

Does it matter whether God exists or not? What difference does it make to our lives? Can we not still live meaningfully and morally whether there is a God or not? The Socratic Happy Hour is a society dedicated to hosting civil and convivial conversations about life's biggest questions. If you’re a graduate student based here in Oxford, please join us on Monday, 24th October 2022 at the Head of the River Pub for a friendly conversation about these all important questions.

Upcoming Dialogues

Can I Get All A’s and Still Flunk Life?: A Conversation About School, Work, & What Really Matters

Monday, 2nd May 2022, 7:30-9:00pm "As Frampton tells it, his life is one unbroken line of impressive grades, advanced degrees and innumerable citations of his work in cosmology and physics. There is certainly much truth to this. 'He has always been very inventive in thinking of new ideas extending and going beyond the standard model… Continue reading Can I Get All A’s and Still Flunk Life?: A Conversation About School, Work, & What Really Matters

Upcoming Dialogues

Can We Know More Than We Can Prove?: A Conversation on Faith, Science, and Other Ways of Knowing

Monday, February 14th 2022, 7:30-9pm If a 'religion' is defined to be a system of ideas that contains unprovable statements, then Gödel taught us that mathematics is not only a religion, it is the only religion that can prove itself to be one. ~John D. Barrow, The Artful Universe (1995) What do I know? What… Continue reading Can We Know More Than We Can Prove?: A Conversation on Faith, Science, and Other Ways of Knowing

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Your Rights Versus My Freedom: Is A Peaceable Pluralism Possible?

Monday, 8th November 20217:30-9:00pm @ Head of the River It is a fundamental human right, a privilege of nature, that every man should worship according to his own convictions … It is assuredly no part of religion to compel religion.― Tertullian, Letter to Scapula The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as… Continue reading Your Rights Versus My Freedom: Is A Peaceable Pluralism Possible?

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‘Who do you say that I am?’: The Historical Jesus & the Christ of Western Culture

Thursday, 14th October, 20217:30-9:00pm @ George Street Social "Regardless of what anyone may personally think or believe about him, Jesus of Nazareth has been the dominant figure in the history of Western Culture for almost twenty centuries. If it were possible, with some sort of super magnet, to pull up out of the history every… Continue reading ‘Who do you say that I am?’: The Historical Jesus & the Christ of Western Culture