On Good Behavior (Winning and Losing)
Are there ethical ways to win and lose? Do adults engaged in high-stakes contests maintain the “good sport” habits we are taught growing up? How do victorious and defeated candidates and political partisans respond to the results of elections? Though the sports analogies that dominate our national culture are about competition, we must grow ever [...]
Dissent Gave Birth to the United States
Ralph Young Historian, Temple University In his research and teaching, Ralph Young has focused on the history of American dissent from the perspective of dissenters and protest movements. He will explain how dissent birthed the United States, was ensconced in the First Amendment to the Constitution, and became a defining characteristic of this nation. Young’s [...]
Winter Solstice – Virtual Celebration
Come celebrate the Winter Solstice with spoken word and music! This year we’ll feature Solstice celebrations from around the world and through history. Email Hugh if you would like to do a reading during the program. Join here online at the scheduled time.
Memorial Sunday
Hugh Taft-Morales Leader, Philadelphia Ethical Society Our Memorial Sunday program celebrates the gifts bestowed by those who have died. You are invited to present a brief remembrance about a family member, friend, or famous person whose life taught valuable lessons or enriched you or the world in other ways. Consider sharing an object that represents [...]
Introduction to Ethical Humanism
Be part of a small group conversation, led by Hugh Taft-Morales, about our Ethical Society community, history, and philosophy. This informal gathering is open to everyone. Join online HERE.
Embattled Freedom
Jim Remsen Remsen’s book Embattled Freedom tells the remarkable true story of a group of enslaved men who escaped the South and settled in the author’s hometown near Scranton. During the Civil War, the men joined the Union Army, returning South to fight for their people's freedom. The retired religion editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, [...]
The Beloved Community
Hugh Taft-Morales Leader, Philadelphia Ethical Society How can we overcome the divisiveness tearing at the fabric of our communities, especially surrounding racism and oppression? Martin Luther King, Jr. proposed an answer: “the beloved community,” founded on economic and social justice. Although not unachievable, King’s vision demands daily work and inner discipline to remove the roadblocks [...]
Climate and Equity: Dodging Despair by Acting Locally
Amy Sinden Professor of Law, Temple University Climate and equity are inextricably linked. The climate crisis is both driving and driven by increasing disparities of wealth, income, power, and privilege and threatens to drive similar inequities across generations. The global scale of these twin crises can overwhelm us. But a focus on the local aspects [...]
Ethically Sourced Cartoons
Signe Wilkinson Political cartoonist Wilkinson will share the highs and the this-is-a-new-low-in-journalism-how-dare-you-publish-it!s of her nearly 40-year career chronicling local and national politics for the Philadelphia Daily News and The Philadelphia Inquirer. In 2021, she illustrated the book Free Speech and Why You Should Give a Damn, written by Penn’s Jonathan Zimmerman. Wilkinson will display her [...]
Creative Social Change
Hugh Taft-Morales Leader, Philadelphia Ethical Society In two nonconsecutive terms as mayor of Bogota, Columbia, starting in 1995, Antanas Mockus used non-traditional cultural and creative methods to induce positive social change. From hiring mimes to improve crosswalk safety to melting down guns to make baby spoons, Mockus motivated and unified his constituents. Today, when the [...]