Café Inquiry (Online) – Dying to Death

This event is held online. (Click the button to join the Zoom meeting.)

Steve Andersen leads this discussion on the topic of death/dying – something that many people avoid discussing for a variety of reasons. This subject is mostly taboo and reserved for one on one intimate conversations with loved ones. But mostly not even with them. Perhaps we in the West appear to have a skewed take on mortality/death which may be due to our Abrahamic trappings. Other cultures have different perspectives and rituals regarding death/dying.  We in the atheist/humanist community tend not to believe in an afterlife. We regard this life to be fleeting and have an almost zero chance of ever seeing our loved ones ever again. No heaven, no hell, no purgatory, no consciousness, only nothing. What better conversation to have and share our thoughts about death and dying with a group of like-minded people! Here are a few snippets to help jump start our conversation – a short Sam Harris video about death, a video titled “Dying – A Guided Experience”, and a video of Michael Sheen performing the Dylan Thomas poem, “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night”.

Café Inquiry starts with a short introduction of the day’s topic, followed by casual discussion.

This event is free and open to the public. Donations appreciated, but not expected.

Attendees are able to future propose topics which would align with Michigan Humanist’s purpose: from atheism, agnosticism, humanism, secularism, and freethinking to broader subjects in science and humanities, such as religion, philosophy, social issues, politics, evolution, morality, ethics, and psychology.

Café Inquiry (Grand Rapids) meets each month on the second and fourth Sunday.

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Michigan Humanists values the participation of all guests — requests for reasonable accommodation may be made by contacting the event host at least three days prior to the event.

Michigan Humanists expects all guests to engage in respectful discussion. Critiques on views and claims based on merit are allowed, but not attacks on individuals who hold other perspectives.

Any person engaging in disruptive behavior or harassment will be asked to leave, and may be banned from future events pending the severity of the action. Please speak to the event host or contact info@michiganhumanists.org if you feel these expectations are being violated.