Humanism is more than just a 'lack of religious belief', it's a positive life stance. Human heartedness is a humanistic approach to living a better life through building a more cohesive, compassionate, values driven society.

This week is Reconciliation Week. Let's discuss the 7 Steps to Reconcilation proposed by Evolve Communities
https://www.evolves.com.au/seven-steps-to-practical-reconciliation/

Arrive at 6:30 for social chat and to order food. The discussion will start at 6:45. Contact Mary-Anne via Meetup if you have any last minute problems.

Human Hearted Canberra

Mary-Anne Cosgrove

Liz F

Human Hearted Discussion: Reconciliation

Next Gen Canberra

Please join us to discuss the book "How to be Good" by Massimo Pigliucci.

What Socrates Can Teach Us About the Art of Living Well.

The author draws on stories about Socrates, examples from Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius and Machiavelli, and modern interpretations to explore what philosophy can teach us about the quest for virtue today.

Is it possible to teach ourselves and others to become better people? Can we make ourselves into better human beings? Can we help others do the same? Can we get our leaders to care that humanity prospers, not just economically, but also spiritually?

Our second session will focus on Chapter 2, considering "Alas, Alcibiades, What a Condition You Suffer From!" So please read those pages if you can beforehand. This reading group will be facilitated by Akiva Quinn and Leslie Allan.

[How to Be Good](https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781399804950/how-to-be-good--massimo-pigliucci--2023--9781399804950) can be purchased from Readings for AUD 24.99
https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781399804950/how-to-be-good--massimo-pigliucci--2023--9781399804950

This event is free. Your donation to help keep these events going is greatly appreciated. Please make your [donation](https://www.humanistsaustralia.org/donate) at https://www.humanistsaustralia.org/donate

Humanists Brisbane

Humanists Australia

Rachel M

Meg Moller

How to Be Good (Reading Group)

Online event

**Event summary:**
The monthly human hearted community of practice (COP) is both a support group, and a mutual encouragement group, for people who want to explore living a more human hearted life. The COP is part of Human Hearted Sydney's goal of building community. Please feel free to join us for a session if you're interested.

**Who is the COP for ?**
The COP is for people who dislike the alienation and emptiness of our modern finance driven society, and are looking for a new form of community - one based on the reality of our human social capacities such as sympathy and friendship, rather than based on returning to religion and other traditional practices. If you would like to be part of building a supportive community for living out socially positive values in today’s world we encourage you to come along and check it out.

**Some background: The meaning problem modern society faces -**
The development of modern society has seen the destruction of earlier systems of meaning, like religion and tradition. They have not been replaced by a new set of ethics or community, but by market values and hyper individualism. This has created a world of material wealth in which far too many people feel insecure, alone, and unlikely to succeed. We now live in an atomised society in which each person suffers alone and there is no form of community, or meaning other than material wealth, to sustain them. This has led to substantial increases in loneliness and mental health issues like anxiety in modern society. Now there is even a category called ‘[deaths of despair](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disease_of_despair#:~:text=The%20three%20disease%20types%20are,%2C%20West%20Virginia%2C%20and%20Delaware.)’ that refers to people whose reliance on drugs, alcohol etc. to numb their isolation from society leads to their early death.

**More background: The solution we will look at -**
The obvious solution to the collapse of values in modern society is to build alternative forms of community. Many groups try to achieve this by calling for a return to religious values, or building new religions. As humanists we do not turn to religion but the best of the human potential to provide a foundation for community groups.

[Human heartedness](https://web.archive.org/web/20240109160949/https://areomagazine.com/2022/05/05/a-human-hearted-modernity/) is an approach to life which sees humans as inherently social beings. It is backed both by many famous thinkers of the past, and by the findings of recent neuroscience and evolutionary studies which show the path to human happiness and fulfillment is more dependent on building good relationships and positive social connection than on competition and being purely ‘rational’.

So one part of the solution to the existential emptiness of modernity is for people to build small communities; groups of like minded people who want to live in a more human hearted way, and support each other to live better in the face of modernity’s onslaught. There are other parts of the solution of course. However in relation to this event our focus is on setting up a COP to support each other to practice living in a more human hearted way, and to provide communal support generally in today’s disenchanted world.

**Basic structure of this meeting:**
The meeting will be facilitated by a member of the Sydney humanist community and will involve a brief talk explaining human heartedness and the problems of modernity. Then we will proceed to conduct our regular COP meeting. The meeting will finish with a Q/A and discussion period, followed by a lunch and more informal discussion.

**Donations:**
While this event is free, we would be grateful if you chose to make a [donation](https://www.humanistsaustralia.org/donate) to sustain Humanists Australia which would help it to continue delivering events that serve the community in Sydney.

**Please note Date Time and Venue:**
Meeting date is Sunday 09/02/2025, the second Sunday of February; Meeting time is 11:00am. The venue is: Darling Square Library. The room we'll be in is called Idea Space 2

**Directions:**
The venue is a ten minute walk from both Town Hall and Central station. The Darling Square Library is part of a hive-shaped building called The Exchange. The Idea Spaces are on level one of The Darling Square Library which is accessible via elevators facing towards Darling Square and stairs which are on the other side of the building. Please ask the library staff if you need assistance finding where we are in the library.

Human Hearted Sydney

Elijah

Lyndon Storey

removalsforhope

Shaheena Makani

Alice Domenis

Yuan Li

Sebastian D

Alysia S.

Cheng

Human hearted community of practice (COP)

Darling Square Library

Dear friends,

We are meeting at Meg's Place on Sunday 8th June from 2.00 p.m.

We will be watching a movie in a home setting.

Please RSVP and bring a plate or bowl for afternoon tea (if you are able to; we cater for "poor people").

Kind regards,

Manager, Humanists Brisbane Film and Dinner (or just eats) Discussion Group.

Dr Neville Buch

Margaret Wells

Debra

The HB Film and Eat Social Lunch; being homie...

Meg's Place

Religion has very clear-cut explanations for our purpose on earth and for what happens when we die. When you leave a religion, you are suddenly unmoored from those meaning-making frameworks and are given the tremendous task of finding these answers for yourself. In part three of this five part series, counsellor and psychotherapist Caroline Winzenried will discuss the challenges that religious trauma can pose in making sense of the world.

Cost: This event is free. Your donation to help keep these events going is greatly appreciated. Please make your [donation](https://www.humanistsaustralia.org/donate) at [https://www.humanistsaustralia.org/donate](https://www.humanistsaustralia.org/donate)

Leslie Allan

Arielle M.

Tony

Out on the Peninsula

TinaB

Gina

Religious Trauma: Making Sense of Existence

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Humanists Australia

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