Freethinker Social Clubs
Introduction
What is Freethinking?
Freethinking is about thinking freely - sharing, questioning your own and other peoples' views and experiences in the pursuit of a broader and deeper understanding of things. In doing so you:
Attendees are from diverse backgrouds - everyone's point of view is valued, as different backgrounds and life experiences enable us all to gain a broader understanding of the topic being discussed. The aim is to attract people from various walks of life, with various intellectual capabilities.
A typical meeting starts with a welcome and general announcements. Then a topic popular to the group is discussed. There is no restriction on what the topic can be - it could be about relationships, genetic engineering, love, lust, war, money, goodwill, virtue, parents, advertising, refugees, ageism, mind games, recent new events. As the group relies on various points of view to stimulate discussion, topics which generate some contraversy are often chosen.
People are usually broken up into groups of around six people and, together with a facilitator, the topic is discussed. The facilitator�s job is to:
Discussions are both thought provoking and fun. There are also occassional social events.
By regularly attending you'll:
Over time, the social atmosphere can also improve your confidence, conversation and social skills.
There is no religious, political or commercial agenda or backing. The groups are run in a relaxed open way, with volunteer facilitators - there is no guru.
It is also recommended that people target the response to the idea being put forward rather than the person putting it forward. e.g. say "but what about..." rather than "You said... but...". Targeting the person can lead to hurt egos and angry exchanges.
No one's perfect; Freethinking conversation skills are learnt with practice and self-control. They enable you to discuss a wide range of topics on any occassion without worrying about upseting peoples' egos. Why stick to safe conversations about the weather or work, when they are so many other things everyone would enjoy chatting about? Freethinking conversations skills are really handy to have!
There's a break mid-way through the night to have a drink and socialise.
Most of the time no clear-cut truth emerges, however, in the process of discovery, group members get a wider insight on the chosen topic and get to know other people in the group in the process.
There is a theme of freedom of thought, honesty and equality. It�s a meeting where people actively listen to what you have to say. People with strongly held, previously unchallenged views, will find the discussions thought provoking.
As a result topics are more likely to be spicy and enlightening.
Often the topics alternate between heavy and light/fun.
*Topics are removed from the carry-forward topic list if no one votes for them at a subsequent meeting.
The same topic can be re-discussed after 12 months or so, as each discussion utilises the thoughts and experiences participants, which change over time. As there is minimal preparation, a wide variety of topics can be discussed over a short period of time.
As the group has an interest in creating a sense of community, people are encouraged to attend every meeting, rather than just those with topics they are especially interested in.
Some topics that might be discussed include; friendship, new events, relationships, "who am I?", love, laws, happiness, sexuality.
OK time to mingle!
Preventing Personal Attacks
On rare occassions, people not familiar with the freethinking process use personal attacks. This might be to gain dominance or because they've never had anyone question their views in the past. Some try to dictate what everyone should think by picking on those who express views different to their own. Dictating what others should think directly opposes freethought, and stiffles an open, friendly and productive dialogue. Facilitator will usually detect when this occurs and raise a point of order. However, as personal attacks tend to sneek into a people's expressions, it is hoped that everyone watches out for them. Personal attacks erode the positive culture we are trying to grow and benefit from.
Several techniques have been noted:
People usually react to a personal attack by no longer talking, igoring whatever the other person has to say, or by attacking them back. All these erode the quality of the discussion. Attendees are encouraged to raise a point of order if someone uses these techniques to try and hijack the meeting.
Although we hope everyone participates in discussions, you are free to just listen. It can take a few weeks to get comfortable with the situation, especially if you're shy. Please give it a few weeks before deciding whether to continue with the group. Freethinkers encourage a friendly non-threatening atmosphere, so often over time, people loose their shyness and become confident and enthusiastic conversationalists.
No, the group is aimed at the general community with no special status given to those with formal
qualifications. People have different views and life experiences, from day to day life as well as through their education. Different perspectives make the discussion more interesting than they would otherwise be if everyone were from the same background.
This Freethinker social group promotes the questioning of things using logic and reason, much like scientists do, but in a more relaxed way. The group neither affirms nor denies the existence of God, Gods or other supernatural beings. Attendees have varying opinions on the subject.
The groups� aim is to develop the ability to think freely and establish genuine friendships. Although new ideas usually emerge, you're encouraged to seek other sources for educational purposes. These could include adult education classes, university, books, computers, TV documentaries etc. The views of attendees may not represent the truth on a matter. Attendees are encouraged to probe their own and other peoples� views on a subject in pursuit of the truth.
Certainly! People are encouraged to write a topic's questions, and you don't need to know any of the answers!
Early 1999 the founder of model used for this Freethinking Social Club was looking for a social group that he could be part of. He tried a range of different social groups and sports clubs but they didn't quite fill his needs. He soon realised that his interest was in thinking, and there was no social group around that filled that need. So he started up a new social group designed to stimulate the intellect in a non-competitive way - a free-roaming discussion group. Soon after he settled for a name for the group; "Freethinkers", it was the closest commonly used word that described what was taking place. He soon realised that some people unintentionally used personal attacks when they're views were being challenged. These personal attacks had the affect of stopping the dialogue, so it became apparent that for freethinking, personal attacks must be
discouraged, and goodwill promoted (goodwill also encourages a more relaxed, open discussion). From that time on the Freethinker Social Group structure has been refined and added to, but always with the objectives of freethinking in mind.
There are a few different ways of getting a set of topical questions:
At the end of a meeting a topic is chosen for the following week using the following procedure:
To get a deeper discussion, its best to follow the above topic selection process but do this at the end of a meeting (for the following week), and have the questions written and photocopied by a volunteer interested in the topic, before the next meetingf.
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