O&I Statement of Purpose and Intent

BACKGROUND

I initiated Owl & Ibis - A Confluence of Minds as a private critical thinker club in mid-2013.

I was motivated to do so by Benjamin Franklin. In 1727, at the age of twenty-one, Franklin formed the Junto, also known as the Leather Apron Club. This was a gathering of like-minded aspiring artisans and tradesmen who hoped to improve themselves while they improved their community. The Junto was a discussion group for issues of the day. Their purpose was to debate questions of morals, politics, and natural philosophy (the sciences), and to exchange knowledge of business affairs.

The Junto was modeled after English coffee houses which had become the center of the spread of Enlightenment ideas in Britain. Reading was a great pastime of the Junto, but books were rare and expensive. The members created a library initially assembled from their own books.

From this inspiration I invited seven friends to meet in my home and named the private club, Owl & Ibis. I then created a logo and added the subtitle A Confluence of Minds to emphasize the group's collegial, egalitarian nature.

On September 22, 2015, I took Owl & Ibis public as an open-to-all freethinker online forum and in-person gathering. In late 2017 I changed the forum for O&I posts and comments from a Facebook page to this website.

HOW IT WORKS

Owl & Ibis - A Confluence of Minds is a secular, humanist, free-thinker discussion group. There are no membership requirements, and all are welcome.

Prior to 2020, in-person meetings were held on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month from 7:00-9:00PM. Meetings took place in Fayetteville, Georgia, USA. After an eight-month break, Owl & Ibis resumed meetings this time via Zoom with international participation on August 29, 2020. The Confluence now meets once monthly on the last Saturday of each month between 4:00 - 6:00PM, Eastern US time. If you would like to attend, please send me an email at lassiterje@hotmail.com.

Discussion topics are drawn primarily from the natural and social sciences, philosophy, history, and cultural studies, including the sacred. Sacred topics have to do with the impact of sacred beliefs and behaviors on the well-being of the individual and his/her society, and on Humankind as a whole. Owl & Ibis is not a forum for religious apologetics and proselytizing.

Participants accept and advocate, totally or in part, an understanding of the universe based on the principles and methods of scientific-secularism, skepticism, and reverence. The owl and ibis are the group’s totems and have been adopted for their symbolism, beauty, and inspiration. They represent the pursuit of knowledge and truth in the European and Egypto-African civilizations, respectively. The owl is associated with the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena, and the ibis with the Egyptian god of knowledge, Thoth.

Respectful of the rights of its members to hold personal beliefs of their choosing, Owl and Ibis, as a learning endeavor, is interested in all civilizations, societies, cultural traditions, and belief systems but professes to none. It holds in high esteem secular-scientific thinking yet is committed to ideological pluralism and tolerance regarding all other modes of thought and inquiry. At the same time, Owl & Ibis participants will critically assess and when necessary, challenge the beliefs and values of persons and groups in terms of the harm they may do or the purported benefit they provide to specific persons, peoples, and Humankind as a whole.

The chair of meetings rotates among the participants. At each meeting, a presentation is made by the chair. Presentations may be oral or via electronic media. Printed handouts sent via email prior to the meeting are helpful. Each presentation covers a topic from one of the above subject areas and should include a point of argumentation. Any time remaining after the presentation is used for discussion. Occasionally a special guest is invited to make a presentation on a topic from the prescribed subject areas. Passionate intellectual intensity may at times arise during discussions. Free expression, civility, mutual respect, and the absence of animosity prevail at all meetings.

Some staunch scientific-secular freethinkers may consider Owl & Ibis’s pluralistic approach to be naïve, wooish claptrap. That association, engagement, dialog, or compromise with religious believers is a waste of time. Don't let the Owl & Ibis totems mislead you into thinking the group is pro-science and anti-religion, or vice versa. The totems are there to make the group special, and for solemnity. Symbolism, ritual, reverence, and a fascination with the mysterious and unknown have always been and shall forever remain a vital part of humanness.

Owl & Ibis is tolerant of a wide range of worldviews and belief systems. Pluralism and inclusion are regarded to be the best ways forward in Humankind’s efforts at forging a global morality and civilization, and for acting responsibly as Earth's steward. Owl & Ibis attempts to contribute to such a future.

For information on upcoming meetings, past presentations and links to O&I slideshows and documents, go to the O&I Main Page here, then click on the three-bar icon at the upper left.

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