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Memorial Service for James P. Coley, II
July 22, 2018 @ 9:30 am - 11:30 am
EHST will host a memorial service for James P. Coley, II. James was a longtime member of the society (20+ years), had served as President, gave numerous lectures, and held many discussions with our members, friends and visitors. He was for several years host of the WCOM radio program Ethics Matters and more recently hosted Radio Free Association on that station.
James wrote many blog posts for EHST, and travelled to several Ethical Humanist Societies to give talks. In 2015 James wrote a summary of his philosophical views…
“I am a metaphysical naturalist, empiricist and scientific realist, with an epistemology that blends elements of foundationalism and coherentism. Circular chains of epistemic justification are allowed as long as they pass through a quasi-foundation of beliefs there is no good reason to doubt.
“My view on free will I call firm determinism. There are conflicting ordinary language concepts of free will; my Control Theory of Freedom offers autonomous control as a successor. There are variations of the concept, and most but not all of them are incompatible with determinism.
“In ethics, I have a prescriptivist view. There are no objective values, but that is no reason for me not to act on my Humanist value system. I believe in reason, but it is only instrumental with respect to a value system.
“I am an atheist. There is no purpose for human life ordained by the Universe, evolution or anything else. We give life significance and purpose through our values, and most importantly our actions. The way to find meaning in life is to find meaningful things to do — and then do them.”
All those who knew him will miss his wit, his incisive mind, and his dedication to logical argument and Ethical Humanism.
Donations can be made in his memory to either the CAN-DO Foundation, P.O. Box 6468, Malibu, CA 90264, or to the WCOM-FM radio station, 300-G E. Main St., Carrboro, NC 27510.
