"Awesome science & the science of awe" a talk by Dr Valerie van Mulukom

Our July Talk: 'Awesome science & the science of awe: how we can and cannot find meaning and answers to life's big questions in a secular age' with Dr Valerie van Mulukom (Oxford Brookes University)
Across Western countries, Enlightenment and secularisation has shifted the process of our understanding of the world to focus on the scientific method, empirical evidence, and rational thinking. While clearly advancing our understanding of physical reality, what does this approach mean for how we navigate questions of how humans relate to each other? Are we losing our enchantment with the world, our sense of awe and wonder - or are we finding it in new places?

Dr van Mulukom will present her international survey research which investigates how nonreligious and humanist individuals across the globe create meaning and understanding without recourse to the supernatural. How do knowledge frameworks, like science but also art and the humanities, fill the spaces once occupied by religion? Insights will be put forward into the extent and limits of awe-inspiring secular worldviews in providing meaning and connection in our rational age.

Our speaker: Dr Valerie van Mulukom is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Oxford Brookes University, where she teaches and researches a variety of topics, including nonreligious worldviews, conspiracy beliefs, awe, social bonding, imagination, and memory.

For full details see the listing on our web page and register for the event:
https://humanists.uk/civicrm/event/info/?id=2301

This event is free to join, however we do request registration to help us manage numbers with the venue and, as always, any donations you are able to contribute will support our running costs.
If you any have questions about the event, please get in touch with Andrew, our Events Lead; we'd love to hear from you at [ZXZlbnRzLW94Zm9yZCB8IGh1bWFuaXN0YnJhbmNoZXMgISB1aw==](mailto:ZXZlbnRzLW94Zm9yZCB8IGh1bWFuaXN0YnJhbmNoZXMgISB1aw==).

The Community Works event space is accessible via the side alley to the left of 1 Becket Street Oxford, OX1 1HU, behind Lula's Ethiopian Restaurant.

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