THE PHILADELPHIA ASSOCIATION
FOR CRITICAL THINKING (PhACT)
&
THE FREETHOUGHT SOCIETY
OF GREATER PHILADELPHIA (FSGP)

William A. Wisdom (2005)

There are a few people who belong to both PhACT and FSGP, though I seem to be the only one who is publicly active in both groups. I also know that a few PhACT members are active in FSGP behind the scenes. But I suspect that many members of each group know little or nothing about the other, which is why I undertake briefly to compare and contrast the two organizations from my own personal experience. I'll emphasize the place of freethought/humanism/agnosticism/atheism in PhACT, and that of critical scientific thinking in FSGP.

Each of these groups is embedded in a network of other organizations that is Byzantine in its complexity. But I'll try to untangle this as I characterize the two groups--PhACT first, because I've been associated with it longer and know much more about it.


In a sense, I was a member of PhACT before there was a PhACT. I joined the Delaware Valley Skeptics (DVS)--PhACT's predecessor affiliated with the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP)----in the early 1990s, shortly before DVS died of causes unknown, at least to me.

CSICOP, with headquarters near Buffalo, NY, called an organizing meeting in our area for a weekend in the summer of 1994 in an effort to get things rolling again. On the invitation list were largely regional subscribers to CSICOP's journal Skeptical Inquirer, and some past members of DVS. Of those in attendance, about a dozen of us immediately undertook to form a local organization that would be loosely affiliated with CSICOP in the sense that we shared its general goals and principles. (CSICOP insisted that groups like ours were neither members nor chapters of CSICOP, and could not speak for the "parent" organization. Just what the relation actually is has been discussed at national meetings and at headquarters for some time now. Since 1997, groups like ours across the country and around the world have been called a "Network of Affiliated Organizations". At present there are more than 60 such groups internationally, and more than 40 in the United States. Of course, some of these groups are larger and more active than others.)

CSICOP was founded in 1976. A brief statement of its mission appears on the back of each current issue of its official journal, Skeptical Inquirer. By the end of 1994, the PhACT Council had unanimously adopted the following "Statement of Purpose" which, with permission, adopted much of the language of the CSICOP statement. "The Philadelphia Association for Critical Thinking (PhACT) encourages responsible scientific investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims, and disseminates the factual results of such studies. It also promotes scientific inquiry, critical thinking, and science education generally." This was followed by a list of some half-dozen ways in which PhACT meant to fulfill these aims: publishing the bi-monthly newsletter Phactum, sponsoring educational programs, encouraging and sometimes conducting scientific investigation of paranormal claims of local interest, and so on.

In addition, PhACT unanimously adopted the following "Rationale" to accompany its Statement of Purpose. "Irrational thinking in general, and belief in the paranormal in particular, thrive today--often with the active endorsement of the mass media and other major social institutions. We find this quite undesirable if not dangerous. As technological advances put increasingly destructive power in the hands of individuals and governments, it becomes increasingly important that people think responsibly. Skepticism is the best remedy for, and protection against, irrational thought. Skepticism opposes all closed-minded dogmatism--including the dogmatic debunking of exotic ideas. Instead of rejecting unusual claims out of hand, skepticism urges us to suspend our judgment on any claims--and particularly on important claims--until they are justified by careful observation governed by reason and logical thought. Such a habit of caution and modesty would prevent a great deal of folly. It is our purpose to promote rigorous, precise thinking--primarily by encouraging a rational approach to allegations of paranormal events, phenomena, and powers. We are committed both to educating ourselves and others about the most responsible thinking on these topics, and to encouraging further study of them."

There is no reference to religion in either statement. Some members felt strongly that religious claims were among the most conspicuous and dangerous paranormal claims, and that such claims were therefore fit objects for skeptical examination. Others felt equally strongly that PhACT should avoid--indeed, should prohibit--public discussion under its auspices of the most important religious topics, and even public discussion among the members of PhACT of whether we should permit public discussion of religious issues (though the most trivial and obviously false religious miracle stories could be discussed). Some argued that the major religious claims were not subject to scientific investigation, which is demonstrably untrue. Others said that we shouldn't treat serious religious topics because CSICOP (at the time) didn't treat them. [A major reason for this was that Paul Kurtz chaired both CSICOP and (with offices just down the hall) the Council for Secular Humanism, which published Free Inquiry--so that, unlike PhACT, the CSICOP people had their own outlet for the treatment of religion.] Still others, taking the low road, argued that the discussion of serious religious issues might offend some people, who might otherwise join up and pay their dues.

In July of 1995 a majority of the Council approved this vacuity: "PhACT is not designed nor intended for the examination of religious belief systems, nor is it the intention of PhACT to demean or insult anyone or their religion. Religious faith is a personal matter and best left for individuals to decide what is appropriate for them. However, whenever an event or object is claimed to have a paranormal origin, whether religious in nature or not, we feel that claim is subject to scientific investigation and methods. Weeping statues, healings, spiritual visitations, creation stories and other physical manifestations of supernatural events should accordingly be analyzed objectively and scientifically."

Of course that statement did not settle the issue. After a few more years of squabbling, in November of 1997 the Council unanimously approved my motion that the "policy" expressed in the paragraph immediately above means exactly this: "[PhACT] does not attack religions, although it may investigate specific religious claims when they are alleged to have a factual basis." Of course that didn't settle the issue either, but at least it clarified it, and allowed me to make the case that this or that religious topic fell within the permissible area.

For example, in the fall of 2001 the Council graciously allowed me to deliver, in February of 2002, a "basic introduction to epistemology [theory of the nature and justification of knowledge and beliefs] for skeptics, with special application to the empirically testable side of religious claims". I understand that at least one Council member refused to attend my talk because he was sure--despite my descriptive title and the 1997 clarification of PhACT's policy--that I would violate his personal (mis)understanding of what that policy meant. So much for the universal reasonableness and open-mindedness of skeptics.

PhACT meets once a month except in the summer and December. It is run largely by an executive Council of some ten or twelve members, which ordinarily holds its business meetings once a month on a Saturday afternoon, prior to a public program of one sort or another. It has also sponsored or co-sponsored special lectures by the likes of James Randi, CSICOP's Joe Nickell, the Philadelphia Inquirer's science editor Fay Flam, and Dr. Stephen Barrett, the founder of Quackwatch. Furthermore, over the years PhACT itself has conducted and reported on critical examinations of such matters as the police use of psychics in the Philadelphia area, therapeutic touch, and "free energy". PhACT has a paid-up membership of 100 or more.

The broad umbrella group under which PhACT operates is the Center for Inquiry (CFI), of which CSICOP is one "affiliate organization", with its own affiliates like PhACT. CSICOP publishes the bi-monthly journal Skeptical Inquirer and quarterly newsletter Skeptical Briefs.

Others of CFI's "affiliate organizations" include the following:

•The Council for Secular Humanism (CSH), which publishes the bi-monthly journal Free Inquiry and quarterly newsletter Secular Humanist Bulletin;
•The Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion, a division of the Council for Secular Humanism, which sponsors the semi-annual Journal of Higher Criticism;
•The Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health , which publishes two semi-annual journals: The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine and The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice ;
•Philo, a professional philosophy journal, which is published bi-annually at CFI.

It is not entirely clear to me what the relation is between the Center for Inquiry and Prometheus Books (PB), the publisher of a great many works on secular ethical and social thought, humanism, and atheism. Both CFI and PB are located in Amherst, New York; and Paul Kurtz's biographical sketch on the web identifies him as the founder and chairman of CSICOP, CSH, and PB, among other groups. So the relationship between these groups is surely intimate.

Let me include a brief footnote to the discussion of CSICOP and CFI. Some time around 1992, out on the west coast Michael Shermer established both the Skeptics Society and its quarterly journal Skeptic "devoted to the investigation of extraordinary claims, revolutionary ideas and the promotion of science". The journal in particular and the organization in general have a broader reach than do CSICOP and the Skeptical Inquirer, in part but not entirely in that the Skeptics Society is not reluctant to treat religious issues head-on.

And finally a note on a smaller but interesting skeptical group. The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) was founded in 1996; and its more-or-less quarterly newsletter Swift first appeared in 1997. This statement appeared in the first issue: JREF "is a not-for-profit organization based on the ongoing work of its founder and leader, the world-renowned conjurer and investigator James Randi. Its primary goals are to: [1] create a new generation of critical thinkers; [2] instruct in the consequences of uncritically accepting paranormal, pseudoscientific and supernatural claims; [3] support and conduct research into such claims; [4] provide reliable information on such claims; [5] assist those who are being attacked due to their investigations and criticisms of such claims." Information is available at the web site, including information about the great Randi Challenge: "To raise public awareness of these issues, the Foundation offers a $1,000,000 prize to any person or persons who can demonstrate any psychic, supernatural or paranormal ability of any kind under mutually agreed upon scientific conditions. This prize money is held in a special account which cannot be accessed for any purpose other than the awarding of the prize."

If you are interested in details about any of these organizations or periodicals (histories, mission statements, or so on), you can easily find them on the internet.


I turn now to FSGP. The Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia was founded by Margaret Downey in 1993. It is run by an executive Board and meets once a month, sometimes with a speaker and sometimes without. It currently has a dues-paying membership of roughly 400. The group has four active committees: The Anti-Discrimination Support Network, The Thomas Paine Foundation, The Mentor Connection, and The Helping Hands Committee.

This statement appears on its home page: "The Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia's principal activity is to promote the Constitutional principle of separation of church and state and to educate the public on matters related to a nontheist lifestance. The Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia is organized to serve as a local forum in which Freethinkers (nontheists) can meet, socialize, and exchange ideas. This educational non-profit organization offers an alternative to theistic thinking by advocating a nontheist lifestance. To this end, the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia provides literature, speakers, meetings, and social events to the public at large."

FSGP publishes a quarterly newsletter, The Greater Philadelphia Story. FSGP is a chapter of the Freedom from Religion Foundation (which was founded in 1978, and which publishes Freethought Today). And FSGP is a member of the Atheist Alliance International (which was founded in 1992, and which publishes the quarterly magazine Secular Nation).

Just as PhACT is not affiliated with, but maintains friendly and cooperative relations with, the Skeptics Society and JREF, FSGP is not officially affiliated with, but maintains friendly and cooperative relations with such groups as Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, which was founded in 1947 and publishes the monthly journal Church & State), and with the American Humanist Association, which was founded in 1947 and publishes bi-monthly The Humanist: A Magazine of Critical Inquiry and Social Concern and their newsletter Free Mind. FSGP also keeps in touch with the Institute for Humanist Studies, which both publishes the weekly e-zine Humanist Network News , and is a "specialist member" of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), which publishes the International Humanist News. And FSGP is loosely affiliated with the Center for Inquiry/Council for Secular Humanism mentioned earlier.

At the websites given, you can find information about the history and missions of these groups, and a whole lot more.

FSGP is both an education- and an action-oriented group, though these functions overlap considerably. Its educational function is pursued through its sponsorship, promotion, and support of lectures, conferences, publications, and so on. As an action-oriented group, it participates in national and local letter-writing campaigns and demonstrations. It has a booth at the Swinging Thursday events in West Chester, where members distribute literature, sell secular CDs, and engage in polite discussion about its central issues. And it has received widespread publicity for such activities as its Anti-Superstition Party and its Thomas Paine celebrations.

The sorts of issues on which FSGP focuses its attention include such public concerns as the "under God" clause in the Pledge of Allegiance, the display of religious symbols and messages in municipal space (especially the Ten Commandments attached to the street-side wall of the Chester County courthouse in West Chester), the general bias of the Boy Scouts against the participation of gays and atheists, women's rights, the intrusion of religion into the biology curricula of public schools, and on and on and on.

I've been critical of PhACT for its individual and collective failures to live up to its own principles of critical thinking, particularly when it comes to religious belief. I haven't been working with FSGP long enough to know the members' grounds for their freethought. A large part of it is their deep concern about "the separation of church and state", which is admirable. We see the erosion of civil liberties on all sides over all sorts of issues, and have to admire the fighters in the arena of first-amendment and other rights.

But at the level of small-group discussion, the members of FSGP are no more rational than those of PhACT, and I would say that, in general, they're a good bit less so. Several of the monthly membership meetings I've attended seem (to this rather recently arrived observer) to have served as nothing but platforms for egocentric windbags to orate, without the slightest concern for the clarification and defense of their beliefs.

Still, as much as I abhor carelessness and inaccuracy of thought, I realize that, unlike PhACT, FSGP is not primarily committed to the rational justification of its positions. Its job is not to persuade its members or others that there are no gods, or that there are no good reasons to believe that there are gods, or that what gods there be are irrelevant to human concerns. Its job is rather to defend the rights of all citizens to be free from the coercive hand of religion in society, and to provide support for other freethinkers.

If I sound like just one more windbag with no credentials, I should point out that I have a Ph.D. in Philosophy, and for some 40 years have taught Critical Thinking, Formal Logic (in which I've co-authored a textbook), Science-and-Pseudoscience, the Philosophy of Religion, the Philosophy of Science, and major figures in the history of philosophy like Plato,Descartes, Locke, and Hume.

I don't regret my association with either of these two groups. While their functions overlap to some extent, each has its own distinct and important role to play. I do wish that there were one association that served both functions--promoting both atheist social action and critical thinking. But I'm happy that there are any groups with these missions.

Copyright © 2005, William A. Wisdom