The existence of God. Abortion. Human
rights. Same-sex marriage. These are all controversial topics that merit serious
discussion, particularly at a liberal arts college that stresses informed
engagement with and critical evaluation of ideas and issues. Thanks to Eric
Bowman '04, a forum for such debate happens weekly at meetings of the Atheists,
Agnostics and Freethinkers.
Eric Bowman '04 standing near the columns once part of the Truax Hall of
Philosophy.
Bowman was active in a similar organization at
New York University before he transferred to Hamilton as a sophomore. Although
he found engaging dialogue in the classroom and informally among students, he
was surprised that Hamilton did not have an organized club that met regularly
for such a purpose. He began going to a weekly Bible study group, facilitated by
Greg Weyer '02, and found himself arguing more often than agreeing with what was
being said, so he decided to start his own group to provide those with
alternative viewpoints a place to share their opinions. Bowman began holding
meetings in his room in Dunham. Once the group began to grow, meetings moved to
Root Hall where five to 30 people typically show up for discussions.
Bowman's
role in the group is to select the topics and send all-campus e-mails
publicizing the discussions. At the meetings he acts as mediator, generally for
about an hour, as students representing all disciplines and class years debate
and discuss. In fact, once Bowman had started holding AAF meetings, Weyer began
coming to share his viewpoints on various topics -- the most memorable of which
this year, according to Bowman, included debates on evolution vs. creationism,
affirmative action and free will vs. determinism.
Bowman enjoys the group
because he is interested in hearing what other people have to say. "A college
campus should be a place of intellectual vibrancy," he said, "and a lot of times
you don't always get the same level of debate in the classroom as you would
outside. AAF is a way of bringing people together and offering an open forum for
discussion of topics -- philosophical or otherwise -- that are of interest to
all members of the community."
