The 'Center for Inquiry (CFI)' is a non-profit educational organization with headquarters in the
United States whose primary mission is to encourage evidence-based inquiry into
paranormal and
fringe science claims,
alternative medicine and mental health practices,
religion, secular ethics, and society. CFI is dedicated to promoting and defending science, reason, and free inquiry in all aspects of human interest.
History
The Center for Inquiry was established in 1991 by philosopher and author
Paul Kurtz. It brought together two organizations: the
Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal[1] (CSICOP) and the
Council for Secular Humanism[2] (CSH), both of which had previously operated in tandem but were now formally affliated under one umbella. By 1995 CFI had expanded into a new 20,000 square foot headquarters in Amherst, NY. and in 1996 opened its first branch office in
Los Angeles, CA. Additionally, in the same year, CFI founded the
Campus Freethought Alliance, organizing college students around issues of importance to CFI and its members.
By 1997 CFI had begun expanding its efforts internationally through an association with Moscow State University. CFI Moscow now operates an exchange program where Russian students and scholars are able to visit CFI headquarters in Amherst, NY and participate in a summer institute each year. Addiitonal international programs exist in Germany (Rossdorf), France (Nice), Spain (Bilboa), Poland (Warsaw), Nigeria (Ibadan), Uganda (Kampala), Kenya (Nairobi), Nepal (Katmandu), India (Pune) (Hyderabad), Egypt (Cairo), China (Beijing), New Zealand (Auckland), Peru (Lima), Argentina (Buenos Aires), Senegal (Dakar), Zambia (Lusaka), and Bangladesh (Dacca).
Between 2002 and 2003 CFI opened two new branches in
New York City and
Tampa FL in addition to expanding its west coast branch into a new building in Hollywood, CA. Located on Hollywood Blvd.,
CFI West also became home to the
Steve Allen Theater, named after the former
Tonight Show host and CFI supporter. By 2004, CFI continued to expand into cities across the United States with the creation of a network of community organizations called "
CFI Communities" in cities such as
Pittsburgh,
Cleaveland,
Tucson,
Tallahassee,
Indianapolis, and
Fort Lauderdale.
In 2005 CFI once again expanded its Amherst headquarters with a new 15,600 square foot research wing. Additionally, CFI was granted special consultative status with the United Nations the same year.
Since 2006 CFI has been expanding rapidly with a series of new branches in cities across North America and around the world. These include new Centers for Inquiry in
Toronto,
London,
Washington DC,
Indianapolis IN,
Grand Rapids, MI, and
Austin TX. The Center for Inquiry in Washington DC is headquarters to CFI's
Office of Public Policy, which represents CFI's interests on Capitol Hill.
Program areas
The Center for Inquiry's programs focus on three broad areas.
[1]
Paranormal and fringe science claims
Through the
Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, publisher is "
Skeptical Inquirer" magazine, the Center for Inquiry evaluates claims of the
paranormal (phenomena allegedly beyond the range of normal scientific explanations), such as
psychic phenomena,
ghosts, communication with the dead, and alleged
extraterrestrial visitations. It also explores the fringes and borderlands of the sciences, attempting to separate strictly evidence-based research from pseudosciences.
Medicine and health
The
Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health (CSMMH) stimulates critical scientific scrutiny of New Age medicine and the schools of psychotherapy. It supports
naturalistic addiction recovery practices through
Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS).
Religion, ethics, and society
The Center promotes, through its connection with
Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion, critical inquiry into the foundations and social effects of the world religions. Since 1983 it has focused on such issues as fundamentalism in Christianity and Islam, humanistic alternatives to religious ethics, and religious sources of political violence. More recently it has turned its attention to Quranic criticism and the seculatization of Islamic societies. It is also the home of its affiliated organization, the
Council for Secular Humanism, publisher of ''
Free Inquiry'' magazine, a bi-monthly journal of secular humanist thought and discussion.
Projects and Programs
Center for Inquiry - On Campus
Main articles: Center for Inquiry On Campus
Center for Inquiry - On Campus (originally the '
Campus Freethought Alliance') was a program launched by the
Council for Secular Humanism in
1996 in order to reach out to university and high school students.
Center for Inquiry - On Campus provides funding, speakers or debaters, literature, and other resources to student groups that affiliate, and supports almost 200 campus groups around the world. In 2000, as a result of a dispute over management and funding of the organization, a number of volunteering students organized the
Secular Student Alliance, with largely the same ends — to promote
secular humanism as an alternative to religious lifestyle and politics. However, as neither organization demands exclusivity in association, many campus groups maintain ties to each organization.
Center for Inquiry - On Campus is managed by
D.J. Grothe.
CFI Communities
Main articles: CFI Communities
Virtually all of these groups are outgrowths of local grassroots secular humanist and skeptical movements, most involving the leadership of local subscribers to "
Free Inquiry" and "
Skeptical Inquirer magazines". These groups draw upon volunteers and Center for Inquiry members and supporters who are enthusiastic about CFI's efforts to advance the scientific outlook in our society and who wish to become active in our movement.
CFI Institute
Main articles: CFI Institute
The
Center for Inquiry Institute offers undergraduate level summer school, seminars, and workshops in critical thinking and the scientific outlook and its implications for religion, human values, and the borderlands of science. In addition to transferable undergraduate credit through the State University of New York (SUNY) system, CFI offers a thirty credit hour Certificate of Proficiency in Critical Inquiry. This three-year curriculum plan offers summer sessions at the main campus at SUNY-Buffalo in Amherst and the Skeptic's Toolbox workshop at the University of Oregon, Eugene.
Camp Inquiry
Main articles: Camp Inquiry
The Center for Inquiry organizises an annual summer camp for children called ''
Camp Inquiry''.
[3]
CFI Libraries
Main articles: CFI Libraries
The Center for Inquiry Libraries is a consortium of four libraries in
Amherst, New York. It was founder and is operated by the Center for Inquiry. The building is over 20,000 square feet with meeting rooms and special collections housing 50,000 volumes of works specializing in
science,
skepticism,
freethought,
humanism, and American
philosophical naturalism.
It was opened on June 9, 1995 in Amherst by
Steve Allen,
Leon Jaroff,
Herbert Hauptman,
Stan Lundine, and
Kendrick Frazier to name a few.
[2]
Naturalism Research Project
Main articles: Naturalism Research Project
CFI also runs the Naturalism Research Project, a major new effort to develop the theoretical and practical applications of philosophical naturalism. As part of this project, CFI’s libraries, research facilities, and conference areas are available to scientists and scholars to advance the understanding of science’s methodologies and conclusions about naturalism.
Activities of the Naturalism Research Project include lectures and seminars by visiting fellows and scholars; academic conferences; and support CFI publications of important research. Among the central issues of naturalism include the exploration of varieties of naturalism; problems in philosophy of science; the methodologies of scientific inquiry; naturalism and humanism; naturalistic ethics; planetary ethics; and naturalism and the biosciences.
Affliate Organizations
Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI)
Council for Secular Humanism (CSH)
Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion (CSER)
The committee's mission is "to promote humanistic and critical approaches to the study of religion, and to foster the public understanding of religion in the United States and abroad."
[3]
Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health Practice (CSMMH)
Institute for the Secularisation of Islamic Society (ISIS)
Publications
The results of research and activities supported by the Center and its affiliates are published and distributed to the public in seventeen separate national and international magazines, journals, and newsletters. Among them are CSER's ''Quarterly Review'', CSH's ''
Free Inquiry'', and CSICOP's ''
Skeptical Inquirer'', as well as the ''Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine'', ''Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice'' and ''Philo''.
Additionally, CFI produces the popular weekly radioshow and podcast "
Point of Inquiry".
In the media
On
November 14,
2006 the CFI opened its Office of Public Policy in
Washington, DC and issued ''Declaration in Defense of Science and Secularism'', which calls for public policy to be based on science rather than faith
[4]. The next day the
Washington Post ran an article about it entitled ''"Think Tank Will Promote Thinking."''
[5]
Notes
1. http://www.csicop.org
2. http://www.secularhumanism.org
3. http://www.campinquiry.org/about.html
4. http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN06/wn111706.html
5. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/14/AR2006111401176.html
External links
★
Center for Inquiry website
★
Point of Inquiry ''
Point of Inquiry'' - the radio show and
podcast of the Center for Inquiry.
★
Center for Inquiry - On Campus
★
Center for Inquiry Libraries
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