Schweitzer room and online; write HumanistGroup@first-unitarian-pgh.org for the lin.

Speaker: John Hooper
Title: Humanism from the inside out

Over the past several decades, philosophical and scientific studies of human consciousness and cognition have shed new light on the nature of human agency and understanding. Several of these new insights will be reviewed along with their implications for a Humanism that is fully worthy of its name. (

John Hooper, Ph.D. (Carnegie Mellon University), is a retired scientist and industrial research director, having pursued a career in molecular imaging and spectroscopy. Hooper has held local and national leadership positions in organizations involving naturalism, Humanism, and Unitarian Universalist social action. As just one of many current examples, he is on the Board of Directors of the American Humanist Association.

John and his wife Dr. Gail Pesyna, both former members of First Church, now live in a retirement community in the South Hills and are members of the Sunnyhill UU congregation in Mt. Lebanon.