The first clue to answering the question ‘Who am I?’ is the question itself. Of all the species on the planet, we are possibly the only one that asks who and what we are, the puzzles at the heart of art, history, sociology, psychology and philosophy.

So let’s put the question into context, before we attempt an answer. When we ask who we are, the question implies a distinction between our selves and the world we inhabit. In a word, we have become intellectually self-conscious.

I love my dog Sophie. There’s no question she’s self-conscious. But I’m pretty sure her level of self-consciousness is in the physical and emotional dimensions (I’ll talk more about those terms when I post my thoughts on The Four Aspects of Living Being) – she’s aware of herself in response to stimuli and events in the world around her, but not as a being that needs any more definition than her responses offer. Her now is much more reactive than mine.

That doesn’t make me any better than Sophie, or either of us any less essential to the unfolding consciousness of the world, it just puts us at different vantage points.

How about the ‘lowly’ earth worm, or house fly? I don’t know what kind of consciousness they might be experiencing and expressing, but suspect strongly they live in a purely physical mode, responding to sensations that either attract or repel.

Again, there is no inherent superiority implied in this observation – earthworms and houseflies are as important to the biological ‘order of things’ as human beings. It’s just that we have different things to experience and express.

So when I ask ‘Who am I?’ it seems to me that at least part of the answer is ‘I am a creature who is intellectually self-conscious’: I want to define a dimension of my self – and by extension, my fellows – in intellectual terms, that is in terms that are theoretical, philosophical and scientific, and which can be expanded and explored.

Not only that, but by further extension, I want to define other living entities, and place myself in a hierarchy of evolved consciousness… that’s where our special role emerges, and where many of our troubles begin as we try to sort things out.

The problem with the question ‘Who am I’ is it has almost always been asked in terms of what separates me from other species, and even from other members of my own species. The hierarchical structure of most religions and the authoritarian style of most states up to recent times is a direct result of this mental framework. Increasingly, I believe, people are coming to realize it’s more important to ask what connects us to all other life forms, and hopefully that perspective-shift is taking place in time to save us from ourselves.

So who am I?

To resort to metaphor: I am a cell in the cerebral cortex of world consciousness – a being awakened to astounding new discoveries; and to concepts of infinity and eternity that will forever make my world-view tantalizingly incomplete.

Bhagat Singh was an Indian revolutionary socialist who, along with Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar, was sentenced to death on March 23, 1931 for assassinating a British police officer. Their execution was a pivotal moment in the struggle for Indian independence and his life is celebrated by parts of Metro Vancouver's South Asian community.

While in prison, Singh was asked whether his atheism stemmed from his vanity. This was his reply.

A new question has cropped up. Is it due to Vanity that I do not believe in the existence of on omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient God? I had never imagined that I would ever have to confront such a question. But conversation with some friends has given me, a hint that certain of my friends, if I am not claiming too much in thinking them to be so-are inclined to conclude from the brief contact they have had with me, that it was too much on my part to deny the existence of God and that there was a certain amount of vanity that actuated my disbelief. Well, the problem is a serious one. I do not boast to be quite above these human traits. I am a man and nothing more. None can claim to be more. I also have this weakness in me. Vanity does form a part of my nature. Among my comrades I was called an autocrat. Even my friend Mr BK Dutt sometimes called me so. On certain occasions I was decried as a despot. Some friends do complain and very seriously too that I involuntarily thrust my opinions upon others and get my proposals accepted. That this is true up to a certain extent, I do not deny. This may amount to egotism. There is vanity in me in as much as our cult as opposed to other popular creeds is concerned. But that is not personal. It may be, it is only legitimate pride in our cult and does not amount to vanity. Vanity or to be more precise "Ahankar" is the excess of undue pride in one's self. Whether it is such an undue pride that has led me to atheism or whether it is after very careful study of the subject and after much consideration that I have come to disbelieve in God, is a question that I, intend to discuss here. Let me first make it clear that egotism and vanity are two different things.

By Justin H G Williams, University of Aberdeen

Empathy, the ability to understand others and feel compassion for them, is arguably the most defining human quality – setting us apart from smart machines and even other animals. Without it, we couldn’t function in social areas such as the schools, court rooms and office workplaces that are the cornerstones of our society.

But babies and toddlers are generally poor at showing sensitivity to other people’s feelings. So how do they develop this crucial skill – do they learn it gradually or is it just an innate ability that kicks in at a certain age?

By Chris Cocking, University of Brighton

The world is rightly shocked by the immense pain and suffering caused by the deadly attacks at Zaventem airport Brussels and on the city’s metro. But it is also important to consider that while such acts need to be condemned in the strongest possible terms, the way people respond to them can also illustrate a more positive side to human nature.

People affected by attacks such as those in Brussels often behave much better than is traditionally expected by the authorities and in popular discourse. People tend to come together en masse to respond to such incidents and support each other in the face of adversity.

Samir Gandesha is an Associate Professor in the Department of the Humanities and the Director of the Institute for the Humanities at Simon Fraser University. He specializes in modern European thought and culture, with a particular emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries.

A key element of humanism must be a critical assessment of religion. Today such a critical assessment is more important than ever given the rise of Christian fundamentalism in the US, Hindutva or Hindu fundamentalism on the Indian subcontinent as well as politicized forms of Islam. In this talk, Dr Gandesha sketches out some of the key criticisms of religion in the work of Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx and Frederich Nietzsche, before going on to show how their ideas might help us understand the combustible connection between religion and politics in our contemporary world.

Recorded at the Sunday, March 13, 2016 meeting of the BC Humanist Association in Vancouver. Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.

Intro music: We are all connected instrumental - Symphony of Science www.symphonyofscience.com

In Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario, the provincial governments continue to fully fund separate Catholic school boards. BC partially funds some independent faith schools.

While the Catholic schools are enshrined in the constitution, an editorial in Metro news last week makes the case that rolling those schools into the secular, public boards would be both easy and popular.

I'm always looking for more good stories to share on social media. Feel free to email me if you spot something you think our group might be interested in.

Gail Miller speaks about the first pilot project in the planned global campaign to promote critical thinking among the children of the world. The pilot project is two secular schools and a library in Guatemala.

Recorded at the Sunday, March 6, 2016 meeting of the BC Humanist Association in Vancouver. Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.

Intro music: We are all connected instrumental - Symphony of Science www.symphonyofscience.com

By Kristin Aune, Coventry University

Faced with religion, what’s a good feminist to do? Some strongly reject religion of all kinds as oppressive to women, while others celebrate faith as part of human diversity. Others try to forge a middle ground. But sometimes feminists can wade into complex religious debates without a full understanding of their history and context – and the impact of their intervention.

Feminists need to understand the complexities of religion rather than swapping a blanket condemnation of religion for a blanket embrace – they need to develop better religious literacy.

By James Dyke, University of Southampton

And another one bites the dust. The year 2014 was the warmest ever recorded by humans. Then 2015 was warmer still. January 2016 broke the record for the largest monthly temperature anomaly. Then came last month.

February didn’t break climate change records – it obliterated them. Regions of the Arctic were were more than 16℃ warmer than normal – whatever constitutes normal now. But what is really making people stand up and notice is that the surface of the Earth north of the equator was 2℃ warmer than pre-industrial temperatures. This was meant to be a line that must not be crossed.

Saint George’s school is a two story, red brick building in the Georgetown district of South Seattle. In 1946 it had eight grades, four on the ground floor and four on the second. Each school day began with students marching silently into school in two files, one for boys and the other for girls, grade ones leading and grade eights last. Up the stone steps they marched, past the principal, Sister Mary Justin a symbol of authority with her arms folded, and past the wind-up Victrola playing John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever” at full volume.