In order to create positive change, the conventional wisdom often needs to be reconsidered. The Florida State University College of Social Work is changing the conversation by exploring the application of critical thinking and civil discourse to important social issues, including obesity, prescription drugs, mental health, and diversity.

The one-day conference of national experts, “Critical Thinking and Civil Discourse About Social Problems: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom,” is a collaboration among the FSU College of Social Work, the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University and the John Templeton Foundation.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place:

FRIDAY, OCT. 27
9 A.M. – 5 P.M.
AUGUSTUS B. TURNBULL III FLORIDA STATE CONFERENCE CENTER
555 W. PENSACOLA ST.
TALLAHASSEE, FLA.

Lunch is provided free of charge, and free CEUs are available.

The conference features a diverse group of leading scholars, researchers, and experts from the fields of Nutrition, Mental Health, and Political Philosophy, among others. Each speaker has a demonstrated a commitment to critical thinking, thoughtful discourse, attention to divergent opinions, and a willingness to take action in an unrelenting pursuit of the truth, as they work to build a better world. Reflecting on the line-up of speakers, conference organizer Dr. Tomi Gomory stated, “We believe that we have assembled a Dream Team of opinion leaders who will provoke and stimulate all of our attendees to critically reflect on their current views and hopefully rethink some of them as a result of the conference.”

Featured Speakers Include:

• Gary Taubes is an investigative science and health journalist and the co-founder of the nonprofit Nutrition Science Initiative. He is the author of “The Case Against Sugar” and “Why We Get Fat: And What To Do About it.” His work has been featured in Science and the New York Times. Taubes is the recipient of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Investigator Award in Health Policy Research and has won numerous awards for his journalism.
• Laura Delano entered the mental health system at age 13 and spent the next 15 years seeking help from numerous inpatient and outpatient programs. Today as an “ex-mental patient”, Laura works as an activist and advocate and is the Executive Director of a soon-to-be-launched nonprofit organization that provides information and resources to facilitate more informed choices regarding all things “mental health.”
• Robert Whitaker is an author and investigative journalist. He is the author of the award-winning book, “Anatomy of an Epidemic.” While a fellow at the Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University, he co-authored “Psychiatry Under the Influence: Institutional Corruption, Social Injury, and Prescriptions for Reform.” In 1998, he co-wrote a series on psychiatric research for the Boston Globe that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
• Jessica Flannigan is an assistant professor of Leadership Studies and Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law (PPEL) at the University of Richmond, where she teaches ethics.  Her research addresses the ethics of public health, policy, and business. She is the author of “Pharmaceutical Freedom”, which defends rights of self-medication. Flanigan has also published in journals such as Philosophical Studies, The Journal of Moral Philosophy, and the Journal of Medical Ethics.
• Inam Sakinah is a rising senior and Presidential Scholar at Florida State University. She majors in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences on the Pre-Medicine Track and aspires to pursue an integrated medical and public policy career. Inam is the founding chair of The Power of WE at Florida State University, a historic, university-wide, nationally recognized diversity and inclusion initiative launched under the auspices of the University President.

Registration deadline for the conference is October 18, 2017. Register for the conference at https://theihs.org/FSU.