is an American philosopher, author and editor, and noted humanist. He is particularly notable for having been the Editor of Free Inquiry, a leading journal of secular humanist discussion and commentary.
Madigan graduated in philosophy from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1984, later gaining an MA and a Ph.D. from the same institution.
From the mid-1980s Madigan was employed by the journal Free Inquiry. He became its Executive Editor (1987-1996) and then Editor (1996-1998). He left to become the Editorial Director of the University of Rochester Press, in Rochester, New York. He is currently Professor and Chair of the Philosophy Department at St John Fisher College, also in Rochester, NY. Madigan is also one of the US Editors of Philosophy Now magazine.
As Secular Humanist Mentor of the Council for Secular Humanism, Madigan was active in helping establish local secular humanist societies throughout the United States. Since 1993 he has been a member of the board of directors of the Bertrand Russell Society. In 2015 he was elected President of the Bertrand Russell Society. Madigan is a frequent speaker and panel chair at academic conferences on a wide range of humanities subjects. His own advice on chairing conference sessions has been published in Academe, the journal of the American Association of University Professors.
Books
- The Question of Humanism with David Goicoechea and John Luik (1991)
- The Ethics of Belief and Other Essays by William Kingdon Clifford edited by Timothy J. Madigan (1999)
- Promethean Love, edited by Timothy J. Madigan, Cambridge Scholars Press, 2006.
- God and the Philosophers, by Paul Edwards edited by Timothy J. Madigan, Prometheus Books, 2008.
- W.K. Clifford and “The Ethics of Belief”, by Timothy J. Madigan, Cambridge Scholars Press, 2009.
- Lucretius: His Continuing Influence and Contemporary Relevance ed by David B. Suits and Timothy J. Madigan, RIT Cary Graphic Arts Press 2011
- Beyond Sustainability, (co-written with Tim Delaney), McFarland Publishing, 2014.
- The Sociology of Sports, 2nd Edition (co-written with Tim Delaney), McFarland Publishing, 2015.
- Lessons Learned from Popular Culture, (co-written with Tim Delaney), SUNY Press, 2016.
- Bertrand Russell, Public Intellectual, (co-edited with Peter Stone), Tiger Bark Press, 2016.
- Friendship and Happiness and the Connection Between Them, (co-written with Tim Delaney), McFarland Publishing, 2017.
Wikipedia
The Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake is an annual event held on the Spring Bank Holiday at Cooper’s Hill, near Gloucester in England. Participants race down the 200-yard-long hill after a round of Double Gloucester cheese is sent rolling down it. The event was traditionally held by and for the people who live in the local village of Brockworth, but now people from all over the world take part. The Guardian called it a “world-famous event”, with winners from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Nepal.
This ceremony originally took place each Whit Monday, before it later was moved to the Spring Bank Holiday. Two possible origins have been proposed for the ceremony. The first is said that it evolved from a requirement for maintaining grazing rights on the common. The second proposal is pagan origins for the custom of rolling objects down the hill. It is thought that bundles of burning brushwood were rolled down the hill to represent the birth of the New Year after winter. Connected with this belief is the traditional scattering of buns, biscuits, and sweets at the top of the hill by the Master of Ceremonies. This is said to be a fertility rite to encourage the fruits of the harvest.
Wikipedia
