No two freethinkers are exactly alike; a group of freethinkers contains a great diversity of perspectives, so there is no one, official perspective shared among all of them. This makes the freethought community a truly vibrant source of ideas and opinions!
In this light, Meet a Freethinker is our series featuring freethinkers of all backgrounds and perspectives. We want to introduce you guys to the people who make up the proverbial melting pot of this growing movement.
Our next freethinker is Ian Carandang. Ian is the genius behind Sebastian’s Artisanal Ice Cream. He is arguably the foremost artisan ice cream maker in the Philippines, who also just happens to be an advocate for LGBT equality and a freethinker.
You can find his fan page here: https://www.facebook.com/Sebastians.Ice.Cream
1) How would you define a freethinker?
A critical thinker who does not let himself be defined by dogma.
2) What belief system do you subscribe to?
I consider myself spiritual. I believe there is much we do not know about the Universe. I believe that science and spirituality are not mutually exclusive. And it’s nice to imagine that we are all connected. Einstein himself said “Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.”
3) What was the funniest or most interesting reaction you got from a person after you told him or her that you were a freethinker?
I don’t really go around doing that, brandishing some sort of Freethinker ‘card’. I just consider myself a Critical thinker and act from there.
4) Aside from reason & science, are there other advocacies you promote?
LGBT Rights. Being gay myself, it’s a very important and personal issue to me, obviously, and I try to do what I can in my own small ways. For example for this year’s Pride March, Sebastian’s will have a booth there, and I will be selling Pride Pops, Paletas in the colors of the Rainbow Pride and Bear Pride flags.
I chose Paletas (Artisanal Mexican Ice Pops) because I made a rainbow flag Ice Cream before — successfully, I might add — but the problem with that format was that it looked great only in the tub, but as soon as you scooped it, all those colors were lost and you just got a messy multicolored sphere. With Paletas, you can keep the Rainbow flags as visible all the way up until you finish them, and you can celebrate your Pride in a refreshing way.
Both Pride Pops will be available at the Manila Pride March Bazaar in Remedios Circle this weekend on December 6.
