Department of Philosophy hosts Peter Boghossian to discuss politics, Christianity – The Crimson White

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The University’s Department of Philosophy, in collaboration with the University’s Heterodox Academy chapter, hosted Peter Boghossian, a former assistant professor of philosophy at Portland State University, for a public talk on “the utility and function of religion in today’s political landscape.”
Heterodox Academy is a national organization with 82 campus chapters throughout the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. The UA chapter aims “to promote and advocate for academic virtues which are essential to fulfilling the University’s Capstone creed.” 
Boghossian, a self-proclaimed atheist, discussed his views on religion, the Socratic method and political issues. The event consisted of an introduction from Department of Philosophy chair Richard Richards, the lecture from Boghossian and a Q&A.
Richards said the event was partly intended to “support the Socratic model of freedom” and that Boghossian has embodied and represented Socratic values.
Boghossian spoke of his interest in the alliance between “woke Christians and woke atheists and non-woke Christians and non-woke atheists.” He discussed the substitution hypothesis, asking “as Christianity wanes, does something else come in to fill its place?”
“The underlying substrate is that if people don’t believe in Christianity, a benign form of Christianity, they’re going to believe in worse things,” he said. “It’s not me saying this. This is just what the idea behind the substitution hypothesis is. They’ll go to Islam, they’ll go to wokism.” 
Lexi Tavakoli, a Ph.D. candidate studying developmental psychology, said she thought Boghossian’s usage of “woke” was a way to “incite some controversy.”
“‘Woke’ doesn’t really mean anything. It is kind of a buzzword,” she said. “I wanted to make sure I was understanding what he was saying.”
Boghossian said he no longer trusted the mainstream media.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that experts are not experts,” he said.
Maxwell McDonald, a junior majoring in philosophy and history, said he attended the event because he thought the topic was interesting and that there is a “lack of philosophy in the current political climate.”
“A lack of critical thinking skills is apparent in the way that a lot of you know, popular politicians are able to twist their words and get people to follow along with what they’re saying,” he said.
On Nov. 10, Boghossian and a panel of speakers spoke at a TPUSA event at UC Berkeley, headlined by Frank Turek, Charlie Kirk mentor who visited the University on Nov. 13, which resulted in five arrests due to “altercations with police and protests” and four arrests prior to the event for anti-TPUSA vandalism. The Department of Justice announced Nov. 11 that it would investigate the protests at the UC Berkeley event.
“I want to have the opportunity to question and grill people about their beliefs, because I don’t think they’re trouble,” he said. “They don’t want you to listen to what other people have to say, and that’s a fundamental difference between the people outside rioting and the people inside.”
 

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