What happens when ideology replaces critical thinking across academia? Philosopher, author, and former professor Peter Boghossian witnessed this firsthand at Portland State University, and his school was not an anomaly. Known for his role in the “Grievance Studies Affair”, exposing the low quality scholarship published in activist-oriented journals, Peter is worried about how this strange fringe of academia has come to dominate universities. He’s now working to revitalize and advocate for what should be the core of education - critical thinking, open debate, and the rigorous pursuit of truth.
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Peter on Substack: https://boghossian.substack.com/
Peter on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@drpeterboghossian/featured
Outline:
[0:00] Philosopher, author, and father
[2:06] How tenure corrupts academic journals
[13:50] Grievance studies and hoax papers
[21:18] Reasoning vs rationalizing
[29:56] Can ideology infect the hard sciences?
[36:50] What makes people vulnerable to dogma?
[46:33] Critical thinking isn’t allowed at school
[50:56] Debate is a corrective mechanism
[58:39] Why is debate under attack?
[1:10:41] How can we protect our civilization?
[1:18:50] Did the “New Atheists” create wokeism?
[1:28:54] Truth, faith, and morality
[1:42:32] What does a flourishing society look like?
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Peter Boghossian on Critical Thinking, Failing Universities, and Why Debate Matters