A Conversation with Peter Boghossian
A Conversation with Peter Boghossian
Educator, author, defender of free speech, and American philosopher visits Taiwan and sits down with us for a discussion on Taiwan identity politics
Who is Dr. Peter Boghossian?
Peter Boghossian is a passionate and incisive voice in the realm of critical thinking and skepticism. As an educator, author, and philosopher, his work shines as a beacon of intellectual rigor and inquiry.
Boghossian's work extends to the broader domains of critical thinking and education. He emphasizes the importance of questioning received wisdom, challenging dogma, and fostering a mindset of skepticism and inquiry. He travels around the world, giving talks and doing Spectrum Street Epistemology sessions, spreading, as he says, the blueprint to push back against illiberalism.
"The blueprint has a two-fold aim: first, restore free speech and open inquiry as non-partisan values; and second, reveal the implications of far-left ideological takeover."
His work
He has authored or co-authored several influential books that delve into themes of skepticism, critical thinking, and atheism.
In "A Manual for Creating Atheists" (2013) Boghossian presents the concept of Street Epistemology, a method for engaging with believers in constructive conversations about faith and belief. He outlines techniques for challenging the epistemological foundations of religious belief, aiming to encourage critical thinking and rational inquiry. Sitting on my shelf is a copy of "How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide" (2019) , co-authored with James Lindsay. In this practical guide, Boghossian and Lindsay provide strategies for navigating difficult conversations, particularly on contentious topics such as politics, religion, and social issues. They offer techniques for fostering mutual understanding, maintaining civility, and finding common ground, even in the face of deeply held disagreements.
Boghossian was an assistant professor of philosophy at Portland State University. His resignation letter from PSU in 2021 was a significant moment that underscored the challenges facing academic freedom and free expression within higher education institutions.
In his letter, Boghossian outlined a series of grievances, primarily centered around what he perceived as a lack of institutional support for open inquiry and intellectual diversity. He criticized what he described as an "illiberal orthodoxy" that stifled dissenting viewpoints and punished those who dared to challenge prevailing ideologies.
One of the key incidents that led to Boghossian's resignation was his involvement in a series of hoax academic papers, co-authored with Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay, which were designed to expose what they saw as flaws in certain academic fields, particularly within the realm of gender studies. While the intention behind these papers was to provoke critical discussion about the standards of academic rigor and the influence of ideology within academia, the response from Portland State University and other institutions involved was met with criticism and condemnation, but the trio's point was very clear. “Making absurd and horrible ideas sufficiently politically fashionable can get them validated at the highest level of academic grievance studies."
Boghossian's decision to resign was a symbolic gesture, highlighting his frustration with the university's failure to uphold principles of free expression and academic freedom. He argued, correctly, that the stifling of dissenting voices and the enforcement of ideological conformity were antithetical to the core values of higher education. This idea in particular is one the things that I most strongly agree with in Boghossian's work, and what garnered so much respect from me for his work.
The resignation letter sparked a broader conversation about the state of academic freedom and ideological diversity within universities, particularly in relation to controversial topics such as gender, race, and identity politics. It raised questions about the limits (should there be limits?) of academic inquiry, the role of ideology in shaping scholarly discourse, and the responsibilities of universities to foster an environment conducive to open debate and intellectual diversity.
While Boghossian's resignation may have been a personal decision, one strongly encouraged by the constant harassment he received on campus from students clearly ill-equipped to deal with the real world, it served as a poignant reminder of the ongoing tensions within academia and the importance of defending principles of free expression and intellectual inquiry. It also brought much needed attention to the need for institutions to reevaluate their approaches to handling controversial ideas and promoting a culture of robust debate and critical engagement.
Giving us an international platform
I have been a huge fan of Peter Boghossian and his work for years, I've read his books and I enjoy his Street Epistemology sessions on his YouTube channel. As an educator I try to use the Socratic method in my classes and with my students, and I find Peter's methods very useful. As a PhD candidate in philosophy and someone who fights against ideologues in Taiwan, I was floored when I found out that he was here. Taiwan?? None of the great critical thinkers and philosophers I admire ever visit Taiwan! Thankfully when I reached out to his team via his website, explaining the work we do in Taiwan, and I received a quick response. Yes, he and his are team were on the island to interview people, do Spectrum Street Epistemology, appear on shows, deliver lectures at universities, and conduct public events.
After attending one of his talks in Taipei, and getting to meet Peter face to face, I was able to explain the important work that we do in Taiwan. I am a guest speaker and panelist for the Women’s Human Rights Campaign, and the Taiwan country representative for WDI – Women’s Declaration International. I help run two organizations in Taiwan fighting gender ideology and protecting the sex-based rights of women and girls.Noselfidtw.cc is the first website in East Asia to be written entirely in English (and the only such website in Taiwan) and dedicated to pushing back against gender ideology, protecting women’s sex based rights, and tracking changes in the law regarding self-ID. This movement against gender ideology was sparked in part by Feminist Current.
My original article remains the only one written in English by someone living in Taiwan addressing what is going on within the country and demonstrating opposition to self-ID legislation.
After a year of organizing, myself and a group of dedicated activists have founded Taiwan’s first gender critical, female-centric organization — Taiwan Women’s Association (TWA/Chinese 臺灣女性協會) — which has been officially recognized by the government. Many in Taiwan were disappointed in the lack of action by feminist organizations here, and such organizations have conformed to “gender mainstreaming” and openly support the inclusion of males in female spaces. TWA is the only gender critical, non-partisan, nonprofit that engages in legal arguments and policy advocacy to protect, advance, and defend women’s rights.
After years of watching Peter interview some of the "greats", including Richard Dawkins, Helen Joyce, Kathleen Stock, and more, I was asked to be interviewed by Boghossian and his team on our work in Taiwan. With a YouTube channel with nearly 200k subscribers and a global following, this was huge! The world would get to hear about our work in Taiwan!
And I have to be honest, I am not much of a public speaker. Especially when confronted with someone I have been a fan of for years. I was so nervous! Luckily my friend and brilliant colleague, Neo Yang, agreed to be interviewed with me. Neo is a passionate activist in both the field of LGB and women's rights, and the head of our new organization TWA.
How did the interview go? Being interviewed by Peter Boghossian feels like being at the ultimate intellectual concert! It's a thrilling rush, like meeting your favorite celebrity, except instead of swooning over a pop star, you're geeking out over profound ideas and engaging debates. It's a thrilling experience knowing that you're sharing your thoughts with someone respected for their insightful questions and understanding adds an extra layer of satisfaction to the experience. Peter is a humorous man, cracking jokes, and his interview style is causal. For such a brilliant man with a large following he is incredibly down to earth, receptive, and welcoming. He helped ease our stage fright immensely.
During our interview we discussed the encroachment of gender ideology in Taiwan, providing a timeline and a broad strokes guide as to when this started and how it is progressing. We were able to discuss our work pushing back against this harmful ideology through our various platforms and organizations, the threats we receive through the work that we do as activists, and our continuing push forward as we seek to promote, ensure, and defend the rights of women and girls using legal argument, policy advocacy, and public education. We are seeing a modern version of Taiwan’s authoritarian past, where trans activists and their supporters are vilifying, ostracizing, and blackballing dissenters, and suppressing any information that contradicts their goals.
But thanks to this interview we will have an international platform to showcase our work and get our message out. That we socially progressive members of the community want to challenge our local media to stop ignoring the need for open debate and unbiased coverage of self-ID laws and gender ideology (which has been thoroughly one-sided to date).
Like many organizations around the world have done, we will be fighting back in Taiwan. Thank you to Peter Boghossian for his support and giving us such an amazing tool to get our message heard by the masses.
