https://peterboghossian.com

https://linktr.ee/peterboghossian

Philosopher

Dr. Peter Boghossian's main focus is bringing the tools of professional philosophers to people in a wide variety of contexts. Peter has a teaching pedigree spanning more than 25 years and 30 thousand students - in prisons, hospitals, public and private schools, seminaries, universities, Fortune 100 companies, and small businesses. His fundamental objective is to teach people how to think through what often seem to be intractable problems.

Peter's primary research areas are critical thinking and moral reasoning. His doctoral research studies, funded by the State of Oregon and supported by the Oregon Department of Corrections, consisted of using the Socratic method to help prison inmates to increase their critical thinking and moral reasoning abilities and to increase their desistance to criminal behavior.

Author

Peter's publications can be found in The New York Times, Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Areo, The American Mind, The Clearing House, Corrections Today, CounterPunch, Education Policy Analysis, Educational Philosophy and Theory, Essays in Philosophy, Federal Probation Journal, Free Inquiry, Informal Logic, Inside Higher Ed, Journal of Correctional Education, Journal of Philosophy of Education, The Los Angeles Times, Motherboard, Quillette, New Discourses, National Review, New Statesman, Offender Programs Report, The Philosophers’ Magazine, Philosophy's Future, The Radical Academy, Radical Pedagogy, Scientific American, Skeptic, Skeptical Inquirer, The Spectator, Teaching Philosophy, Truthout, and USA Today.

Professional

Peter is currently a Founding Faculty Fellow at the University of Austin and the Director of National Progress Alliance. He was a Councilman for the State of Oregon (LSTA), the Chairperson of the Prison Advisory Committee for Columbia River Correctional Institution, wrote national philosophy curricula for the University of Phoenix, a research fellow for the National Center for Teaching and Learning, a full-time faculty member in the department of philosophy at Portland State University, an Affiliate Research Assistant Professor at Oregon Health Sciences University in the Department of General Internal Medicine, an advisor for Counterweight, a Senior Fellow at Hungary’s Mathias Corvinus Collegium, a national speaker for the Center for Inquiry and an international speaker for the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science.

Music - Bach Mass in B Minor conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

https://open.spotify.com/album/3HdmIB3Wzcd7bFDdsgaIbp?si=dRMNyRieTLCTHMJfSBZ7mA

Michael Johnston

https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/about-us/our-people/dr-michael-johnston/

Jonathan Ayling

https://www.fsu.nz/meet_the_team

The role of Universities in supporting freedom of speech

The discussion on the role of universities in supporting freedom of speech held at Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington in May 2024. Watch the full event here.

https://youtu.be/T3rZQ7PxuUI?si=Afw28b_dBJU77UTr

https://www.fsu.nz

Jonathan Ayling is Chief Executive of theFree Speech Union. Jonathan has worked in Wellington, the New Zealand capital, for 8 years across roles as a Beehive staffer, senior political advisor, and in the NGO sector. In addition to leading the work at the Free Speech Union, he and his wife own a vineyard in the Wairarapa.

https://www.jonathanrauch.com

Jonathan Rauch was brought to New Zealand by the Free Speech Union for a speaking tour in May 2025. See here for more information about the Free Speech Union - https://www.fsu.nz

Jonathan Rauch is a highly acclaimed American journalist and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington. He has written eight books, including the renowned Kindly Inquisitors, which defends free speech and robust criticism, even when it's racist, sexist and highly offensive. Jonathan writes for many of the world's leading publications, including the New York Times, The Atlantic and The Wall Street Journal, with articles on public policy, culture, and government. He has received many awards for his writing, including the National Magazine Award, the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize.

Jonathan Rauch's books

The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth - https://a.co/d/0Gi0pYI

Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought - https://a.co/d/2uZ25eM

All of his books

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jonathan-Rauch/author/B001HOP3SC?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Helen Joyce is a journalist and was a staff writer for The Economist between 2005 and 2022. Helen held various leading positions at The Economist, including education editor, Brazil correspondent, International editor, Finance editor and Britain editor.

Helen's first book, "Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality," was published by OneWorld in July 2021. It was reissued in 2023 under the new title "Trans: Gender Identity and the New Battle for Women's Rights."

"Trans" was an immediate bestseller and was named by the Times, Spectator and Observer as one of their books of 2021.

Helen now campaigns for women's rights and works with the start-up human-rights organisation Sex Matters, which campaigns for clarity about the two sexes, male and female, in law and in life.

https://www.thehelenjoyce.com/

https://www.thehelenjoyce.com/trans-news-and-reviews/

https://www.amazon.com.au/TRANS-When-Ideology-Meets-Reality/dp/0861540492

https://sex-matters.org/

Music - Bach Mass in B Minor conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

https://open.spotify.com/album/3HdmIB3Wzcd7bFDdsgaIbp?si=dRMNyRieTLCTHMJfSBZ7mA

Richard Dawkins - https://richarddawkins.com/

In February 2023, Richard Dawkins asked me to host his New Zealand speaking tour. Today's podcast is the Auckland event, in which Richard discusses the scientific method, his recent book Flights of Fancy, and the debate surrounding the inclusion of non-scientific Māori mythological concepts in the New Zealand school science curriculum.

Richard needs no introduction, but if anyone has been hiding under a rock for the last 50 years, here's a brief description of his contribution to the world.

Richard Dawkins is a world-famous Oxford University evolutionary biologist. He has led an illustrious career as an influential scientist, author, public intellectual and, importantly, an ardent advocate for science. It's no exaggeration to say Richard is one of the greatest minds of our time, and through his many books and public engagement, has positively changed millions of lives.

Richard is a prolific and highly influential author and one of the greatest writers of his generation. He has written 20 books, including The Selfish Gene, The Extended Phenotype, and the magic of reality.

Throughout his career, Richard has been a strong critic of religion and views the existence of God as a falsifiable hypothesis. In The Blind Watchmaker, he debunks creationist claims that life is far too complicated not to have had an omniscient designer.

About Nick Matzke - https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/n-matzke

Background

In July 2021, seven University of Auckland professors published a letter to the editor in the New Zealand Listener, titled In Defence of Science.

The professors' were responding to a Government education report (see link below), recommending parity for Mātauranga Māori in the secondary school curriculum, and in particular, in the science classroom.

The report states:

”Our goal is to ensure parity for mātauranga Māori with the other bodies of knowledge credentialed by NCEA (particularly Western/Pākehā epistemologies)."

The report also states:

"Philosophy and History of Science is a unique strand in Pūtaiao [Māori word for Science], with no equivalent in the New Zealand Curriculum. It promotes discussion and analysis of the ways in which science has been used to support the dominance of Eurocentric views (among which, its use as a rationale for colonisation of Māori and the suppression of Māori knowledge); and the notion that science is a Western European invention and itself evidence of European dominance over Māori and other indigenous peoples. Pūtaiao allows opportunities to incorporate Māori perspectives and knowledge about the natural world into the classroom. In this regard, it decentres Western epistemologies and methodologies."

The professors' letter arose from their concern for "the disturbing misunderstandings of science emerging at all levels of education and in science funding", which they state is encourages a mistrust of science. Their concern is in the context of the decline in maths and science achievements in New Zealand schools, particularly by Māori and Pacific Island students.

Their letter stated that:

"Indigenous knowledge is critical for the preservation and perpetuation of culture and local practices, and plays key roles in management and policy. However, in the discovery of empirical, universal truths, it falls far short of what we can define as science itself. To accept it as the equivalent of science is to patronise and fail indigenous populations; better to ensure that everyone participates in the world's scientific enterprises. Indigenous knowledge may indeed help advance scientific knowledge in some ways, but it is not science".

The reaction to the "In Defence of Science" by the University of Auckland, the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi, the Tertiary Education Union, and the New Zealand Association of Scientists was not positive and can be viewed in the following articles…

NZ Herald - Scientists rubbish Auckland University professors' letter claiming Māori knowledge is not science

https://tinyurl.com/2p8v2h9s

RNZ - University academics' claim mātauranga Māori 'not science' sparks controversy

https://tinyurl.com/2ybvk3ja

Research Professional News - Public letter from academics sparks Māori science row

https://tinyurl.com/3juc66yc

An open letter in response to the professors' letter by professors Hendy and Wiles, "An open response to In defence of science" was co-signed by 2000 people.

https://tinyurl.com/2p8m65xn

Links…

NCEA Education - What is Science about?

https://ncea.education.govt.nz/science/science?view=learning

The Government education report

https://tinyurl.com/3yfry76h

https://medium.com/@shapeofdialogue ..... for.....

“In Defence of Science” - Letter to the editor published in the New Zealand Listener, July 2021

“More In Defence of Science” - Supplementary Note to In Defence of Science letter to the editor published in the New Zealand Listener, July 2021

Briefing document - professors Corballis, Nola and Cooper and the Royal Society of New Zealand.

Music: Kyrie from Bach B Minor Mass conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner

Buy it here: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232-cum-sancto-spiritu/1053521016

Save Our Schools Report

https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/reports-and-media/reports/save-our-schools-solutions-for-new-zealands-education-crisis/document/797

Dr Michael Johnston is a Senior Fellow at the New Zealand Initiative. He leads the workstream on education.

Prior to his time at the Initiative, Dr Johnston held academic positions at Victoria University of Wellington from 2011-2022. From 2020 until 2022 he was the Associate Dean (Academic) in the University’s Faculty of Education.

Prior to his time at Victoria, Dr Johnston was the Senior Statistician at the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, a position he held for 6 years. Before that, he was a lecturer in psychology at the University Melbourne and a Research Fellow at Latrobe University.

Dr Johnston holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Melbourne.

https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/about-us/our-people/dr-michael-johnston/

Jewher Ilham

https://www.allstaticandnoise.com/

Twitter https://twitter.com/jewherilham

Jewher Ilham: A Uyghur's Fight to Free Her Father (Broken Silence)

https://www.amazon.com/Jewher-Ilham-Uyghurs-Father-Silence/dp/1608011054

Ilham Tohti : http://www.ilhamtohti.com/

Uyghur Forced Labor Checker

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/uyghur-forced-labor-check/ejodaepockllkcloibcchpjnfoopincp

Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act

https://www.cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor/UFLPA

China: UN experts deeply concerned by alleged detention, forced labour of Uyghurs

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/03/china-un-experts-deeply-concerned-alleged-detention-forced-labour-uyghurs

China: 83 major brands implicated in report on forced labour 

https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/china-83-major-brands-implicated-in-report-on-forced-labour-of-ethnic-minorities-from-xinjiang-assigned-to-factories-across-provinces-includes-company-responses/

Director David Novack talks about All Static & Noise, his documentary on the Uyghur genocide in western China.

www.allstaticandnoise.com

www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088787521406

https://www.instagram.com/allstaticandnoise/

https://twitter.com/allstatic_noise

https://www.odessafilms.com/our-films.html

https://www.odessafilms.com/david-novack.html

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/03/china-un-experts-deeply-concerned-alleged-detention-forced-labour-uyghurs

https://www.cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor/UFLPA

https://www.workersrights.org/

https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/china-83-major-brands-implicated-in-report-on-forced-labour-of-ethnic-minorities-from-xinjiang-assigned-to-factories-across-provinces-includes-company-responses/