Writings by Plato blocked by Texas A&M U

[Cattledog]

https://www.kxan.com/news/texas-politics/texas-am-flags-parts-of-plato-readings-as-violations-of-new-anti-gender-theory-policy/

‘I can’t even talk about Plato’

One flagged syllabus has drawn national attention — the removal of two lectures in the introductory “Contemporary Moral Issues” class on “Race and Gender Ideology” with the assigned reading being selections of Symposium by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato.

[malaise]

1. Don't know whether to laugh or cry

Rec

[NJCher]

2. If you don't understand

How to operate in a democracy, you sure as hell aren’t going to appreciate Plato.

[Skittles]

3. "....clamp down on transgender indoctrination"

JFC these fascist fucks are so fucking DELUDED

[Igel]

4. That's not the conclusion I draw.

“1. You may mitigate your course content to remove the modules on race ideology and gender ideology, and the Plato readings that may include these. 2. You may be reassigned to teach PHIL 482 501-514. Lecture times for the course are T/Th 8:00 – 9:15,” the email said, giving Peterson a day to respond.

In a statement, Texas A&M pushed back on the Plato-censoring narrative, saying “Texas A&M University will teach numerous dialogues by Plato in a variety of courses this semester and will continue to do so in the future. In alignment with recent System policy, university administrators are reviewing all core curriculum courses to ensure they do not teach race or gender ideology.”

I don't think they banned Plato or any portions of what he's said to have said, per se. But they banned a course and said, basically, "Look, yank the modules on race ideology and gender ideology, and if the Plato readings include those topics, yank those, too, and then it'll be okay. If you don't pull all those portions--which may include Plato--then you can't teach the course, period." Yes, my paraphrase, but that's how I understand the administratese. Maybe the Plato would have survived--and maybe that's all that would have survived. Dunno--don't know the syllabus and even if I did I doubt I'd be familiar with the readings. Or maybe Plato really does clearly address race and gender in a straightforward reading.

Still,, I don't see a claim that the Plato selections must be removed in a reading that doesn't assume the claim made about it is true. It depends on what they include (and, to be honest, I've read some Plato, but haven't needed to read that much and given all I needed to read, the optional was often pushed way to the side).

In other words, the professor, IMO, hasn't made a solid case but presented an incomplete case and then makes an argumentum ad populum.

[Paladin]

6. That's nice. Fuck A&M. (nt)

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. Better explained here - Plato told a story that said homosexuality is as natural as heterosexuality

Of course, this isn’t directly about Plato, whatever he got up to at his retreat. The supposedly dangerous passages are from the Symposium, on Aristophanes’ myth of split humans and Diotima’s ladder of love (whence comes the term “Platonic” love). Here’s a fun BBC video explaining the former, with its heretical pagan idea that, whatever our sexual orientation, we’re all looking for our missing half to “complete” us. If you’re reading this blog post in Texas, please turn on your VPN so you can’t be tracked.

https://www.wonkette.com/p/texas-plato-massacre

[Baitball Blogger]

5. We should start posting words from the Bible that talk of kindness, brotherhood and goodwill.

They would probably ban Christ's teachings without realizing it.