On Apr. 12, Assistant Physics Professor, Timothy Plett, welcomed Dr. Goldblatt and Philosophy Professor Dr. Bryan Russell to discuss his book “I think therefore I am”. Dr. Goldblatt also wrote other books like “Might as Well be Dead” and more on his website, markgoldblatt.com. “Our culture faces a challenging moment. At the heart of it lies a question regarding epistemology; that is the study of how we as humans know and understand things.” Dr. Plett explained, as he put into his own words the root of this discussion.

He acknowledged that he wasn’t approaching the discussion as a philosopher, but as a layman. “Humans define the world around them by their own internal beliefs.” He said.

Plett explained that similarities were typically formed by culture and not just one grand principle. This instance is called subjectivism.

They shared their thoughts on student engagement online. Professor Plett said “I’ve had a student fall asleep on me in a zoom class.” Dr Goldblatt had similar experiences. They expressed the desire to have students involved in the conversation and said that they welcomed any feedback.

“Touching on sensitive subjects has become taboo,” Dr. Goldblatt said as he spoke in his “I feel therefore I am” book. He stated that his main goal in writing it was to uncover “how we know and understand things.” Goldblatt said.

“I’ve done more publicly in this book than any others, this was through an independent publisher. Because of an interview with John McLawyer, I had it taken down because debate was said that it constituted hate speech, subject spoke upon transgenderism. Entire topic was disappointing if you can’t have a civil discussion,” Dr. Goldblatt also stated, “I don’t think transgenderism has anything to do with science, it has nothing to do with gender identity.”

“If a person says inclusion won’t be an acceptable compromise if you’re implying that a transgender man is a woman when including them in the claim women and trans men give birth, trans men identify as men.” Professor Russell said, stating he could relate to claims of forming an identity based on your environment. Timothy Plett used a quote from C.S. Lewis, “Reason is the natural organ of understanding, but imagination is the organ of meaning.”