Minorities and Philosophy (MAP) is a reading group that meets once every three weeks to discuss a preselected reading on academic philosophy. 

The student organization, MAP, is guided like a Socratic seminar full of coffee, discussion and theory.

“MAP examines and addresses issues of minority participation in philosophy which includes addressing issues within the profession, theoretical issues regarding philosophy of gender, race, sexual orientation, class, disability, native languages and other issues,” said president of MAP Sam Scott.

The chapter is open to undergraduate and graduate students in any major. Students with diverse backgrounds and vast philosophical views are welcome to join.

“This is an environment where both sort of meld, you get their personal experiences, and how it ties into their professional experiences,” Scott said.

Paul Feyerabend’s “Against Method” is an example of one of the preselected readings covered.

Feyerabend, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper are among some of the philosophers involved in the discussion on Anarchist Epistemology, a theory proposed by Feyerabend in which there are no rules regarding the progress of science.

“It’s a really good chance to sort of reflect on not only just how we talk about readings in the classroom, and the way that classrooms function and operate, but also our own biases and things that we don’t consciously think of often,” Scott said.

Scott has been the president of MAP for the last four semesters. She said she enjoys the meetings because she learns more about who her peers are through their interests and opinions on philosophy.

Scott encourages students to visit the group’s website to find upcoming readings as well as the Microsoft Teams link to join the meetings.

The next meeting for MAP is scheduled for Feb. 23 and will cover Rosario Castellanos’s “On Feminine Culture.”

Kayleigh Schafer is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].