Peter Boghossian on Critical Thinking, The Atheos App, and the Post-Modern Influence on Universities

By Malhar Mali

Peter Boghossian (@PeterBoghossian) is an Assistant Professor of philosophy at Portland State University. His primary research interests are critical thinking and moral reasoning. He’s written for publications such as Time Magazine, Scientific American, and The Philosophers’ Magazine, and has appeared on talk shows like The Rubin Report, The Joe Rogan Experience, and FOX News. He took a break from his sabbatical to speak with me.

The following is our conversation transcribed and edited for clarity.

Malhar Mali: What in your opinion is the best way of fostering critical thinking when it comes to religious and supernatural beliefs?

Peter Boghossian: I think the whole way we’ve taught critical thinking is wrong from day one. We’ve taught, “Formulate your beliefs on the basis of evidence.” But the problem with that is people already believe they’ve formulated their beliefs on evidence — that’s why they believe what they believe. Instead, what we should focus on is teaching people to seek out and identify defeaters.

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