The Mesa Community College Philosophy Club was founded from scratch in March of 2003 (there was not an informal club before that). Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we would meet in a classroom. However, we’ve since been meeting virtually on WebEx. We meet twice a month. In the first meeting of each semester, student officers are selected, and then students propose fourteen topics we could debate. From these, we choose six to cover over the course of the semester.
Our favorite topics include:
Capitalism v. Marxism
What is the Best Version of God? (an interesting change of pace from simply discussing whether or not God exists!)
Nihilism and Relativism
Science and Religion
Eastern Philosophy
Free will
In our meetings, after announcements, we discuss and debate the selected topic. First, a student introduces the topic. Then, if it’s a topic like “capitalism”, she gives arguments for and against the view to let the students know what some of the major arguments are in the literature. For topics like “What is a soul?” or “What happens when we die?”, the student will lay out several views and then we discuss. The club president reads off the notes, and then usually the professor facilitates the discussion while everyone participates. It’s a great way to get students excited about philosophical topics. Our phrase is “All of the fun, none of the homework,” because we want to have students and faculty feel like they’ll learn what’s going on, what the controversy is, if applicable, and feel like they can contribute to the discussion if they’d like. We have students and faculty from lots of disciplines present–not just philosophers! We have also had some joint meetings with the Math Club, and those are always fun!
We’ve not had a problem maintaining our membership until this semester. We hope to do some campus-facing events once things clear up to draw new members. We announce the club in our philosophy classes to try to encourage students to do more with philosophy. We look forward to resuming in-person meetings soon!
Dave Yount
Professor of philosophy at Mesa Community College, Dave holds a Ph.D. and a M.A. in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a B.A. in philosophy and psychology from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Courses he has recently taught include: Introduction to Philosophy, Contemporary Moral Issues, Medical and Bio-Ethics, Environmental Ethics, History of Ancient Philosophy, and Philosophy of Sexuality. Dr. Yount has been the MCC Philosophy Club Advisor since its founding in 2003. He has published Plato and Plotinus on Mysticism, Epistemology, and Ethics (2017) and Plotinus: The Platonist: A Comparative Account of Plato and Plotinus’ Metaphysics (2014).
This is incredible! Thank you for taking the time to teach us something new. I’m excited to read more of your work.