Anti-philosophers on the campaign trail

Collage by Easton Clark

“I only know I am conscious because other people seem to be … We should mythologize historical figures … Who’s more jealous, dogs or wolves?”

These are the sort of prompts you can expect to be confronted with at The Anti-Philosopher Philosophy Forum, nicknamed “Anti-Phil.” It’s a Chapman club dedicated to philosophical debate where students are required to answer in their own words, creating a level playing field for intellectual discourse every Monday night in Argyros Forum.

The forum functions simply: it poses a philosophical question or statement (usually three per meeting) with an agree-or-disagree option, and then students move to the side of the room that resonates with them most before raising their hands to debate the prompt.

“We help you develop intellectually and personally in a way that doesn't happen in the classroom and almost can't happen in the classroom because of the hierarchy of having a professor there,” said current forum co-president and senior peace studies and political science double major Sage McCarty. “We're anti-hierarchical and it being ‘anti’-philosophy is really such a fundamental part because, as a non-philosophy student, it’s much easier to engage with.”

McCarty, one of the four current presidents, happens to be the only one not graduating this spring, leaving three open slots alongside her for campaigning students. There are four candidates currently running, each with their own perspective on the club’s virtues and needs as it undergoes a major change in leadership.

“I go to this club every single week and I leave the meetings as a different person,” said election candidate and junior film and television production major Jack Boyle. “In the meetings, you can see me switching sides mid-conversation because I'm admitting defeat to a previous belief, and I think that's really powerful. Where else do you leave wishing you had spoken?”

The club’s confluence of intellectual exercise and communal experience makes for a varied and dedicated constituency. 

“It’s the most centralized unit on campus of unique thinkers and unique people,” said candidate and sophomore political science major Anders Domke. “No one’s really toeing any party lines, everyone just has all these disparate ideas and is toying with them in their head constantly, every single Anti-Phil member.”

This shared curiosity and appetite for discussion unites the anti-philosophers on an extrasocial level, creating “a huge sense of community,” according to candidate and freshman film and television production major Henry Kaufman. “When I see people outside of Anti-Phil on campus, I feel like I'm in a secret club with them, like, ‘I know your political beliefs.’”

Kaufman also mentioned that the forum’s body politic is well involved around campus, encompassing members of Chapman Radio, The Film Society and various political groups, such as Chapman Democrats and Middle Ground, serving as the “culmination of all of those little bubbles” into a veritable mother-club where all these students convene.

Following each meeting are vibrant after-parties that serve as a social space and continuation of the night’s debate. Domke said the forum meetings and the more casual after-parties bring out two different sides of people.

“What their ideas are and what they stand for, and then just what they’re like. It’s very valuable to figure them out holistically and make those connections,” said Domke.

With the end of the school year approaching and an exaggerated reshuffling of the executive board, the future of the forum is on everyone’s mind, specifically its population density.

“We need to make ourselves more visible on the campus,” said Domke. “Last year, we were packed, we were strapped for seats. That’s no longer what the situation is, and I think more people are coming into school that could be great Anti-Phil people.” 

For the only returning president, McCarty, her priority is preserving the social character of the club so that it can continue to welcome new members every year. 

“We've done such a good job at creating really just a friend group, and I don't want to see that go away. I feel so much responsibility to continue that part of it as many people are graduating,” said McCarty.

McCarty also has plans to refine the reasoning behind the board’s prompts. 

“We need to get back to how we started, with having conversations about core philosophical ideas in a way that's accessible to people,” said McCarty. “Thankfully, we've been getting away from ‘I’ questions and getting towards ‘should’ questions, towards asking about a better idea of the world.”

Regardless of varying majors and ages, what unites these candidates and their club at large is the desire to express ideas and, more importantly, the ability to consider and process the ideas of others. 

“Before I found this club, I was really losing hope that there was a place on campus where I could speak about the things that mean the world to me, mean my life to me,” said Boyle. “The forum allows me to look at who I am in 20 years or who I was 10 years ago: who I can be.”