A Texas A&M philosophy professor used an obscure writing by Plato to claim the philosopher supported modern gender ideology then cried “censorship” when the university cut it from his course, according to newly obtained documents.
Professor Martin Peterson recently incited national controversy when he claimed that Texas A&M had “censored Plato” when it removed a unit on gender ideology from his class on Contemporary Moral Issues.
According to communications obtained through an open records request, Peterson told a reporter from a left-wing media outlet that he added the reading in question for the Spring 2026 semester.
“I was looking for older texts making similar points” to modern gender ideology, Peterson states. “So I picked Plato.”
While the reading in question, “Plato’s symposium on Aristophanes’ myth of split humans,” explores themes of androgyny, Peterson’s extrapolation of Plato’s argument to cover modern gender ideology is heavily disputed.
Scott Yenor, a scholar who studies higher education, previously characterized Peterson’s interpretation of Plato as “ridiculous.” Yenor clarifies that the myth in question discusses forms of love, not modern gender ideology.
Historian James Bernsen echoed Yenor explaining that the reading in question is “a very obscure argument – which actually is not Plato’s, he just discusses it as a thought experiment.”
Peterson’s “censorship” narrative was subsequently echoed by a series of left-wing organizations.
TAMU System Regent Sam Torn stated at the February board meeting that over 150 courses at Texas A&M continue to teach Plato.
Texas A&M University is a component of the Texas A&M system. The Texas A&M system is overseen by a Board of Regents that is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Texas Senate. Robert Albritton of Fort Worth is the current board chairman.
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