Philosophy senior Aidan Mollhagen believes the theory that there is only one lasagna in the world. 

As vice president of the student organization Armchair Philosophy, Mollhagen attempted to defend his theory as an introductory exercise for the organization’s third official meeting. Armchair Philosophy president Michael Soloman created the group as a community of  passionate and curious students interested in casual discussion of philosophy.

“I just had this fascination with the brain,” Soloman, a neuroscience sophomore, said. “When you’re investigating the brain in neuroscience, you’re left wanting a different approach. Some questions can’t be answered through scientific approaches, so I got interested in the philosophy of religion and ethics.”

Armchair Philosophy fosters casual weekly philosophical discussions in an attempt to make the subject more inclusive and accessible. The weekly meetings begin with a 15 to 20 minute symposium in which one member attempts to defend a ludicrous claim against the playful rebukes of other members. The organization dedicates the rest of the meeting to informal discussion of a core philosophical text or school of thought.

“We really wanted it to be fun,” Mollhagen said. “We are doing philosophy, we’re arguing and messing with concepts, but it’s also not about anything. It’s very casual. Nobody has to know about all those old German guys.”

Armchair Philosophy members must follow three rules in their discussion: no jargon, be nice and stay analytic. 

“A bunch of philosophy majors in one room — it’s all the same (perspective),” Mollhagen said. “Last semester, Michael and I would hang out after class, just to talk a little bit and throw out these crazy examples. It was so much fun. There are things that are just accepted in philosophy, but people who don’t know that come in and try to argue it. It’s fantastic. We should reexamine (these ideas).”

With members’ majors ranging from economics to literature, the organization encourages diverse perspectives for discussion, treasurer Thritha Anand said.

“No matter what you study, you can always find some way to apply philosophy,” philosophy and biology junior Anand said.

Currently, the group steadily hosts about a dozen members, all coming from different study backgrounds and interests. Anand said philosophy creates a chance to break away from traditional academic concepts and challenges her to come up with new perspectives.

“I came into UT pretty STEM focused, but I took one philosophy class and realized that I was really interested in critical thinking,” Anand said. “Going beyond what you’re getting to read but developing your own opinions on what you’re reading, philosophy really wants you to do that.”

Solomon said Armchair Philosophy offers a unique opportunity for students to think outside of the box and have interesting conversations while doing so. 

“People want to be exposed to concepts and ideas that they haven’t necessarily thought about before,” Solomon said. “The fundamental challenge of the club is making it accessible to everybody, regardless of whatever exposure to philosophy they’ve had. (Armchair Philosophy is) a community that provides a space for dialogue and investigates all these questions people have been wanting to investigate themselves, but never had the space to do it.”