Philosophy Club Makes its Debut

On Monday, April 13 the Philosophy Club was officially recognized as a club by Bismarck State College, making it the 20th student club on campus. The first official meeting took place three weeks prior in the library commons area on March 25.  Philosophy Club President Isaac Sayler explained that the club centers around open discussion of philosophical and ethical beliefs. 

“It was Lex’s (Professor Alexius Belile’s) idea to start the club. She came to us and asked if we were interested,” Sayler said. 

The Philosophy Club is just one meaningful step towards building the philosophy program at BSC, and as the club continues to grow, the meetings will become more organized.

“There has been a process of elimination to find out what works best to make everything smooth sailing, especially for us officers trying to find out what works for meetings and how we can be more discerning with our time,” Sayler said. 

The club has encountered plenty of the common problems that most new clubs go through, like finding a meeting place and time every week that works best for all the members, and figuring out good discussion topics and activities.  Right now their biggest concern is preparing for the Club Fair on campus this fall. 

“The goal for the Club Fair is to get more members so when next semester comes around we’ll have enough active members to really hit the ground running,” Philosophy Club Vice President Alex Moch said. 

So far, the small meetings have mostly been discussion based, with topics ranging from Jean Paul Sartre's 1944 play “No Exit” to suicide, religion, and free will. The club welcomes all students to visit, even those with no prior knowledge of philosophy (although it is highly encouraged). It is a completely judgement free community. But the best way to describe the purpose of the Philosophy Club is to give an excerpt from the preamble of their own Constitution. 

“We, the students at Bismarck State College, establish the Philosophy Club to build a community centered on reasoned inquiry, ethical reflection and the free exchange of ideas. We seek serious engagement with philosophical texts, meaningful service and civic participation, and the cultivation of careful thinking that serves members in all areas of life.”