Helen Pluckrose, James Lindsay, and Peter Boghossian (Coursework Sample)

Helen Pluckrose, James Lindsay, and Peter Boghossian
Authors
Helen Pluckrose, James Lindsay, and Peter Boghossian are the scholars and architects of the “Sokal Squared” hoax. Helen Pluckrose is a British writer and author specializing in cultural and gender studies. She has played a crucial role in promoting liberal ethics and criticizing social injustices in literature throughout her professional life. Boghossian is an American scholar and writer of books dealing with contemporary philosophy. His primary interests lie within pedagogy, the Socratic method, critical thinking, and scientific skepticism. Boghossian’s career as an assistant professor at Portland State University ended after ten years of service. James Lindsay is an American author specializing in cultural studies, mathematics, and physics.
Purpose
Pluckrose, Lindsay, and Boghossian wrote and submitted twenty papers under false names to reveal the absurdity of race and gender studies. According to Lazaroiu (2019), the hoaxers believed that people unfairly accused others of sexism and racism. Based on previous academic papers and journals, the authors thought that the politics of identity had spread to society, paving the way for discrimination based on race, sexualities, and gender. In the same way, they thought that radical campaigning would make the public confuse activists with whom they represent. For instance, Pluckrose claimed that people are in a polarized position and will likely take sides by believing or reacting against an issue of concern. In the context of race, one is more likely to take a stance that nothing is racist or everything is racist.
Pluckrose, Boghossian, and Lindsay wanted to determine whether or not their fraudulent articles would successively pass the peer review process and get published. They suspected that peer-reviewed journals would allow morally fashionable political views and ideas to get published. At the same time, the authors used the hoax to prove that identity studies were corrupt, implying the need for an immediate change. According to Pluckrose et al. (2021), political bias had undermined such fields by encouraging publications that served the interests of some people. Therefore, the hoaxers wanted to examine factors influencing the publication of papers regarding identity studies.
Targets
The hoax targeted peer-reviewed journals in gender, cultural, race, and queer studies. Pluckrose, Lindsay, and Boghossian had realized that some people could influence publications through corruption and biasness. First, they targeted feminist scholarship by writing papers that reflected masculinity, sexual conquest, and objectification themes. For instance, “Solidarity Feminism as an Intersectional Reply to Neoliberal and Choice Feminism” illustrated themes like male control and gender roles. In addition, they drew a chapter from “Mein Kampf” and used it to discuss gender aspects.
Next, the authors examined cultural and race studies by illustrating various customs, values, and privileges. For example, Boghossian wanted to present ‘western astronomy’ as a discriminative idea based on race. By so doing, they illustrated how politics undermined the publication of articles regarding racial matters. In addition, the hoax would expose some cultural practices that implied sexual violence (Pluckrose et al., 2021). Therefore, Pluckrose, Lindsay, and Boghossian intended to reach respective peer-reviewed journals in cultural, race, and gender studies, proving that unreliable and discriminative authors could get their journals published.
Why the Targets were Susceptible
Previous authors and scholars used specific definitions of racism and sexism to justify their unfair accusations based on one’s gender identity and race. For instance, they used “systemic” discrimination to demonstrate how their publications adhered to social justice. According to Lazaroiu (2019), the fields of study did not consider the morals required in liberal work. Instead, they corrupted such morals to trade their names to the public. Political bias played a part in undermining the reliability of scholarly articles and publications. The authors viewed the practice as a wave of immoral and unjust criticism directed at people in the name of social justice. As a result, less reliable articles and papers passed through the process and became publications. Therefore, the hoaxers saw the need to ensure political correctness and change the academic method by saving liberalism from the problems within itself.