Texas A&M philosophy professor Martin Peterson is kicking up quite a storm over alleged censorship.
Peterson “was instructed by the philosophy department to remove readings in his ‘Contemporary Moral Issues’ course related to race and gender – including readings by the Greek philosopher Plato – or be reassigned,” reported KBTX on Wednesday. The outlet spoke to Peterson, who said, “I speak for myself, not the university, when I say in my opinion, Texas A&M is not on the right track. Censorship is not a viable path to academic excellence.” (RELATED: Texas University Professors Now Have To Get Permission Before Covering Race Or Gender)
I’d say it depends. No one has enough time to read everything. Censorship by omission is necessary and good, because some things are more important than others. Plato being one of them.
But Peterson was reportedly presenting Plato’s works in the context of modules on “race ideology and gender ideology,” as an email allegedly sent to Peterson by university officials reads. The Texas A&M Board of Regents voted in November 2025 to require professors to seek the approval of the university president before teaching courses on “race or gender ideology or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity.”
Martin Peterson’s creative response to being banned from teaching Plato (shared with his permission). pic.twitter.com/lXT5gUcHse
— Jonathan Birch (@birchlse) January 8, 2026
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) rallied behind Peterson, framing the situation at hand in somewhat disingenuous terms: “Texas A&M now believes Plato doesn’t belong in an introductory philosophy course.”
“The philosophy department is demanding that professor Martin Peterson remove Platonic readings because they ‘may’ touch on race or gender ideology. He’s been given until the end of the day to comply or be reassigned. This is what happens when the board of regents gives university bureaucrats veto power over academic content. The board didn’t just invite censorship, they unleashed it with immediate and predictable consequences,” FIRE wrote on X.
“You don’t protect students by banning 2,400-year-old philosophy.”
Well, fine, but Texas A&M doesn’t appear to have a “no Plato” ban in place. The Texas A&M course search returns six courses which include Plato in their descriptions. None of them appear to be taught by Peterson. Peterson’s syllabus lists PHIL 111 as his course number of “Contemporary Moral Issues,” which did not appear in my search. PHIL 111’s course description does not include mention of Plato at the time of writing. (RELATED: Professor Fired For Punishing Student Who Objected To Gender Ideology In Children’s Lit Class)
Clearly, some professors are capable of teaching Plato without framing his philosophy in terms of race and gender ideology. If Peterson can’t do this, maybe he should find a new line of work.
Follow Natalie Sandoval on X: @NatSandovalDC