Our club avoided the COVID-19 crisis by commencing after in-person classes had been restored in Spring 2023 when Dr. Jim Hutchinson (our mentor and the very embodiment of a living mind) first proposed to conduct discussions where every student was welcome to participate. Several initial meetings took place in which different topics were discussed in a friendly and engaging manner. These meetings were gathering, on average, 10 to 20 students. On one occasion, it was suggested to bring these meetings to a higher qualitative level of existence by establishing them as a club.

Two volunteers raised their hands, Azamat Salamat and Adiya Yessengali. And thus, the official story of our Philosophy Club Vox began. If you wonder about the reason for choosing this name, the answer is: “It sounded cool and in Latin.”

It is worth mentioning that there is no Philosophy major at Nazarbayev University, and so far, only a minor in Philosophy and Religions is available. Therefore, our club unites people with sometimes surprising backgrounds, from petroleum and chemical engineering to world language and literature. This ipso facto creates a unique atmosphere of openness and multidimensionality, where everyone feels similarly entitled to share their ideas, and people are connected by the common love of philosophy and a strive to find the truth.

To learn more about our club, read the article from the American Philosophical Association, written by our member Lyubov Vassilets