A Modest Agenda Proposal

Homosexuality and Eating Disorders, part 2
Click here for part 1
Nathan Richardson
For the first part of this satirical conversation, read “A Modest Lifestyle Proposal.” In it, two people converse about anorexia and bulimia, and what factors might lead to people getting involved in eating disorders. The first speaker (regular typeface) uses arguments in favor of eating [...]

A Modest Lifestyle Proposal

Homosexuality and Eating Disorders, part 1
Nathan Richardson
In 1729, Jonathan Swift wrote a satirical piece called “A Modest Proposal,” in which he facetiously suggests that people start eating children in order to solve hunger problems. Swift did not hate children or actually think eating them was a good idea. Being satire, the purpose of his paper [...]

California Marriage Amendment

This post will remain at the forefront of our site until 5 Nov. 2008. However, we will continue to post new articles in the meantime, so don’t forget to scroll down and see what’s new!
On 4 Nov. 2008, California citizens will vote on whether to add a new amendment to the state constitution. Only fourteen [...]

Spiritual Algebra

Nathan Richardson
When I was a kid, we had an Apple IIe with a fun little game called Function Machine (here is a similar example).

Put in …

Out comes …

2
4

5
7

6
8

Pattern

MyNumber + 2

You pick a number to put in the machine, it chugs a little, and out comes a different number. For example, [...]

Astronauts without Planets

Nathan Richardson
In a previous post (Restored Doctrines and Free Will), I explained that the Lord apparently revealed the doctrine that intelligence has always existed in order to help us understand how it is possible that we have agency. Because a part of us was not created by him, we can truly make choices, rather than [...]

A Gift that Was Never Given?

Nathan Richardson
In a previous post, “Restored Doctrines and Free Will,” I explained that Heavenly Father revealed the doctrine of “intelligences” in order to help us understand how created beings can have free will and thus personal accountability. Through the lens of creation ex nihilo, humans seem like mere puppets that act out the will of [...]

Legos Make Better Societies

Nathan Richardson
In a previous post, I discussed that some people define the fundamental unit of society as the individual, while others define it as the state. The proclamation on the family, however, declares that we should consider “the family as the fundamental unit of society.”1
That raises the question, though, of how such a view [...]

A Family of One

Nathan Richardson
In a previous post, The Building Block of Societies, I asked the question, “What is the basic unit of society?” I then reviewed three possible answers, two from worldly philosophies, and one from modern prophets. Individualism would answer, “The individual,” but that view tends to encourage selfishness and a decline in people recognizing and [...]

The Building Block of Societies

Nathan Richardson
I have a thought to share related to government and legal philosophy. First, though, there is a caveat. I’m not a political science major, and I know there are a lot of complexities that I haven’t fully learned about. There may be some oversimplifications in this post, but bear with me as I try [...]

Restored Doctrines and Free Will

Nathan Richardson
There is a classic problem in religious philosophy that I want to introduce and briefly address: the problem of free will. A lot of people who are a lot wiser than I have talked about this over the centuries, and they deal with the intricacies in much more detail than I will. (For more [...]

Intelligences: Why Bother Revealing this Doctrine?

Nathan Richardson
One of the most intriguing and enigmatic doctrines of the Restoration is the doctrine of intelligence. Sometimes the scriptures use “intelligence” in the everyday sense: information or “smarts.” But sometimes the Lord uses the term to refer to an eternal “material” or “substance” that we don’t know much about. It’s used in that sense [...]

Two Sticks with Big Implications

Two Paradigms 7: Summary
Nathan Richardson
I began the first post of this series, “There Are No One-ended Sticks,” with a quote by Gerald Lund.

Whether he recognizes it or not, every person holds to a metaphysical position, trusts in at least one system of epistemology, and holds a personal axiology or set of values and ethics. [...]

Selfish “Charity”

Two Paradigms 6: Intent and Purpose
Nathan Richardson
In a series of previous posts beginning with “There Are No One-ended Sticks,” I described two broad currents in psychology that compete for our loyalty and adherence. Beginning with certain assumptions about the nature of self, they lead to different conclusions regarding how we can understand reality, what freedom [...]

“Antifreeze Only Hurts People Who Don’t Like the Flavor”

Two Paradigms 5: Morality
Nathan Richardson
In a previous post, “What Makes Me a ‘Me’?” I described two conflicting assumptions about the nature of self in psychology. The first paradigm, Self-interest, assumes that selfhood consists of separation from other selves; we are entirely separate and distinct individuals, not inextricably connected or related to each other in any [...]

Kites without Strings

Two Paradigms 4: Agency and Freedom
Nathan Richardson
In a previous post, “What Makes Me a ‘Me’?” I described two conflicting assumptions about the nature of self in psychology. The first paradigm, Self-interest, assumes that selfhood requires separation from other selves; we are entirely separate and distinct individuals, not inextricably connected or related to each other in [...]

“I Can’t See You When I’m Touching You”

Two Paradigms 3: Ways of Knowing
Nathan Richardson
In a previous post, “What Makes Me a ‘Me’?” I described two conflicting assumptions about the nature of self in psychology. The first paradigm, Self-interest, assumes that we are entirely separate and distinct individuals, not inextricably connected or related to each other in any inherent way. The second paradigm, [...]

What Makes Me a “Me”?

Two Paradigms 2: The Nature of Self
Nathan Richardson
In a previous post, “There Are No One-ended Sticks,” I quoted Gerald N. Lund saying, “Our metaphysics (our view of reality) influences our epistemology (the way we gain knowledge), and together the two determine our axiology (our values).”1 Researcher Renée Beckwith expands on this idea when she discusses [...]

There Are No One-ended Sticks

Two Paradigms 1: Introduction
Nathan Richardson
Expect Implications
Gerald N. Lund makes an important point about how the various areas of philosophy affect each other:

Whether he recognizes it or not, every person holds to a metaphysical position, trusts in at least one system of epistemology, and holds a personal axiology or set of values and ethics. Furthermore, these [...]

More “Self-evident” Premises of Science

Nathan Richardson
In a previous post, “‘Self-evident’ Premises of Science,” I cited six premises listed in the opening essay of the BYU physical science textbook. The authors explain, “All reasoning must rest upon assumptions, and the scientific method … assumes basic philosophical ideals as a foundation. … There are some assumptions that are so logical and [...]

“Self-evident” Premises of Science

Nathan Richardson
In the opening essay of the BYU physical science textbook, the authors included a section on some of the basic premises upon which the reasoning portion of the scientific method rests. They explain, “All reasoning must rest upon assumptions, and the scientific method … assumes basic philosophical ideals as a foundation. … There are [...]