Making our history one step at a time
Goodreads Summary Lowell Bennion, Sterling McMurrin, and Obert Tanner were colleagues whose lives often intertwined. All professors at the University of Utah, these three scholars addressed issues and events of their time; each influenced the thought and culture of Mormonism, helping to institute a period of intellectual life and social activism. In Conscience and Community... Continue Reading →
The Pity of It All by Amos Elon is my most recent delve into German history through the eyes of German Jews. I have encountered many of the characters in the dramatis personae before: Moses Mendelssohn figured prominently as one of the great rationalists in The Age of Reason: From Kant to Fichte. Hannah Arendt,... Continue Reading →
It's been a few days since the end of conference, giving me enough time to piece together a few of my thoughts. I haven't had time to completely read through all the talks yet, so I may do a few follow-up posts with some more in-depth thoughts on specific talks or themes. But wow! What... Continue Reading →
Rating 5/5 Goodreads Summary The generation now coming of age has been taught three Great Untruths: their feelings are always right; they should avoid pain and discomfort; and they should look for faults in others and not themselves. These three Great Untruths are part of a larger philosophy that sees young people as fragile creatures... Continue Reading →
I have wanted to delve a little deeper into philosophy for a while now, but it always is so intimidating. I have a copy of Kant's Kritik der reinen Vernunft (Critique of Pure Reason) in the original German sitting on my bookshelf that I pull out every time I feel in the mood for an... Continue Reading →
I added American Universities and the Birth of Modern Mormonism after listening to an interview with the author, Thomas Simpson, at the Maxwell Institute Podcast. It got me excited, because I had recently read another book with "Modern Mormonism" in the name, David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism by Greg Prince. Simpson's... Continue Reading →
Rating: 4/5 Goodreads Summary Here the great Catholic historian Hilaire Belloc analyzes 5 of the greatest heresies of all time: Arianism, Mohammedanism (Islam), Albigensianism, Protestantism, and "the Modern Attack," showing that the world would be vastly different today if Arianism or Albigensianism had survived--and how it is different because Protestantism survived. He predicts the re-emergence... Continue Reading →
This is my next attempt at engaging in the world of German literature. I have read several novels in German, including Franz Kafka's famed Der Prozess (The Trial), and lesser known ones such as Michael Kohlhaas both of which I read for classes towards my German minor. I have continued to seek out additional books... Continue Reading →
Do ethics have a place of discussion in our universities and workplaces? I brought this question up during a panel session on careers in science at the annual NanoDDS conference this year. We had panelists across a variety of disciplines, including a venture capitalist, a professor, and a patent lawyer. I posed the question, first... Continue Reading →
