Before we begin, I’m not going to tell you where I stand in my personal beliefs; I’ll save that for the end. This will allow you to read my thoughts with an open mind and, I hope, attempt to think about them in an academic and objective way.
Psychology and Situational Influence
That said, for the past few years, I’ve been grappling with specific issues of organized religion. During this time, I’ve spent many hours on the phone with my father until 3 a.m., discussing various topics with Molly over coffee and through one electronic means or another, and far more time sitting in a reading chair in my apartment in Princeton as I attempted to rationalize, or at least compartmentalize, different belief systems and religious hierarchies. Often, I was forced (and still am) to utilize the three-boxed system Munger made so famous in accounting for his success: “Yes”, “No”, and “Too Hard – Come Back Later”. (more…)
