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update images to webp, update pre-commit hooks

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Nathan Anderson
2026-03-04 01:37:18 -07:00
parent cfb55e0e51
commit bd73fcd39b
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content/posts/seeing-the-blind-men-and-the-elephant.md
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---
date: 2026-02-21T19:52:06-07:00
description: "An old parable poorly applied"
image: "images/elephant-and-blind-men.png"
image: "/images/elephant-and-blind-men.webp"
image_alt: "Still of an elephant and blind men from the animated short video Discovering Truth by the LDS YouTube channel."
lastmod: 2026-02-23T01:08:53-07:00
lastmod: 2026-03-04T01:31:12-07:00
showTableOfContents: false
tags: ["philosophy", "buddhism", "truth"]
title: "Seeing the Blind Men and the Elephant"
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ In the interview, Swami Sarvapriyananda mentioned an old Buddhist parable, [_the
> And prate about an Elephant
>   Not one of them has seen!
I suprisingly recognized the parable, from a much earlier time in my life, from a very different source. I could even picture the animated elephant with the westerner's stereotypical depiction of "Indians" (eastern kind) grasping at its parts.
I surprisingly recognized the parable, from a much earlier time in my life, from a very different source. I could even picture the animated elephant with the westerner's stereotypical depiction of "Indians" (eastern kind) grasping at its parts.
## The Whole Truth
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ The church later made a short animated video, clipping up his talk in a nice por
I reflected today on the possibility that this parable of the elephant may have been misconstrued or appropriated by Uchtdorf for his, or more generally, for the church's, purposes. I wondered how exactly he had presented the parable those years ago, and if it matched its original intended purpose.
I think my gut instinct was to use this as some sort of fodder. Pointing out a mistake on the part of Uchtdorf could really reaffirm my decision to step away from the mormon faith. On further reflection and researching for this post, I think it makes more sense, and is intelectually more honest, to compare how this story has been applied. As Wikipedia states, the parable "has been used to illustrate a range of truths and fallacies".
I think my gut instinct was to use this as some sort of fodder. Pointing out a mistake on the part of Uchtdorf could really reaffirm my decision to step away from the Mormon faith. On further reflection and researching for this post, I think it makes more sense, and is intellectually more honest, to compare how this story has been applied. As Wikipedia states, the parable "has been used to illustrate a range of truths and fallacies".
And isn't that how parables, allegories, and friends all work? We mold them to our time. The cultural morays shape the parts of the elephant the blind men see. For the 500 B.C.E. crowd its a plowshare, a mortar, and a pestle, and for us modern folk, a spear, a tree, and a snake; for an elephant's tusk, leg, and tail respectively.