§Biography
Blake T. Ostler
Trial lawyer by profession, philosopher of religion by vocation — and, by his own account, a fly fisherman of qualitatively lesser devotion.
Blake T. Ostler has published widely on Mormon philosophy in professional academic journals such as Religious Studies (Oxford, England), the International Journal for the Philosophy of Religion (Netherlands), and Element: The Journal of the Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology, as well as in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Sunstone, BYU Studies, and the FARMS Review of Books.
He is the author of the multi-volume series Exploring Mormon Thought, published by Kofford Books, and has taught philosophy at Brigham Young University as an adjunct instructor.
In 1981, Mr. Ostler graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy (summa cum laude) and a Bachelor of Science in Psychobiology (magna cum laude). He then graduated in 1985 as a William Leary Scholar from the University of Utah with a Juris Doctorate (cum laude).
He is a partner in the Salt Lake City law firm of Thompson Ostler & Olsen, where his practice concentrates on civil litigation, education law, special education, employment law, construction law, intellectual property litigation, and real property law.
Mr. Ostler is fluent in Italian and French, conversant in Swedish and Spanish, and conducts scholarly research in German, Egyptian, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. He loves spending his time with his wife and five children and—to a qualitatively lesser extent—fly fishing, playing racquetball, four wheeling, and watching BYU football.
- Education
- BA Philosophy, summa cum laude, and BS Psychobiology, magna cum laude, Brigham Young University, 1981. JD, cum laude, University of Utah, 1985, as a William Leary Scholar.
- Law practice
- Partner, Thompson Ostler & Olsen, Salt Lake City.
- Teaching
- Adjunct instructor in philosophy, Brigham Young University.
- Languages
- Fluent in Italian and French; conversant in Swedish and Spanish; research in German, Egyptian, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
- Podcast
- 31 episodes of Exploring Mormon Thought, on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify, and 27 interviews and talks on other shows.
§The writing
Where to start
- 01 Theology 85 works Systematic theology in the analytic tradition: the attributes of God, grace and agency, atonement, and a sustained critique of classical theism.
- 02 Apologetics 32 works Replies to critics of the Book of Mormon and of Latter-day Saint belief, including the DNA arguments and the responses to The New Mormon Challenge.
- 03 Ancient studies 25 works Scripture read with the tools of form criticism, pseudepigrapha studies, and ancient Near Eastern scholarship.
- 04 Mormon history 11 works Nineteenth-century history and historiography, from Masonry to the expansion theory of the Book of Mormon.
- 05 Mormon culture 26 works Essays, podcasts, and interviews on Latter-day Saint life, testimony, and belief in public.