Esoteric Quest News April 2010

QUEST FACULTY MEMBER — DAVID FIDELER

David Fideler, PhD, is a writer, educator, and scholar of Hellenistic philosophies and religions. He was editor of the journal Alexandria: Cosmology, Philosophy, Myth, and Culture. His other works include Jesus Christ, Sun of God: Ancient Cosmology and Early Christian Symbolism; Love’s Alchemy: Poems from the Sufi Tradition; and Nature’s Intelligence: A Little History of the World Soul and the Living Universe (forthcoming).For a number of years you were responsible for the creation and publication of the journal and book ALEXANDRIA. What was it that drew you to Alexandria as a compelling and deeply engaging subject?

The exciting thing about ancient Alexandria is that it was the meeting point for so many cultures, ideas, and streams of thought. It was the center of the first global civilization in the entire history of the world, where everything was available on tap. And as you know, it was a center for many esoteric schools of thought: Neoplatonism, Gnosticism, the mystical and gnostic writers of Corpus Hermeticum, and more. It was also a center for scholarship and scientific research, and the Library of Alexandria was the first attempt to collect all written human knowledge together in one place — a copy of every book that had ever been written.

Each volume of the journal ALEXANDRIA was 400–500 pages in length. It was devoted to exploring the philosophical, spiritual, and cosmological traditions of the Western world, and what the humanities can contribute to contemporary life. So naming it after the great city where all these different threads of human knowledge came together, and created new syntheses, was very appropriate. And for anyone who has studied ancient spiritual traditions, the city of Alexandria possesses a magnetic pull of attraction on the imagination. So using the name ALEXANDRIA was a very natural choice.

You plan to speak at our next Esoteric Quest on Alexandria as Cosmopolis, or the center of global community, and the meeting place between East and West. Can you give us a preview of what you plan to discuss?

Yes. The Greek philosophers had spoken of the cosmopolis, the “world-city” in which all individuals are related to one another, regardless of country, race, or religion. But with the coming of the Hellenistic age, the idea of global civilization became a reality; Alexander the Great created the first global civilization, and Alexandria was its center—the meeting point between East and West, philosophies and religions, and very different cultures.

Once again, only in the last century, we now find ourselves in a new kind global community—one that is incredibly interconnected, and, you might say, on steroids, because of the accelerated flow of information, travel and migration, and trade between every part of the planet. But what makes for a genuine world community, and how is the ancient idea relevant for our own times? We want to explore that. Also, is there a deeper unity that can foster harmony between different religions in a global community, especially when some people write about “the clash of civilizations”?

If you look at the ideas that came out of Alexandria, they point toward a universal spiritual reality, which can act as a common, shared language, and a source of understanding between religions. It’s a vision of the spiritual rooted in the deep, timeless structure of being or reality itself, rather than historical developments or cultural differences.

How was the tradition of the Greek philosophical schools carried forward in the Museum and Library in Alexandria?

Fourteen years ago I was commissioned to write a history of Platonic Academies for a private educational institute. So I conducted in-depth research on the formation and structure of Plato’s Academy, Aristotle’s school, the Museum and Library at Alexandria, and Marsilio Ficino’s Platonic Academy in Renaissance Florence. No one had ever done this before, and I discovered all sorts of historical information that no one had really paid any attention to.

The Greek schools are tightly connected because Aristotle was a student of Plato at the Academy, before setting up his own school. And Aristotle was the teacher of Alexander the Great, who created the Hellenistic world and founded the city of Alexandria.

The most amazing fact is that the Museum and Library at Alexandria were actually set up by a member of Aristotle’s school, Demetrius of Phalerum, to continue a specific kind of research program that Aristotle had established in Athens. So there is a very direct line, linking Athens with Alexandria. I’m going to talk about how the Greek schools were set up, how they functioned, and the role they ended up playing in Alexandria.

Alexandria, with its Museum and Library, is a very important node in the evolution of the Greek tradition and the history of education. But the full story has never been told.

Two of the great spiritual figures of Alexandrian spiritual history are Philo and Clement. What can you tell us about them and their contribution to Alexandrian Judaism and Christianity?

Philo of Alexandria (20 BCE–50 CE) was a Hellenized Jew who wrote these marvelous essays that interpret the Jewish scriptures from a cosmic, allegorical perspective, based on Platonism, Stoicism, and Pythagorean number symbolism. So this gives you an idea of what was really going on in Alexandria behind the scenes—what was being studied, discussed, and then written about. Philo’s main focal point through his many writings was the Logos, the intelligent, cosmic pattern or blueprint behind creation: both the universe as a whole, and the human consciousness.

Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–215 CE), took exactly the same approach, but he was a Christian, a “father” of the early church. For Clement, Christianity was about gnosis, and he used the term gnostic to refer to Christians who had obtained a deeper understanding of the Logos. One of my favorite quotations from Clement is about how, when the Logos becomes activated in the soul, a kind of enlightenment results. He said, when “the healthful Logos or Reason, who is the Sun of the soul . . . has risen in the depth of the mind, the soul’s eye is illuminated.”

This thinking about the Logos is central to all Alexandrian spiritual thought. You find it in Alexandrian Christianity, Philo, the Hermetic writings, and even very ancient Egyptian thought. I’ll be exploring it in a workshop, “Alexandria: City of the Logos,” which will look at all the many meanings, the symbolism, and the ancient sources.

The Neoplatonist Plotinus lived in Alexandria until the age of thirty. Can you tell us more about the emergence of Neoplatonism in Alexandria and its influence on the classical world?

Plotinus and Neoplatonism are big topics! So if you are interested, come to the conference, and we’ll discuss them there, in Alexandria. That will be the perfect setting.

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Today, interest in Western Esotericism is booming. Fifteen years ago, when the Open Center initiated its series of conferences on the Western Esoteric Tradition, there were very few gatherings that sought to bring alive the beauty and depth of this profound worldview. This weekend aims to be both a conference and a celebration of the resurgence of this great path. We will reflect on the significance of the Western Tradition within the contemporary cultural landscape, complete last year’s exploration of Inner America, and look forward to next year’s Esoteric Quest for Ancient Alexandria. Please join a rich complement of speakers as we build esoteric community, meditate on America’s early spiritual communities and writers, and deepen our knowledge of ancient philosophy, geometry and art. For more information please go HERE.BECOME A FACEBOOK FAN!

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UPCOMING EVENT AT THE NY OPEN CENTER

Symbolist Egypt: Nativigating the Afterlife & the Doctrine of Immortality

John Anthony West
Friday, April 30, 7–10pmTo register for the above event, please call the New York Open Center at 212-219-2527, ext. 2, or see www.opencenter.org.

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The Esoteric Quest is presented by The New York Open Center (http://www.opencenter.org), a non-profit holistic learning center offering evening events, full-day workshops, ongoing classes, advanced trainings, and graduate degree opportunities.

The Esoteric Quest is presented by The New York Open Center http://www.opencenter.org, is a non-profit holistic learning center offering evening events, full-day workshops, ongoing classes, advanced trainings, and graduate degree opportunities.