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Algis Uždavinys

{{Short description|Lithuanian philosopher}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}

{{Infobox academic

| name = Algis Uždavinys

| image = Algis Uždavinys-by Tamoliunas.jpg

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1962|04|26|df=y}}

| birth_place = Vilnius, Lithuania

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2010|07|25|1962|04|26|df=y}}

| death_place = Kabeliai, Lithuania

| occupation = Philosopher, scholar

| main_interests = Metaphysics, Western esotericism, Eastern esotericism, symbolism, mythology, Sufism, Greek philosophy, Neoplatonism, religious texts, comparative religion

| notable_ideas = Critique of modern classical scholarship; essential unity of Egyptian, Greek and Islamic mysticisms

}}

Algis Uždavinys (1962–2010) was a Lithuanian philosopher and scholar. His work pioneered the hermeneutical comparative study of Egyptian and Greek religions, especially their esoteric relations to Semitic religions, and in particular the inner aspect of Islam (Sufism). His books have been published in Lithuanian, Russian, English and French, including translations of Plotinus, Frithjof Schuon and Ananda Coomaraswamy into Russian and Lithuanian.

Early life

Born in Vilnius and brought up in Druskininkai, by the Nemunas River in southern Lithuania, Uždavinys moved again to Vilnius to pursue studies at the former State Art Institute of Lithuania, now Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts.Kazimieras Seibutis, "In memoriam Algis Uždavinys", Acta Orientalia Vilnensia 9.2: 185–187.

Career

Upon graduation he came in contact with the writings and authors of the Traditionalist or Perennialist school, and this influenced his comparative exegesis, notably his studies on Sufism, the Ancient Egyptian religion, and his assertion of the substantial continuity of Greek philosophical tradition from Pythagoras down to the latest Neoplatonic authors.See his [http://www.worldwisdom.com/uploads/pdfs/80.pdf Introduction] to The Golden Chain. In this last claim he was expressly indebted to Pierre Hadot.

Uždavinys was an active member of the editorial board of the journal Acta Orientalia Vilnensia{{cite web |url=http://www.oc.vu.lt/en/aov.html |title=Acta Orientalia Vilnensia |accessdate=12 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111115220130/http://www.oc.vu.lt/en/aov.html |archivedate=15 November 2011 }} and head of the department of humanities at the Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts, Kaunas Faculty; as an art critic, philosopher and intellectual he was a prominent figure in Lithuanian cultural life. In 2008 he spent time as a research fellow at La Trobe University in Bendigo, Australia.See Harry Oldmeadow "In Memoriam: Algis Uždavinys (1962-2010) and his Antipodean Sojourn," Sacred Web 27, 2011.

He was a member of the International Society for Neoplatonic Studieshttp://www.isns.us/. See also the obituary by J. Finamore International Journal of the Platonic Tradition, vol. 5, no. 1, 2011, pp. 4–5(2). and The Lithuanian Artists' Association, and a regular contributor to journals such as Sacred Web,{{cite web |url=http://www.sacredweb.com/ |title=Home |website=sacredweb.com}}{{failed verification|date=January 2024}} Vancouver, and Sophia,{{Cite web |url=http://www.sophiajournal.com/ |title=reviews op binaire handel |website=sophiajournal.com |access-date=12 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170502094806/http://www.sophiajournal.com/ |archive-date=2 May 2017 |url-status=dead }}{{failed verification|date=January 2024}} Washington, D.C.

Death

Uždavinys died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack on 25 July 2010 in his native village of Kabeliai.

Personal life

He is survived by his wife VirginijaIn memoriam Algis Uždavinys, Kazimieras Seibutis, 2010, https://www.journals.vu.lt/acta-orientalia-vilnensia/article/view/3699/5181, p. 188 (or Virginia),Philosophy as a Rite of Rebirth: From Ancient Egypt to Neoplatonism, (The Matheson Trust and Prometheus Trust, 2008), {{ISBN|978-1-898910-35-0}}, p. x and their two daughters.

Works

=Books=

  • The Golden Chain: An Anthology of Platonic and Pythagorean Philosophy (World Wisdom, 2004) {{ISBN|978-0-941532-61-7}}. [http://www.worldwisdom.com/uploads/pdfs/80.pdf Introduction].
  • Philosophy as a Rite of Rebirth: From Ancient Egypt to Neoplatonism (The Matheson Trust and Prometheus Trust, 2008) {{ISBN|978-1-898910-35-0}}. [http://themathesontrust.org/publications-files/MTexcerpt-PhilosophyRebirth.pdf A free sizeable excerpt].
  • The Heart of Plotinus: The Essential Enneads (World Wisdom, 2009) {{ISBN|978-1-935493-03-7}}.
  • Philosophy and Theurgy in Late Antiquity (Sophia Perennis, 2010) {{ISBN|978-1-59731-086-4}}.
  • Ascent to Heaven in Islamic and Jewish Mysticism (The Matheson Trust, 2011) {{ISBN|978-1-908092-02-1}}. [http://themathesontrust.org/publications-files/mtexcerpt-ascent.pdf excerpt]
  • Orpheus and the Roots of Platonism (The Matheson Trust, 2011) {{ISBN|978-1-908092-07-6}}. [http://themathesontrust.org/publications-files/mtexcerpt-orpheus.pdf excerpt]
  • Sufism and Ancient Wisdom (Archetype and The Matheson Trust, 2020) {{ISBN|978-1-901383-37-9}}.

==Academic monographs in Lithuanian==

  • Labyrinth of Sources. Hermeneutical Philosophy and Mystagogy of Proclus, Vilnius: Lithuanian State Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Eurigmas, 2002, {{ISBN|9986-523-88-5}}.
  • Hellenic Philosophy from Numenius to Syrianus, Vilnius: Lithuanian State Institute of Culture, Philosophy, and Arts, 2003, {{ISBN|9986-638-40-2}}.
  • Hermes Trismegistus: The Way of Wisdom, Vilnius: Sophia, 2005, {{ISBN|9986-9351-3X}}.
  • The Problem of the Interpretation of Symbols and Images in Ancient Civilisations (Simbolių ir atvaizdų interpretacijos problema senovės civilizacijose), Vilnus, Sophia, 2006, {{ISBN|9986-9351-5-6}}.
  • Sufism in Islamic Civilisation (Sufizmas islamo civilizacijoje), Kaunas: Atvirosios visuomenės studijų asociacija, 2007, {{ISBN|9789-9559-91106}}.
  • The Egyptian Book of the Dead, Kaunas: Ramduva, 2008, {{ISBN|978-9955-524-06-9}}.

=Chapters=

  • "From Homer to the Glorious Qur’an: Hermeneutical Strategies in the Hellenistic and Islamic Traditions," Sacred Web, vol. 11, 2003.
  • "The Egyptian Book of the Dead and Neoplatonic Philosophy," History of Platonism, Plato Redivivus, eds. Robert Berchman and John Finamore. New Orleans: University Press of the South, 2005.
  • "Chaldean Divination and the Ascent to Heaven," in Seeing with Different Eyes: Essays in Astrology and Divination, eds. Patrick Curry and Angela Voss, Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2007.

=Articles=

  • [http://themathesontrust.org/papers/metaphysics/sw5_uzdavinys.pdf "Putting on the Form of the Gods: Sacramental Theurgy in Neoplatonism"], Sacred Web vol. 5, 2000, pp. 107–120.
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20100905055152/http://www.litlogos.lt/eidos/research/uzdavinys1.html#_ftnref1 "Sufism in the Light of Orientalism"], Research Institute of Culture, Philosophy, and Arts, 2007.
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20220121085511/https://www.latrobe.edu.au/humanities/huss-documents/Eye-of-the-Heart-Issue1-2008.pdf "Voices of Fire: Understanding Theurgy"], Eye of the Heart, Vol 1, 2008.
  • [https://www.latrobe.edu.au/humanities/huss-documents/Eye-of-the-Heart-issue2-2008.pdf "Metaphysical symbols and their function in theurgy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916103305/https://www.latrobe.edu.au/humanities/huss-documents/Eye-of-the-Heart-issue2-2008.pdf |date=16 September 2020 }}, Eye of the Heart, Vol 2, 2008.

See also

References

{{reflist|35em}}

External links

  • Kazimieras Seibutis, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120402103920/http://www.leidykla.vu.lt/fileadmin/Acta_Orienatalia_Vilnensia/9_2/185-188.pdf "In memoriam Algis Uždavinys"], Acta Orientalia Vilnensia 9.2: 185–187.
  • [http://www.worldwisdom.com/public/authors/Algis-Uzdavinys.aspx World Wisdom author bio]
  • [http://www.latrobe.edu.au/eyeoftheheart/contributors.html#Uždavinys La Trobe University staff information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111080323/http://www.latrobe.edu.au/eyeoftheheart/contributors.html#Uždavinys |date=11 January 2013 }}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uzdavinys, Algis}}

Category:1962 births

Category:2010 deaths

Category:Classical philologists

Category:Comparative religion

Category:Academic staff of the Vilnius Academy of Arts

Category:20th-century Lithuanian philosophers

Category:Traditionalist School

Category:Lithuanian scholars of ancient Greek philosophy

Category:21st-century Lithuanian philosophers

Category:People from Druskininkai

Category:Vilnius Academy of Arts alumni