Algis Uždavinys


Algis Uždavinys 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. His books have been published in Lithuanian, Russian, English, French and Spanish, including translations of Plotinus, Frithjof Schuon and Ananda Coomaraswamy into Russian and Lithuanian.

Early life

Born in Vilnius then brought up in Druskininkai by the Neman in southern Lithuania, Uždavinys moved again to Vilnius to pursue studies at the former State Art Institute of Lithuania, now Vilnius Academy of Arts.

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. 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 and head of the department of humanities at the Vilnius Academy of 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.
He was a member of the Neoplatonic Studies and The Lithuanian Artists' Association, and a regular contributor to journals such as Sacred Web, Vancouver, and Sophia, 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 Virginija, and their two daughters.

Works

Books in English

  • The Golden Chain: An Anthology of Platonic and Pythagorean Philosophy . .
  • Philosophy as a Rite of Rebirth: From Ancient Egypt to Neoplatonism . .
  • The Heart of Plotinus: The Essential Enneads .
  • Philosophy and Theurgy in Late Antiquity .
  • Ascent to Heaven in Islamic and Jewish Mysticism .
  • Orpheus and the Roots of Platonism . Sufism and Ancient Wisdom .Hermes Trismegistus: The Way of Wisdom, London, The Matheson Trust, 2025.

Academic Monographs in Lithuanian

  • Labyrinth of Sources. Hermeneutical Philosophy and Mystagogy of Proclus, Vilnius: Lithuanian State Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Eurigmas, 2002,.
  • Hellenic Philosophy from Numenius to Syrianus, Vilnius: Lithuanian State Institute of Culture, Philosophy, and Arts, 2003.
  • Hermes Trismegistus: The Way of Wisdom, Vilnius: Sophia, 2005.
  • The Problem of the Interpretation of Symbols and Images in Ancient Civilisations, Vilnus, Sophia, 2006.
  • Sufism in Islamic Civilisation, Kaunas: Atvirosios visuomenės studijų asociacija, 2007.
  • The Egyptian Book of the Dead, Kaunas: Ramduva, 2008.

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

  • , Sacred Web vol. 5, 2000, pp. 107–120.
  • , Research Institute of Culture, Philosophy, and Arts, 2007.
  • , Eye of the Heart, Vol 1, 2008.
  • , Eye of the Heart, Vol 2, 2008.