You did well by mentioning Baruch Spinoza, emblematic of the culture of Independent Scholars who worked in non-academic contexts or who supported themselves outside institutional contexts, as Spinoza did by grinding lenses while creating his masterwork of philosophical probing, as Desiderius Erasmus did in laying foundations of European humanism, declaring 'I spend what money I have on books, the rest can go to other necessities', as Rene Descartes did in contributing to centralizing the epistemic turn in Western philosophy, working as a soldier at the time, as Ludwig Wittgenstein also did while laying foundations for what would become Analytical Philosophy, as Ibn Arabi lived in creating his everlasting works of poetry, theology and philosophy, as Albert Einstein did during the period covering the miraculous year of 1905, when working at the now iconic patent office in Berne, Switzerland, having been unable to secure an academic position, he published, in his 20s, the three papers that revolutionized physics, as Dante Alighieri did in exile from his native Florence, having revealed to him by God one day in a dream the significance of the precise place in the scheme of the universe of the great project he was working on and which would be published after his transition, the epic poem, the Commedia, a creation at the frontiers of human possibility,understanding leading Dante to praise the bitterness of his life, but upon waking he forgot he dream, a dim echo leaving him with the feeling that "he had received and lost an infinite thing, something that he would not be able to recuperate or even glimpse", the mind of God being too complex for understanding by a human mind, as narrated by Jorge Louis Borges in the fictional but insightful 'Inferno 1, 32'.
a chair to take a serious look into the various schools of African - Nigeria-based spirituality within the context of comparative religion, comparative mysticisms, revelatory poetry, [unifying] "the visual and verbal arts, philosophy, spirituality and science" - and if I may so add [intersecting with] the [ aesthetics of ] big booty and sex ( smile), along with with generous funding, an enabling and supportive environment in which to continue to conduct your research [providing] contacts, opportunity, [research] material, travel - lots of travel expenses, started by some generous grants from all kinds of donor agencies - more donor agencies than you can imagine
Dear Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju,
May all your dreams come true!
"May you always do for others
And let others do for you"
In the past, I have charged you with Islamophobia and will still do so if and when you give me no alternative but to do so. This, in spite of understanding your frustration with the fundamentalist Brethren and Sistren of Boko Haram and that certain ancestral jihadist strain in some of the Fulani Brethren including the herdsmen, often in the spirit of self-defence, if not of dawah and expansion.
In Islam, after all, every level of Jihad is a fard , the militaristic aspect, as and when the situation may dictate. I mean Islamic fundamentalism in the sense of the fundamentalist wanting to restore everything to some earlier, supposedly pristine, golden age. In the case of Christian fundamentalism , I think that they are looking forward to the resurrection of John the Baptist, whose head is buried in Damascus.
There's also Hindu fundamentalism and certain strains of fundamentalism in the so-called Judaism and Zionism. I am not aware of fun-da-mentalism in Buddhism, because Buddha was not a fundamentalist!
N. B: The concept waḥdat al-wujud is rejected by the five legal schools of Islam, that is, by both the Shia and the Sunni. It conflicts with legal Islam's uncompromising understanding of monotheism designated as TAWHID.
Waḥdat al-wujud is nothing short of Pantheism.
Re – your words: "i would love to combine depth and breadth of research and writing in African, Western, Asian and Islamic thought at the intersection of the visual and verbal arts, philosophy, spirituality and science."
So modest you are too! These are not meant to be mere words of encouragement and support. In my humble opinion what you would love to do is what you have been doing for quite some time now even if you may in some wistful humility regard what you have been doing so far as merely tentative explorations and short excursions into inner and outer space situated as you may think that you are in the embryonic stages of what should one day be a more final and complete last say on some of these matters - when we know fully well that only The Omniscient has and is capable of having the first and the final say on anything ( and we know that as far as knowledge of certain specific fields go, especially the little blips and time frames of the awesome past, it is in the nature of some of the species known as "homo sapiens" such as Alagba Falola to be quite close to His Omniscient Majesty in some respects, at least in some little matters of history and that's why he occupies the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities. There is also your other contemporary idol of course in the person of Nimi Wariboko, very much alive and who occupies the Katherine B. Stuart Professor of Christian Ethics.
However, the Chair that we have in mind for you is something much more adventurous than the latter even though I'm feeling a little peeved that you want to limit yourself to "African, Western, Asian and Islamic thought" - the mere mention of which leaves me howling about your great omission: What about Judaic thought after all, the Almighty's Hebrew Prophets are the mother and father and foundation of Christianity and al-Islam!
Once again, in my humble opinion, we will have to give your chair a fitting name, but your chair is yours and you are already sitting on it, as many people here and elsewhere can already testify.
But what I (and I'm sure many others) have in mind is the institutionalization of your chair. I suppose that it already exists in one form of the other, is located in university departments of comparative religion, comparative mysticisms, and as you say, at places and spaces where revelatory poetry, your comparative analogues that don't have to correspond exactly ( like Jesus' parables), analects of Confucius, music, "the visual and verbal arts, philosophy, spirituality and science" - and if I may so add - and the beauty of big booty and sex intersect ( smile).
For you, I suppose that there are outstanding bread and butter issues, practical matters such as money, an enabling and supportive environment in which to continue to conduct your research ( not necessarily an Ivory Tower somewhere in Denver Colorado or North Carolina) contacts, opportunity, material, travel - lots of travel expenses.
Spinoza didn't have all of the above
If I were the humble provost of some University in Cuba or Nigeria I would set you up and name the Chair the Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju Chair of Ifa and Allied Studies & Investigations - at the Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju Research Institute – which could be started easily enough the formalization of which is a fait accompli overnight – by some generous grants from all kinds of donor agencies - more donor agencies than you can imagine - seek and ye shall find – ask and ye shall be given ( even by Bloomberg) especially when your ain is that of "Exploring Every Corner of the Cosmos in Search of Knowledge"
--On Tue, 18 Feb 2020 at 05:19, Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju <toyin.adepoju@gmail.com> wrote:great thanks, Cornelius, thanks for the link to a Google search for waḥdat al-wujud , Unity of Being as understood in Islamic thought, particularly as developed by the great Ibn Arabi.i would love to combine depth and breadth of research and writing in African, Western, Asian and Islamic thought at the intersection of the visual and verbal arts, philosophy, spirituality and science.great thankstoyin--On Tue, 18 Feb 2020 at 05:13, Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju <toyin.adepoju@gmail.com> wrote:Great thanks, Cornelius.Deeply honoured.toyinOn Mon, 17 Feb 2020 at 03:45, Cornelius Hamelberg <hamelbergcornelius4@gmail.com> wrote:Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju,Thank you for constantly reminding us about the waḥdat al-wujud and the marriage/ confluence of metaphysics and physics
In my humble opinion, if one doesn't already exist, a special chair should be created for you to take a serious look into the various schools of African - Nigeria-based spirituality, Ibadan, Ife, not just a research position...
--On Sun, 16 Feb 2020 at 20:47, Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju <toyin.adepoju@gmail.com> wrote:great thanks, Cornelius.--On Sun, 16 Feb 2020 at 17:06, Cornelius Hamelberg <hamelbergcornelius4@gmail.com> wrote:Dear Oluwatoy-in,
I hope you'll be there in time .
With regard to our place in the universe/multiverse, I guess that these kinds of theoretically scientific peeps into transcendence and the vast vastness of God in and out of space and time being anchored in the understanding of the little ego brain known as "i" is a fitting rejoinder to any disagreeableness or disagree-able anti-thesis from e.g. Alagba Agbetuyi in that his last critical put-down of your humble efforts at opening up our minds, if not our souls.
For some of us, an interest in those kinds of questions started with the popular bestseller "The Tao of Physics" by Fritjof Capra circa 1975, easy enough for dudes without a grounding in theology or theoretical physics or Hindu mythology, to read and understand.
Nowadays, there's no excuse for not understanding everything when we have gurus and popularisers such as Neil deGrasse Tyson and Michio Kaku in addition to whom we have had Stephen Hawking at hand, to teach the common man and to stimulate our sense of awe and our not so mundane imagination.
You may believe that it's the year 2020 A.D. and we're back to "The Roaring Twenties" but with regard to the Hebrew Scriptures and the Hebrew Calendar which postulates that we are now living in the year 5780 after the creation ( before dear Sister Gloria in Excelsis Emeagwali starts getting excited about the age of the pyramids, the Pharaonic dynasties and the roots of Scottish freemasonry, may I kindly refer us to Gerald Schroeder, in particular, his " The Science of God" in which he sets out to explain how the year 5780 may not be a too farfetched time reckoning, after all…
--On Sun, 16 Feb 2020 at 12:57, Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju <toyin.adepoju@gmail.com> wrote:------------ Forwarded message ---------
From: New Scientist Events <no-reply@newscientist.com>
Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2020 at 12:48
Subject: The World According to Physics | The Greatest Physicist of our Age | The Science of Reality
To: <toyin.adepoju@gmail.com>
Be inspired and entertained as we bring you the
finest minds in science.
The World According to Physics with Jim Al-Khalili
19:00 - 21:00 | Wednesday 11 March 2020 | Conway Hall, London
Jim will discuss the fundamental concepts of space, time, energy, and matter, as described by the three pillars of modern physics – quantum theory, relativity and thermodynamics – and show how all three must come together if we are ever to fully understand the world around us.
Find out more and book your place
Stephen Hawking's brief answers to the big questions19:00 - 21:00 | Tuesday 17 March 2020 | Conway Hall, London
Explore the extraordinary mind of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking as we are joined by an all-star panel of scientists and comedians to talk about Hawking's legacy and what he had to say about some of the biggest questions facing humanity.
Find out more and book your place
The Science of Reality
10:00 - 17:00 | Saturday 28 March 2020 | Congress Hall, London
Join six experts on a mind-melting trip through some of the biggest questions in science of reality.
Find out more and book your place
This email has been sent to toyin.adepoju@gmail.com
UNSUBSCRIBE from the New Scientist Events emails
MANAGE YOUR ACCOUNT to select which emails you receive
PRIVACY POLICY
CONTACT US
Copyright New Scientist
Registered Office: 25 Bedford Street, London, WC2E 9ES
Registered in England under Company No. 10644366
Australian mailing address: PO Box 2315, Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012, Australia
Registered in Australia under ABN 22 621 413 170
Disclaimer
This message is intended only for the use of the person(s) ("Intended Recipient") to whom it is addressed. It may contain information which is privileged and confidential. Accordingly any dissemination, distribution, copying or other use of this message or any of its content by any person other than the Intended Recipient may constitute a breach of civil or criminal law and is strictly prohibited. If you are not the Intended Recipient, please contact the sender as soon as possible.
We and our third party service providers may use cookies and other web technologies in conjunction with this email. These technologies are used to understand activity with this email and on certain portions of our website. This enables us to improve our site, your experience on our site, and the offerings that we may provide to you. If you do not want these technologies placed on your device, please opt-out of receiving emails from us.
This email was sent to toyin.adepoju@gmail.com
why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences
New Scientist · 25 Bedford Street · Covent Garden · London, London WC2E 9ES · United Kingdom
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/CALUsqTQZWCeooVjto6M2%3DQ9yjJjrNNXxs%3DcY%2BJRYvz%2BAZZxTOg%40mail.gmail.com.
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/CAC50OP9PJXcjNP6YnYH4HRGfsN3BYt%3DJ09FRuD9xRFKWMd14Jw%40mail.gmail.com.
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/CALUsqTRzyx0FkMgu%3DMux8gX0kSo8xHhEcXcR-BTVJy9_xOk8%2BQ%40mail.gmail.com.
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/CAC50OP8zAa1UgYy-JbEumPmh5ZgDOk%3D-A-wiH6raLp8%3DtRfvGw%40mail.gmail.com.
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/CALUsqTTEA7P3YZ2Zce6Nw27kszn8uV3oEKyF6MWJCzgL44hgYw%40mail.gmail.com.
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/CAC50OP-aDvY6wxzMdqYynjcGnkMpAy_XQkTKXYq6reLOQ2PoKg%40mail.gmail.com.
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/CALUsqTQic3WoHSObJYJHStNdpbg61YVq%3DuvWhHtmoSAzjweU1Q%40mail.gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment