Why "University"?

by The Editor

Contents List:

Preliminary
The Course of Study
Seminar
Object
Facilities
Mailing List

Go to:

Introductory Information
"Campus"
Temple Library

In searching for a suitable name for this section of the Ardue Web site, I originally thought of "Seminary". Although the word used to mean merely an educational institution, my simple dictionary defines it as "a place where intending priests, ministers or rabbis are trained". The aim of this site is not to train professional ministers of religion, but rather to help at least a few readers to discharge their personal moral responsibility for conducting their relationships with each other and with the Universe in a manner conducive to maintaining and extending peace and concord among human beings. I therefore settled on "University" as being truer to the spirit of what a University was originally intended to mean, and not necessarily having anything to do with providing "paper qualifications" for privileged entry into a narrowly materialistic world of work.

I greatly admire the concept of the "Open University", which seems to me to render obsolescent the older, more prestigious, and much more expensive model, and to make redundant political arguments about how universities should be funded by the State. They clearly should not be.

I was also inspired by the University of the Third Age, in which those of us who have attained a "certain age" may pool our resources of time and interest to enrich each other's lives at little financial cost to anyone.

But above all, recognising that the Universe as a whole is the ultimate ground for human activity, I was anxious to place the emphasis on a study of man's age-old struggle to understand himself and his environment, and on reviewing some of the more significant scientific, moral, and religious conclusions which may be drawn therefrom. Narrow specialism will accordingly be avoided.

The Course of Study

I have long felt it desirable to expand and deepen the relatively simple material presented in the Ardue Temple. But I also recognised the need to present internally consistent course material of high quality in a sensibly paced progressive order; and I was simultaneously deeply conscious of my own incompetence to do it alone.

I was therefore astonished and extremely grateful to discover that this task had already been undertaken by Albert Pike nearly one hundred and fifty years ago, and that all I had to do was re-present it to the Internet virtually unchanged. The first instalment was presented in September, 2004.

Later, I took advantage of the work of P D Ouspensky to produce the "lectures" in the "Hermetic Philosophy" section which take a more "scientific" approach than the "classical" Masonic lectures.

Seminar

Readers are, of course, free to treat this offering in any manner they think fit. But I hope that at least some few will see in it an opportunity to conduct an ongoing Internet seminar. The word is derived from the Latin seminarium, meaning a seedbed. My intention here is to sow and fertilise seeds which may germinate and eventually bear fruit in the consciousness of the individual student.

A seminar is a group of students working together under the guidance of a teacher. This CD contains contributions from many distinguished teachers, both in the "Library" and in the "University" lectures.

In this CD, therefore, the "University" may be thought of as an educational interface between the Temple and the World. Material will be digested by the imaginative faculty of the individual student and tested against the sounding-board of intuitive psychological truth.

The question is the principal supplementary instructional technique. It is hoped that in seeking their own answers to questions, students will consult not only their own experience of life and living but will also search out what other individuals at different times and in different places have recorded about their own experiences. Skill in the intelligent use of the Internet will be found to give access at minimal cost to a wealth of educational material beyond the fondest dreams of university students and library users of previous generations.

Readers accustomed to the "examination culture" currently prevalent in the UK will be relieved to know that questions will be asked solely to encourage (or provoke) students to inquire more deeply into certain aspects of life and thus add value to their personal lives. Answers need not be communicated to anyone — but may optionally be posted by readers to the Ardue Mailing List for the benefit of other students. Whether or not you choose to publish your thoughts and findings, it is hoped that your deliberations on questions raised in this or any other forum will help you to make timely and satisfactory responses to the questions and problems you encounter in everyday life.

Object

The Ardue University therefore seeks to introduce a few key concepts and use them to construct a secure base from which readers may conduct their personal explorations of the wonderful Universe of which they are part and to whose further development their lives in the world may make small, but not insignificant, contributions. It is intended as an interface to facilitate transfer of the fruits of quiet contemplation in the Temple into energetic action in the physical and social worlds.

Facilities

The "Lectures" of the "Higher" Masonic Degrees and the Hermetic Philosophy Lectures were posted to the Web site at monthly intervals to focus students' attention and to act as "centres of attraction" for any other material the student might wish to assemble around them. Supplementary Lectures on related subjects were posted from time to time.

The books on the "shelves" of the Temple Library constitute the main works of reference. Other, usually more recent, works are recommended as aids to keeping "up to date". But this is not an "academic" exercise. The ideas suggested directly or indirectly by the contents of these pages should be reflected upon in the light of the reader's personal experience so as to become assimilated into a coherent personal philosophy. "Degrees" mark significant steps in the student's consciousness of personal progress and may be conferred by the student in person when he or she feels ready.

A few exercises are suggested for developing the student's powers of observation and reflection.

Students are encouraged to make use of the virtually infinite resources of the Internet as long as they remain available.

Mailing List

Readers are also invited to help each others' development by sharing experiences, discussing personal problems, and posting questions or comments about anything they read here. This may be done via the Ardue Mailing List, to which admission may be sought by sending a blank e-mail to ardue-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

No application for admission will be refused, but members will be expected to conduct their correspondence in accordance with the Guidelines which will be posted at intervals.

Once you are a member, address your posts to ardue@yahoogroups.com. Only members will be able to read your messages, and there is little likelihood that participation will make you a target for unwanted SPAM.

I hope that a way may be found to extend the life of the Mailing List after I have "retired" from the world.