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Introduction
The title of this series not withstanding, it would be difficult to encompass the entirety of Sabian Philosophy within the confines of a few web pages. I will not attempt to do so. Technically, the philosophy of Marc Edmund Jones, founder of the Sabian Assembly, is known as Dynamic Idealism. This describes a philosophy that generally follows Platonic thinking in that it recognizes the transcendental underpinnings of reality. Yet it is definitely dynamic or to-be-practiced in the everyday world. That much said, I will share with you my view of the essence of this underlying philosophy while avoiding (as best as I can) "scholarly" dissertations. This approach is exploratory rather than definitive. Very early in the development the Sabian Assembly, Jones discovered the 11th century philosopher Ibn Gabirol through the latter’s treatise Fons Vitae, which can be translated either as The Fountain of Life or The Source of Life. In 1926 he wrote an interpretation of Gabirol’s work in the form of twenty-six, three-page "lessons." He called this lesson set Ibn Gabirol’s Source of Life. Jones' intent was to formulate a modern cabala using Gabirol as his source. Sometimes it is difficult to separate Gabirol from Jones. I have chosen Dr. Jones’ Source of Life lesson set as representative of the underlying philosophy of the Sabian Assembly. Each chapter develops a keyword concept: health, belonging, spontaneity, responsibility, etc., where each keyword concept is based on a particular text of Gabirol’s Fons Vitae. The articles of this series summarize both the philosophy of Gabirol and the interpretation of Jones. All references to Ibn Gabirol’s Fons Vitae are to the English translation by Alfred Jacob entitled The Fountain of Life, published by the Sabian Publishing Society, 1987. You may read the various parts of Sabian Philosophy by selecting a topic from the side bar to the left. Although there is a natural progression to the concepts, beginning with health and continuing in order, the articles may be read in any sequence. |
abian Philosophy