This bibliography is now published as an appendix in Joseph Azize's JOHN G. BENNETT: WITTNESS TO DEATH AND RESURRECTION (Rhinebeck, NY: Red Elixer Press, 2024, pp. 455-513). The bibliography provides a listing of published works by... more
This bibliography is now published as an appendix in Joseph Azize's JOHN G. BENNETT: WITTNESS TO DEATH AND RESURRECTION (Rhinebeck, NY: Red Elixer Press, 2024, pp. 455-513). The bibliography provides a listing of published works by British philosopher J.G. Bennett (1897-1974). They are organized in seven major categories for the most part each arranged chronologically by date of original publication:
1. Books by Bennett (for books and other entries on Subud, see category 6 below);
2. Edited compilations of Bennett’s lectures, writings, and editorial works;
3. Entries by Bennett in the journal Systematics;
4. Entries by Bennett in the in-house “Work” journals Enneagram and Impressions;
5. Other entries by Bennett relating to the Gurdjieff Work;
6. Entries by Bennett relating to Subud;
7. Other entries: Travelogue and scientific and academic articles.
Many researchers of Western esotericism today assume a "methodological agnosticism" whereby they limit themselves to historical and textual verification. They do not adjudicate whether the specific esoteric tradition studied is genuine or... more
Many researchers of Western esotericism today assume a "methodological agnosticism" whereby they limit themselves to historical and textual verification. They do not adjudicate whether the specific esoteric tradition studied is genuine or spurious, reasonable or unsound, grounded in a spiritual reality or premised in fantastical impossibilities. In this article, I draw on G. I. Gurdjieff's understanding of the "Law of Three" as extended by British philosopher and Gurdjieff associate J. G. Bennett to argue that a phenomenological approach is a valuable interpretive complement to methodological agnosticism because it offers a reliable conceptual and methodological means for probing esoteric claims as they might be understood via firsthand encounter and experience. Bennett particularized Gurdjieff's presentation of the Law of Three by describing it in terms of six triads—i.e., systems of three forces that interact to sustain a specific action, process, or happening. In this article, I draw on my ongoing understanding of Gurdjieff's Law of Three and Bennett's six triads to suggest that esoteric knowledge is not necessarily " hidden " or " beyond the ordinary " but can unfold in a process of progressive awareness whereby the student engages in an empathetic, deepening understanding of phenomena. Instead of the " outsider " perspective of methodological agnosticism, one draws on an " insider " perspective of committed, first-person involvement.
This article is now published; readers who would like a PDF, please contact the author at:
triad@ksu.edu He will forward you a copy.
