Jul 08 2024
On this episode of Around Grandfather Fire we interview Dr. Justin Sledge of Esoterica.
We explore how he came to the subjects he teaches today, how his beliefs/views influence the work he does, and what meaning esotericism and religion can hold. We talk what it means to explore a subject and give it a sympathetic study, and in turn, how to teach from this perspective. We get into why approaching the ideas of the sacred, holy, and why approaching the sacred in the spirit of humor and play is important to exploring them. We also look at materiality, and why it is so foundational to his thinking and his work, from the making of things to how they become part of our worlds, and how we relate to them in the world.
Dr. Justin Sledge earned his DRS in religious studies (Western Esotericism and Related Currents) at the Universiteit van Amsterdam and MA and PhD in philosophy at the University of Memphis. He is currently a part-time professor of philosophy and religion at several institutions in the Metro-Detroit area.
Dr. Sledge’s work engages with Religious Studies specifically in the so-called “Western Esoteric Tradition” or Hermetic Tradition in religious and philosophical thought. In this line of research he seeks to grasp the philosophical commitments which underpin the alleged workings of magic, esoteric influence, spirit possession, alchemy, etc.
His work also explores the intersection between metaphysics, ethics and radical political philosophy. His dissertation reflects this interest through a careful analysis of the meta-ethics of Karl Marx. There Dr. Sledge argues that Marx’s emerging materialist theory of history ultimately pins him as electing a kind of ethics of virtue with the ethical dialectic of this epoch being solidarity-reification.
He is currently preparing material on the Ancient Near Eastern Prophetic Tradition, spirit possession in the early modern Jewish world, and is slowly working through the Zohar (which he will be doing the rest of his life).
Where to find Justin Sledge:
Website: https://www.justinsledge.com/
Esoterica: https://www.youtube.com/esotericachannel
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/esotericachannel
With before and after banter for levels Spark and above.
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Copyright 2024
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Opening voice work Kai Belcher
Music “Ophelia” by Les Hayden, provided by the Free Music Archive and used under Creative Commons licenses: freemusicarchive.org/music/Les_Hayden/Proverbs/Les_Hayden_-_Proverbs_-_05_Ophelia_1785
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