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Pierre A. Riffard is a French philosopher and specialist in esotericism. Born in Toulouse (France), he is a professor of pedagogy and philosophy at the University of the French West Indies and Guiana (Université des Antilles et de la Guyane). Teaching in the French overseas departments and territories and elsewhere: Asia, Oceania, Sub-Saharan Africa, Guiana. == Esotericism == For Pierre A. Riffard, esotericism is "occult teaching, doctrine or theory, technique or process, of symbolic expression, of a metaphysical nature, of initiatory intent. Druidism, compagnonnage (the traditional French system of training craftsmen), alchemy are esotericisms."〔P. Riffard, ''Dictionnaire de l'ésotérisme'', Paris: Payot, 1983, 125.〕 Pierre A. Riffard defended a Doctor of Philosophy thesis on the Greek formula ἓν καὶ πᾶν (''hen kai pān'', "the One and the All"), then a Doctor of Arts thesis on ''L'Idée d'ésotérisme'' (Idea of Esotericism ) (Paris 1 Sorbonne University, 1987), after conducting research into occultism. Author of the ''Dictionnaire de l'ésotérisme'' (of Esotericism ) (Payot, 1983), which is an authoritative work in the field, he has also written two sizeable volumes for the "Bouquins" collection of France's Editions Robert Laffont publishing house; one is devoted to esotericism in general: ''L'ésotérisme. Qu'est-ce que l'ésotérisme ?'' (What is Esotericism? ), 1990; the other treats with non-Western esotericisms: ''Ésotérismes d'ailleurs'' (from other lands ), 1997. As soon as 87, he proposed nine invariants for defining an esotericism:〔P. Riffard, ''L'ésotérisme. Qu'est-ce que l'ésotérisme ? Anthologie de l'ésotérisme occidental'', Paris: Robert Laffont, coll. "Bouquins", 1990, 245-396.〕 # the discipline of the arcane (keeping the secret). New Testament: "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces."〔Saint Matthew, VII, 6.〕 # the impersonality of the author (showing the superhuman aspect of the message). # the contrast between the esoteric and the exoteric (distinguishing the initiated from the uninitiated, the occult from the manifest). # the subtle (admitting invisible or higher planes of reality: human aura, etheric body, astral influences, telluric waves, guardian angels, etc.). Alice Bailey: "Esotericism is a science, essentially the science of the soul of all things."〔Alice Bailey, ''Education in the New Age'', New York / London: Lucis Trust, 1954, 64.〕 # analogies and correspondences (comparing all the parts of the universe: macrocosm and microcosm, gums and fingers, blood and sap, colours and organs, animals and virtues, etc.). # formal numbers (choosing symbolic arithmetic as the archetypal key: golden ratio, cosmic cycles, kabbalah of gematria, metres in poetry, rhythms in music, etc.). Pythagoras: "Things are numbers. ΄Ολα τα πράγματα είναι αριθμοί."〔Pythagoras in Aristotle, ''Metaphysics'', A, 6, 987b28.〕 # the occult arts (using alchemy, astrology, divination, magic, occult medicine). # the occult sciences (hermeneutics, numerology, theosophy, the study of the afterlife, paradoxography (the cataloguing of wondrous phenomena), etc.). # lastly, and above all, initiation (seeking improvement, spiritual liberation for others, for oneself or rather for the SELF). In other terms, :"An esotericism is teaching which takes the form of a secret doctrine or of an initiatory organisation, a spiritual practice or an occult art."〔P. Riffard, ''Nouveau dictionnaire de l'ésotérisme'', Paris: Payot, 2008, 96.〕 As regards form, esotericists have a secret: paralipsis (apophasis). They purport to say nothing, while at the same time discreetly revealing something (In saying "I will say nothing about the sacred nature of sexuality", I have said that sexuality does indeed have a sacred nature). For example, symbols such as the apple or the coiled serpent reveal numerous clues or keys to sexuality, while simultaneously appearing to obfuscate the discourse or image. As regards content, esotericists have another secret: reversion. They reverse ordinary ideas, they turn around commonplace behaviour, they overturn shared emotions, to return to the original. For example, kundalini yoga sends sexual energy up to the brain, and the alchemist returns to primary matter, when everything becomes possible and powerful again. As regards sense, esotericists have no secrets; they just adopt a lifestyle, one which gives priority to the interior of things. For example, in love they prefer a state of consciousness higher than sexual pleasure; in alchemy they are more interested in the solar image of gold than its market value. "''Riffard's approach may thus be characterized as universalist, religionistic, and trans-historical: Esotericism is a basic 'anthropological structure' and as such not dependent on cultural mediation. Its scope in time and space includes the whole of human history.''" -Wouter J. Hanegraaff.〔Wouter J. Hanegraaff, "On the Construction of Esoteric Traditions", in Antoine Faivre and Wouter J. Hanegraaff (eds.), ''Western Esotericism and the Science of Religion'', Leuven: Peeters, coll. "Gnostica", 1998, 24, 60.〕 () 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pierre A. Riffard」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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