Michael Zammit (born 1954) is a Maltese philosopher, specialised in

Ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...

and Eastern philosophy.

Life

Zammit was born at

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 was ...

in 1954. He studied Philosophy at the

University of Malta The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Association ...

, acquiring a

Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's ...

in 1976, and a

Master’s degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1993. After teaching at various academic centres in and around

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, in 1983 he began teaching Philosophy at

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

level. He joined the academic staff at the

in 1988 as part of a team preparing for the introduction of a general knowledge introductory course for High Schools called “Systems of Knowledge”, and also for the introduction of an

advanced level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

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in philosophy. At the time, he was also active at the School of Practical Philosophy in

. Zammit began teaching Philosophy,

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premis ...

, and

Aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, Epistemology, knowledge, Ethics, values, Philosophy of ...

(including Calligraphy at the

in 1992. That same year he was appointed Academic Coordinator of the Centre for Basic Studies at the same university. Between 1989 and 1995, he coordinated, administered and lectured “Systems of Knowledge” courses in both

and

Gozo Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After t ...

. In 1989, he founded the “Philosophy Society” within the Department of Philosophy at the

. At this university, Zammit lectured on

Ancient Philosophy This page lists some links to ancient philosophy, namely philosophical thought extending as far as early post-classical history (). Overview Genuine philosophical thought, depending upon original individual insights, arose in many cultures ...

(1992), and Eastern and

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

Comparative Philosophy (1994). In 1995, he began teaching Introduction to Philosophy, and other subjects related to Philosophy. On the radio station of the

(Campus FM), Zammit produced and presented at least three series of programmes related to philosophy: ''Platun'' (

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institutio ...

; 1996), ''Philosophy Help-line'' (1997), and ''Oht il-Gherf?'' (Sister of Knowledge?; 1998). After some years detached from work directly associated with the

, lecturing at

’s Junior College, in 2008 he became a Senior Lecturer in the Philosophy Department of the Faculties of Arts and that of Theology of the

. He teaches

Plotinus Plotinus (; grc-gre, Πλωτῖνος, ''Plōtînos''; – 270 CE) was a philosopher in the Hellenistic philosophy, Hellenistic tradition, born and raised in Roman Egypt. Plotinus is regarded by modern scholarship as the founder of Neop ...

Marsilio Ficino Marsilio Ficino (; Latin name: ; 19 October 1433 – 1 October 1499) was an Italian scholar and Catholic priest who was one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the early Italian Renaissance. He was an astrologer, a reviver ...

, Far Eastern Philosophy and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

Advaita Vedanta ''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' ( ...

Philosophy. His interests vary from the use of poetic expression in the exploration of philosophical themes to the grammatological analysis of the Paninean

notions in the light of contemporary continental philosophical concerns.

Works

Zammit’s works include the following:M. Montebello, ''20th Century Philosophy in Malta'', Agius & Agius, Malta, 2006, p. 144.

Books

* 1974 – ''Imma Hajt Azzari Ghalina'', Malta. * 1978 – ''Fil-Waqt li l-Qalb(h)a Thares'' (While Her Heart Watches/When She Watches Over Her Heart), Malta (translated into English by E. Eichmann, with a phonetic transcription by A. Borg and M. Alexander). * 1990 – ''Man and Symbols'', Guttenberg Press, Malta. * 1995 – ''Systems of Knowledge'' (co-authored), Vol. I and II,. * 1995 – ''L-Apologija'' (The Apology), translation, Malta University Press, Malta (2nd ed. 1997). * 2004 – ''Mireddien fi Skiethom'' (Recitals In Stillness/Right Minded Recitals), AWL Publication, Malta (translated into Italian and published in Rome as ''Ombreggiature Silenziose'', Editoria & Spettacolo, in 2007). * 2006 – ''Ghana ’l Hena'' (Odes to Bliss), AWL Publication, Malta (2006). * 2007 – ''Il Re Mantra: Ombreggiature Silenziose'' (The Mantra King: Silent Shadows), Editoria & Spettacolo, Rome. * 2008 – ''Vyasa’s Sanskrit Bhagavad Gita'', translation.

Articles

* 1985 – ‘On Inspiration’, ''Hyphen'', Vol. IV. * 1990 – ‘Notes for an Introduction to an Introduction to Logic’, ''Man and Symbols'', Guttenberg Press, Malta. * 1989 – ‘Paul Sant Cassia’s “L-Ghana – Bejn il-Folklor u l-habi”’ (Paul Sant Cassia’s ‘Folk Music – Between Folklore and Concealment), ''L-Identità Kulturali ta’ Malta'' (Malta’s Cultural Identity), Malta, translation, Department of Information, Malta. * 1996 – ‘He is You are What I am: from the Unique to the Universal’, ''Asian Philosophy'', Vol. VI, n. 2. * 2006 – ‘

Manwel Dimech Manwel Dimech, also known as Manuel Dimech (25 December 1860 – 17 April 1921) was a Maltese socialist, philosopher, journalist, writer, poet and social revolutionary. Born in Valletta and brought up in extreme poverty and illiteracy, Dimech spe ...

– Bniedem ta’ Spiritwalità’ (

Manuel Dimech Manwel Dimech, also known as Manuel Dimech (25 December 1860 – 17 April 1921) was a Maltese socialist, philosopher, journalist, writer, poet and social revolutionary. Born in Valletta and brought up in extreme poverty and illiteracy, Dimech sp ...

: A man of spirituality), ''Knisja tat-Triq'', ed. by Michael Grech, AWL Publication, Malta.

References

Sources