Allan W. Anderson

Allan William Anderson (July 18, 1922 - ) was born in Hastings, New Zealand. Anderson is Professor Emeritus from San Diego State University where he taught philosophy and religious studies for nearly twenty-five years. He received the Excellence in Teaching award from the state of California in 1970.

Professor Anderson is a scholar in the areas of philosophy and comparative religion. His specific expertise lies with his insight into the nature of spirit and self-transformation. His research on the I Ching, the first of the ancient Chinese classics produced two books: Self-Transformation and the Oracular and Reflections on the I Ching. His studies of Daoism led to his original translation of the Tao-Te-Ching. Anderson's dialogues with J. Krishnamurti and his subsequent meditations on Krishnamurti's teachings resulted in his most recent work, On Krishnamurti's Teachings.

Accomplished academically his soul is that of a poet, his pen and mind happiest in verse. From this fertile ground we have Songs from the Mifflinger Sea and a little cove of Nonsense. These poems are written in the spirit of Edward Lear and beautifully illustrated by Leslie Rhea Lewis.

:: Background and Education ::

Anderson's formative years were spent in England. He came to the United States with his parents in 1936. His father was Roy Anderson the highly influential president of ministry for the Seventh Day Adventists. The senior Anderson was a gifted speaker and traveled widely in his evangelical duties. Allan would especially welcome the opportunity to see his father preach before African-American congregations. He was deeply moved by the un-self conscious immediacy of these events. In his early twenties Allan broke with the Seventh Day Adventists and the promising career his father and the other church elders had envisioned for him.

Anderson completed his undergraduate work in 1944 at Columbia Union College. He received a B.A. in History and a B.S. in Science. That same year Anderson entered Potomac Seminary in Washington D.C. in an effort to become an Episcopalian pastor. He completed his seminary work with a Masters of Theology in 1947. Later that year Allan was sent by his Bishop to interview before the Standing Committee of the Episcopalian Diocese of New York as the final step in his admittance to the clergy. In an unprecedented move the Standing Committee rejected the Bishop's recommendation and denied Allan's petition. He was told that he would not fit in with the church since "he was too independent." Shocked, the Bishop asked Allan to interview before the Standing Committee in Connecticut but Allan received the committee's rejection as a relief. He now felt free to study and practice religion outside the constraints of any institutional denomination.

Anderson enrolled at Trinity College the next year to study Literature. He received an M.A. in English in 1951, with a Master's Thesis on the "Indian Elements in the Works of Shelley." In 1954 Allan entered Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary simultaneously in order to study Sanskrit and pursue his interests in philosophy and comparative religions. In 1960 he was awarded his Doctorate with a dissertation titled, "A Comparative Study of the Concept of Sacrifice in St. Gregory or Nyssa and Sri Aurobindo." In the years immediately after receiving his Doctorate, Allan made a formal study of the Chinese language.

:: Teaching Career ::

Anderson began his university teaching in 1959 when hired by New York University as an Instructor in Philosophy and English. In 1962 he was recruited by San Diego State University into their Philosophy Department to teach Asian Religions. In 1967 Anderson was one of the founding faculty members of the newly formed Religious Studies Department at San Diego State. In 1987 he was conferred with Professor Emeritus status.