Northwestern University Alumni

Transcript:

[MUSIC PLAYING] MAX: Welcome back to Northwestern Intersections, a Northwestern Alumni Association podcast. We'll be talking to alums about their career paths and the lessons they've learned along the way. 

Our guest today is Adina Bezerita, a polyvalent philosopher and Oxbridge scholar. She took an inspiring path to higher education, which has taken her from Transylvania, Romania to the College of Lake County to Northwestern, Cambridge, and Oxford, with prospects at Harvard. I'm thrilled to talk to her about philosophy and her journey to higher education and love for learning. We will dive into all these topics and more in this edition of Northwestern Intersections. Adina Bezerita, thank you so much for joining us. 

ADINA BEZERITA: Hi, Max. Thank you so much for having me. 

MAX: I have so many questions for you because you've had an amazing path to higher education. First I want to ask you, what brought you to the United States and the College of Lake County in Illinois from Romania initially? 

ADINA BEZERITA: Yes, thank you very much for that question. And first, I want to express my gratitude to Northwestern and the Northwestern Alumni Association, with whom I am closely connected because just recently, I became a global ambassador for Northwestern in Eastern Europe, the first one in Romania. So thank you all. 

My journey to Northwestern has been unpredicted because, as you said in your introduction, I was born in Transylvania, Romania in a small town called Bistrita. And just recently, I found out that a local priest and professor, Nicolae Feier, has published a book on the ancient history of Bistrita. And I have the book here with me that I would like to bring in our conversation. And I learned that my last name, Bezerita, is closely connected with Bistrita, which, etymologically speaking, you can take the word apart and find [ROMANIAN], the good land, or [ROMANIAN]. 

Being here, I felt inspired as a child. And I could say that I was a visionary from the beginning. I liked to dream big about my life. And though we were very sequestered from the world because I was born before 1989, which means that Romania was still a communist country back then, so we didn't have access to the outer world. 

And I did have aspirations to, let's say, study in different places other than Romania. And at some point, when I turned 18, I had an opportunity to go to the United States. Yeah, I did that. It was frightening, to say the least. I had to leave my comfort zone behind, my family, my friends, everything that I knew to experience a new culture and to hope that everything will turn out OK. 

But when I did arrive in the United States, it was a shock. At 18 years old, it was pretty overwhelming. When I arrived in the United States, I realized that I'm a first generation immigrant. And that was daunting. 

But I knew that I wanted to fulfill my dreams, especially through education. And the only place that I could go to was College of Lake County, which was in the region where I arrived. And I was very lucky because at College of Lake County, I met a counselor. His name is Brian. And we talked about life. 

And he asked me a question about my calling. And what do I think about eudaimonia, which is the Aristotelian principle of human flourishing? So, of course, those were new ideas for me. But I certainly felt like I've been thinking about them for my entire life. 

So this counselor at College of Lake County asked me a question that basically was percolating in my own mind for a long time. And I have then turned to study Aristotle and Plato. And I discovered that there is something much deeper to life, which is working in my personal experiences. 

Of course, I thought that my journey from Romania to the United States of America was a struggle and an ascension somehow, like in The Republic. If you read "The Divided Line" and then "The Allegory of the Cave," you find out that through education or a certain level of education and attaining a higher knowledge, you then improve yourself and your life's conditions. And this is what I've been dreaming of from Romania. But it was now coming to fruition in the United States. 

So I loved going to College of Lake County because there was a lot of exposure to the American educational system, which was very different than what I experienced in Romania. But the professors there felt that I had a developed mind. And I remember an ethics professor who was so passionate about his field that he said to me that, basically, this passion in philosophy is in myself because here I am, living the journey, living the quest right here, and that I should take it seriously. 

So with that, I started to think more about myself, knowing myself in the context of life, of circumstances, of history. And I wanted to take a step higher. And I did a research about best schools in my region. And I came across Northwestern University. 

MAX: I understand that you were actually serving full time in a leadership role in the finance sector when you came to Northwestern. How did you arrive to Northwestern preparing to study while also working full time? 

ADINA BEZERITA: My journey as a first-generation immigrant played its big part. Most over, I reflected that I come from a disadvantaged background. I didn't even realize that I come from a disadvantaged background until I met a friend, her name is Nancy, who wrote a PhD dissertation on academically successful and resilient women. 

And I felt that in order for me to attend Northwestern University, which was a very expensive school and an elite school in the region and in the country, in the world, I needed to support myself financially. So I took a job. I was an assistant vice president at Chase Bank. Of course, I didn't start off as an assistant vice president, but I became one after some time. 

And working full time in a leadership role prepared me for Northwestern because the programs at Northwestern were rigorous, were creative, were entrepreneurial. And when I applied at Northwestern, I remember that the welcoming team were so excited that I was there. And my field of study was leadership and communications. But because I had philosophy percolating in the background, I wondered how I could combine philosophy, leadership, and communications. 

Luckily, Northwestern is so flexible that when I talked to the dean at that time, Peter Kaye, he did suggest that it would be possible to have a more independent schedule if I wanted to do that. And certainly I had several professors on board with me on that because they approved a couple of independent projects, four of them in my last year, whereby I could research on my topic in philosophy and leadership with various applications in media, in communications, and also in storytelling and music. 

And to do that, of course, Northwestern has so many different programs and avenues to develop your talent, such that when I went to the Communications School, I found that they have a radio station, WNUR. I talked to the director there, and I pitched a show called Metamorphosis. They approved me. And I combined my academic studies with a public engagement platform. 

So everything that I did intellectually then became broadcasted on the radio, which was transmitted to 29,000 students and staff and 3 million people in the Chicagoland area. And that was exciting but also scary, I think, in the beginning because Northwestern was not something that I could have predicted for my life or my path. But here I was, speaking live on the radio about my research and inviting thinkers and educators and other creative artists to come on my show. 

I particularly liked to invite people from under-represented backgrounds and people whose voices were not displayed. And so I had a couple of impressive shows. And I remember the guests that came. And hopefully they also had a good time in that. 

But now that I'm remembering the Metamorphosis radio show, I recall a time when I received a phone call from someone on the highway. They listened to the show. And they pulled over. And they called the station and said, I just wanted to tell you that whatever you're doing here, it's so inspirational. And please keep going. I knew that that was a sign that I'm going in the right direction. 

MAX: It's kind of fun to be full circle as a person hosting a radio show, being back on a podcast now, too. I know that after you graduated from Northwestern, you ended up going to the United Kingdom to research in interdisciplinary application of philosophy at both Cambridge and Oxford. What drew you to those programs and to those specific colleges that you attended? 

ADINA BEZERITA: This is in line with a series of unforeseen events. After Northwestern, and I graduated on the dean's list, on honor roll, and I became a member of Alpha Sigma Lambda for academic excellence, I talked to Stephen Clark. He's a neoplatonist. And he recommended a program in Cambridge because they had a Center for the Study of Platonism. 

And there, I was able to perform an interdisciplinary research on philosophy with its application in contemporary psychology. And I was drawn to original research because I know that a lot of professors prefer that students take or follow their work. But I enjoy to develop my own ideas. And I wanted to find a team of academics that would support the midwifing of the idea that I was thinking about for many years. 

This does circle back to the discussion I had with Brian, the counselor at College of Lake County, for I wrote a thesis on the influence of the daimon, or genius, in Hellenic and Indic philosophy upon contemporary psychology. This research is now published in IRCEP Journal in Romania, which does have a global audience. 

Fun fact, I am an alumna of Saint Edmund's college at the University of Cambridge, where George Lemaitre, a theoretical physicist and theologian worked on developing the Big Bang Theory in 1923, in correspondence with Arthur Eddington and Albert Einstein. And then at Oxford, at Harris Manchester College, where William James, an American philosopher, psychologist, and educator is said to have lectured in 1909 about the pluralistic universe. 

I was able to win scholarships, one of them being the John Templeton Fellowship and the Peter Harrison Studentship, with the Faculty of Theology and Religion scholarship. And again, I had the honor to work with one of the leading minds in the interdisciplinary field of science and religion. And his name is Alistair McGrath. This was the last year before he retired. And he supported me in writing a thesis on "The Quest for Self-knowledge-- a Critical Exploration from the Classical Period to Today." 

As you can tell, I was able to show the relevance of classical philosophy in contemporary fields of thought in science and religion. And because I worked on these works, I had deepened my thought about philosophy and its application in our modern times. And I realized that my expertise is ancient philosophy across the humanities and the sciences. So now I am developing projects with these themes in mind. 

MAX: So I think a lot of people don't have a full understanding of philosophy as a discipline. They might have had a class where they talked about Plato and Aristotle, but that's kind of it. And there's obviously so much more to the discipline. How would you explain what it's like to be a philosopher now in the 21st century versus Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome? 

ADINA BEZERITA: I might have touched on that previously because, as it happened with my own life, I discovered philosophy applicable to my personal journey then to my academic studies and then to a professional sphere. So now philosophy, for me, it's becoming integrated with personal application and practical application that has all these facets. But most importantly, I felt that ancient philosophy should not be confined to that period, but it should be revived today. And basically, we should have ways to gain from the reasoning skills of the ancients to address the problems that we are facing with today. 

Currently, I'm writing an article on a case for virtue in business and leadership, which I hope to take to one of the Northwestern classes online in the next coming months. And I wrote this section, I thought that it would be pertinent for this question. I say this-- "Paul Anderson says no philosophy will leave a permanent impression upon the minds of a people unless it expresses their deep underlying concerns. And yet, we must also reach to the core of philosophy in an attempt to make it personally applicable. Then we might come to bridge the gap to self-knowledge relevant in all fields of thought, including in business, leadership, and in government studies today. 

Philosophy should not be confined to the wonders of the loftier creation, but to descend into the playfields of humanity to settle in our homes. This is the way to practice virtue in our daily lives. And this practice of virtue extends to jurisprudence concordant with even political virtue." 

I bring in political and government studies now because I have prospects with Harvard. And I care about blending justice and philosophy. Again, this also stems from reflecting back on my life and thinking about the opportunities that people do not have that come from disadvantaged backgrounds. For example, when I was in Romania, I did not know the many barriers that I had to face and overcome in order to progress as a person, but also to philosophically flourish in the world. And now at Harvard, I would like to write on those challenges and what do we need to do in the educational and the legal system to fix that situation. 

MAX: So you talked a little bit about connecting philosophy to everyday life, and connecting to humanity rather than just looking at philosophy as this sort of lofty expectations and having it be purely, quote, unquote, "academic." How can people connect philosophy to their everyday lives and even to their work? 

ADINA BEZERITA: In this last year, I had the privilege of teaching at Northwestern University online. And one of the courses was "A Philosophical Universe?" Question mark. And I talked to students about this issue, how do we apply philosophy in everyday life? And we came to learn that it is through dialogue, through communication, and the art of communication. And to do that, you have to go towards self-knowledge, which is the Delphic Oracle "know thyself." 

And speaking of oracles, even though in Greece there was Pythia around 1,000 BCE, since I told you that I was born in Romania in Transylvania and Bistritsa, we recently discovered that there was another Pythia, a Trojan Pythia, 1,800 BCE in the region. The message is the same-- know thyself. If we could have more dialogue oriented on that in our daily discussions, that would be certainly very helpful. 

But in order to know thyself, you have to have an aptitude for philosophy in the sense that you should not be afraid of discovering the things that you didn't know about yourself. Diotima in The Symposium, at 212a, when she talks to Socrates and she tries to teach him, but she constantly doubts that he is able to understand what philosophy is. Nevertheless, she progresses in the teaching. And she concludes with these lines-- "and when you have given birth to virtue and brought it up, will it not be granted you to be the friend of the divine and immortal if anyone ever is?" 

So essentially, she's teaching Socrates about immortality, attaining immortality. But what is that about? It is the immortality of the soul. It is the immortality of the mind. And of course, these are complex questions as to what is the soul, what is the mind. Nevertheless, these are the qualities within every human being. Socrates was very inquisitive and was not afraid to undergo the personal transformation in attaining the love of wisdom. 

MAX: To you, thinking about not just philosophies but specific philosophers, what makes a great philosopher? And how can you cultivate whatever you need to become a great philosopher? 

ADINA BEZERITA: I collaborate with Pierre Grimes. He is now 99 years young. He served in the Second World War. And he practices philosophical midwifery. That is the ancient [INAUDIBLE], and that is self-examination, the application of the principles of philosophy onto yourself. He also does that through dreams and dream work. So for example, if you have a dream, can you analyze that philosophically? 

And again, this is another practical application of philosophy. And if we do that practice, what are the consequences for our human excellence? Could we take those principles in other realms of study like politics? 

What I'm trying to say, Max, is that self-examination and knowing the self is a critical, vital part of philosophy. In order to have relationships that have that kind of common ethos, that would be a new paradigm. That's how I think you can become a great philosopher. But another way is to maybe not write anything down like Socrates or Diotima of Mantinea. They didn't write anything and they became the greatest philosophers. We all talk about them. And Plato had to write about the ideas of Socrates. 

But essentially, the ideas are discovered through this practice of [INAUDIBLE]. Through self-examination, we should not be afraid of discovering both the good and the illusions in our self. That's true for human nature, wherever you are in whatever culture. So the philosophical quest is pansophical. It is relevant to everyone, everywhere. 

MAX: I also want to hear a little bit about your advice for students who might be in a similar position, whether it's starting college from this kind of incredible journey or whether it's just people who want to study philosophy in general. So I'll ask you this first. What would you tell someone who wants to study philosophy? And maybe do you have any advice on how they can prepare themselves to study philosophy at the university or postgraduate level? 

ADINA BEZERITA: I think it's important to question, to wonder, to be curious about yourself first. The title of this episode is "Recovering the Philosophy of the Self." That is the first premise, the first principle, that which is in oneself because you are exploring your microcosmos, which is in alignment with the macrocosmos. Carl Seguin and even Neil deGrasse Tyson-- these are scientists that are big names, who say that the more you discover yourself, the more you discover the secrets of the cosmos. 

One thing that I appreciate about Neil deGrasse Tyson is his story encountering Carl Seguin, who took the time to show him around campus in the winter time. Carl Seguin asked Neil deGrasse Tyson whether he will be OK with the bus going home. And Neil deGrasse Tyson was so surprised that someone of such a great caliber would take interest in him. And why? Why would he even give his time and energy? And what did he see in him? 

Well, certainly, Carl Seguin was one of the inspirational figures for Neil deGrasse Tyson, who is now, as we all know, a prolific figure. What they did is they exemplified what it's like to take a personal interest in the potential lights in one's own eyes, to discover one's talent, to ask a question that unlocks the calling or vocation in that person. We meet these role models in our journey in life. And we do need to listen to what they're asking us, because they're not just asking us something that's relevant to their self, they're asking us something that is relevant to our self, to that self that needs to come into being, that needs to flourish and to blossom and thrive. 

That was the principle of Daimonia. Aristotle talked about human flourishing and human excellence in that regard with practical virtue, practical wisdom. But Plato talked about virtue as an idea that exists and that we should know by the practice and maintenance in everyday life. That is directly tied to your vocation. That is directly tied to your calling. 

Remember Brian, the counselor at TLC, had asked me, what is my calling? And do I know about Daimonia? Just that question, as with Carl Seguin and Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian played that role for me because I went on to Cambridge and I wrote about the Daimon In a way that applies to contemporary psychology. It's astonishing when we encounter these figures that totally transform our lives, totally transform ourselves, and remind us of the genius that we have within, which is much more than talent. It is unlocking that which is invisible and making it visible. Us coming to know our self and being that in the world. 

MAX: And then thinking back on your own journey, coming from Romania to the United States and then really going all over the world to practice and to study philosophy, what is your advice to someone who wants to go either to undergrad or graduate school with an unconventional path? 

ADINA BEZERITA: It's daunting to think to take on higher education when you come from a disadvantaged background. However, there is a destiny beyond fate. Heraclitus said, ethos anthropos daimon. In our choices, our character is defined, or our choices create destiny. And this is something that has underwritten my own journey, my own quest. My encouragement to those who see their destiny beyond fate is to seek role models that align with this principle and that are true philosophers, not sophists or rhetoricians. 

Because the many, as Plato said, may not have access to the fullest, purest philosophy. And so you do need to find people that have lived the journey and are living the journey to embark on the courage to ask questions, to live them out. 

MAX: I want to close with a few questions thinking about what your work is right now and where you're looking in the future. What kind of projects and what kind of research are you doing now? And what are your goals for your future? 

ADINA BEZERITA: Thank you, Max. Right now, I am beginning to write my first book on the unwritten philosophy of the one self. And I am including threads from the discoveries in Bistritsa about the oracle in the region. I like the idea of the unwritten philosophy and also the idea of the one self. FM Cornford was the one who inspired me to think about what kind of philosophy remains unwritten or cannot be written. 

And then the Parmenides of Plato inspired me about the one self. Parmenides, as you know, is an ontological dialogue that explores the possibility of the one and the one that is, and what's the link between the one and the one that is. Because one is totally transcendent and nothing can be said about. And the other one is the source of emanation and also the source of the many hierarchical levels of reality. That's what I'm working on. I know it's a challenging project. But I have an aptitude for difficult topics. 

Moreover, I am writing an article on Atlantis, an intriguing topic, because Francis Bacon was one who inspired the foundational principles of America as a state in the 1600s. And he wrote about the new Atlantis, a utopic state, inspired from the Platonic principles. Interestingly, if Atlantis was a state that did not have philosophy, then what happened with it? I want to investigate the notion of how an idea becomes a concept and how a concept becomes a place. Moreover, what happens when the principles of philosophy are absent? Or what happens when the principles of philosophy are present? 

And another interesting project I have is a conference in Egypt at New Hermopolis. It's an eco-friendly cultural village in close proximity to the ancient temple of Hermes, around 2,700 BCE. The symbol of Hermes, I call it the soul self of Hermes, is a sun with wings. The premise of this conference is to explore the ancient wisdom and the future self towards a new paradigm. And we expect figures from UNESCO and other thinkers to attend and to speak about re-envisioning the Academy and what is it like to apply ancient philosophy across multiple disciplines. 

It will highlight the way of inquiry because, of course, knowledge is a continuous discovery. But knowledge, I feel, should be complete when looking back on the past. So the past and the present and the future, they're all connected. In one way, we could talk about the ancient future knowledge. So these are a couple of concrete projects that I have going on. But most notably, recently, I want to thank the Romanian government for innovation and research because they have appointed me as an honorary counselor. 

Bogdan Ivan, who is the minister for this council, has been very kind to work with me and to see ways that we could improve Romania, and we could advance our technology and our knowledge, but also, again, even this principle of bringing ancient knowledge back relevant to the present, especially because in Transylvania, we have so much to still discover and to make relevant to our knowledge today. 

MAX: Before I ask my question, congratulations. That's really cool to have been appointed. When did that happen? 

ADINA BEZERITA: The 28th of December. 

MAX: Wow. That's super recent. That's great. Congratulations. 

ADINA BEZERITA: Thank you. 

MAX: Thinking back to your time at Northwestern, are there any Northwestern shout-outs that you'd like to give? 

ADINA BEZERITA: Yes, definitely. I had the privilege of meeting amazing thinkers and great people at Northwestern. I fondly remember Penny Livermore, Peter Paul Kay, Aleen Bayard, Samuel Tepper, Peter Siveta, Sean Kavanagh, Jan Baker, Andrea Walker. Some of them helped me to realize independent research projects that have become pillars for my interdisciplinary interests in philosophy with its application in the humanities and the sciences. 

So I really love the visionary spirit of Northwestern reflected in its motto-- "quaecumque sunt vera," whatsoever things are true. One of the things that I remember, even though it was a difficult time for me, especially because I was working full time and attending full time, were three places that I visited constantly that gave me new motivation, recharged me, and gave me a sense of tranquility that I would like to mention. A Shakespeare garden, where you can find a lovely quote in the center-- "one touch of nature makes the whole world kin," by William Shakespeare, which is in the proximity with the Dearborn Observatory. And the house chapel. 

So these are places that I constantly visited and thought about my studies and my future. Those places so close by represent my own personality. Reflection, observation of the stars and the cosmos and, at the same time, this introspection. So the chapel was perfect. 

MAX: What's the most meaningful philosophy that you've ever studied? And what do you see as a future for philosophy? 

ADINA BEZERITA: The most meaningful philosophy I've ever studied is the one that is applicable to oneself. As I said, self-examination and applying that in your everyday life and even in your relationships. And then the future of philosophy, I definitely see it as relinked with ancient wisdom. Somehow, we need to find a bridge between what the ancients saw with what we are facing today. 

I see philosophy as the common element across disciplines. And this is also something that was validated when I was at Oxford. I found the work of Mary Midgley, who felt that the multiple disciplines have this common quality, this common philosophical way of exploring. And I think this is the future of philosophy. I feel like ancient philosophy reconnected with the multi-disciplines of today, and essentially informing us towards new unforeseen horizons. 

MAX: If you could have dinner with any philosopher in history, who would it be and what would you ask them? 

ADINA BEZERITA: I thought about this question. And I definitely would love to meet Diotima of Mantinea, who was a historical figure. Some people think that she was an invention of Plato. But I think that might be a reductionistic way of looking at Diotima. And then I would also love to see Hypatia. She was an astronomer philosopher and she was very dedicated to her study. And she refused to marry. And she wasn't really liked for her views and opinions. Of course, you know her tragic end. 

Another figure I would love to meet is Asclepigenia, who was a mentor to Proclus. So all these figures had a major impact on thinkers that have transformed our view of philosophy and of knowledge. The one thing that I would ask them is if they could communicate with me today, because it sometimes feels lonely to do this work. And it does require a certain level of resilience and self-encouragement. I would really love to be able to still communicate with them. 

MAX: Adina, thank you so much again for joining us. 

ADINA BEZERITA: Thank you very much, Max. And thank you to Northwestern University and the Northwestern Alumni Association. It's been great. 

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