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Title: Philosophy of Seyyed Hossein Nasr (Library of Living Philosophers Series) by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Randall E. Auxier, Lucian W. Stone, Lewis Edwin Hahn ISBN: 0-8126-9414-7 Publisher: Open Court Publishing Company Pub. Date: 30 November, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $36.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.6 (5 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: The Perennial Philosophy of the Traditionalist School
Comment: The Philosophy of Seyyed Hussein Nasr is a rich work that addresses certain aspects of the Perennial Philosophy of the Traditionalist school, including the metaphysics, the ontology (the Great Chain of Being) and basic assumptions. I have been wanting to write a review on this work for some time, but have been unable to form solid conclusions on how I feel about it. This in no way implies that I doubt Dr. Nasr's, or the Traditionalist's position about the practicality of the Philosophy, or the metaphysics and ontology it espouses, but that I found the work leading to even more questions about the foundational premises of Perennial Philosophy as articulated by the Traditionalist school. To clarify the point of my confusion I will say that I have been unable to grasp and understand fully the relationship between the premodern religious and philosophic quest (enshrined in Perennial Philosophy with exquisite beauty and comprehensiveness) and the postmodern condition in which topics such as globalization and changing social orders cut us off from the social-historical costumes the religions are guised in. On top of that we also have to contend with the 'partial irrelevancy' of the accidental aspects of religion, or the exclusivist and exoteric dimensions which seem to be constructed on opositional dialectics with regards to other religious traditions and which inspire hostility and confusion. Dr. Nasr seems to imply that the premodern religions cannot reorient themselves at all, even with regards to their foundations accommodating an understanding of and doctrinal integration with the Perennial Philosophy, or universal esoterism. This may be a misunderstanding on my part and further clarification would be great.
On thing I can say that strikes me as profound about Dr. Nasr's articulation, and for that matter the other founders of the Traditionalist school, is that their Perennial Philosophy is understood from within the experienial epistemic scheme and not strictly through a deductive process as much of Western philosophy is so grossly dependant. This of course is the point of departure for many who are schooled in the logic of Western philosophy. However, the position, as I have understood it, which the Traditionalist school holds is that discursive thought can only produce a philosophical orientation which is limited to the mundane and unable to transcend it to the Sacred Substance. Even the term Sacred Substance would indicate to them nothing but an emotional or sentimental attachment to an abstract assumption, or a projection of divinity onto some speculatory idea. The Perennial metaphysics of the Traditionalist school is rooted in the Substance of the soul and so it appeals to the soul of man.
In 'The Other Perennial Philosophy'(University Press of America, 2000), Laibelman seeks to draw up a universal metaphysic based on various religious perspectives and argues that any Perennial Philosophy is bound to be speculative. I think he has a point from the perspective of one who seeks Perennial Philosophy in a discursive manner, but from the perspective of the Traditionalist school, this Philosophy is hard-wired in the very nature of our being and is only attained to through genuine spiritual realization, in which case the Philosophy becomes objectified. This is why Perennial Philosophy, as articulated by the Traditionalist school, will always remain rooted in the sacred religions and their multi faceted disciplines. Though Laibelman's work is interesting and the intentions sincere, he lost my attention due to the dryness of the approach and the treatment he employs in defining the Philosophy.
To conclude, I found this work to be fulfilling on many levels. Dr. Nasr's well-composed philosophic and rational arguments make for powerful and highly persuasive engagements. I only wish there had been more written on Perennial Philosophy and the postmodern religion context. Perhaps 'Primordial Truth and Postmodern Theology'(SUNY press, 1989) will answer some of these questions for me, but the Traditionalist here is Huston Smith and I would have liked to see Dr. Nasr tackle this issue with his intellectual rigor.
Rating: 4
Summary: Nasr's Critique of Modernity not a Call for Violence
Comment: Nasr is a premier philosopher of science and arguably the West's leading Islamicist.
This particular work draws together a wide range of responses to Nasr's writings from scientists, philosophers, and scholars of religion that are both highly laudatory and scathingly critical.
The extent of Nasr's influence can be judged by the academic, religious, and cultural diversity of the contributers.
Of special interest to those who are familiar with Nasr's philosophical vision already is that many of the arguments raised against his understanding of the "sophia perennis" are responded to here in one form or another through Nasr's exhaustive replies to each essay.
The only major shortcoming to this work is the absence of a contribution addressing some of the theological and philosophical problems surrounding Nasr's belief in a transcendent and esoteric unity of religions. This particular aspect of the Iranian philosopher's thought has sparked a considerable degree of dialogue among Muslims, much of it, no doubt, ridden by misunderstandings. A contribution by a non-perennialist Traditionalist such as the Shadhili Sufi Shaikh, Nuh Keller, or the Ba Alawi Cambridge professor, Abdul-Hakim Murad, would have completed this excellent volume.
Perhaps the editors did consider including a critical essay of this nature, but deemed it outside the field of the book, which is after all concerned with philosophy per se. But if there is anything one gets from Nasr, it is that philosophy and religion, conceived in the traditional sense, exist through a symbiotic interdependency: Religion provides a concrete method for the existential realization or "tahqiq" of philosophical truths whereas philosophy provides the Intellectual basis for religion.
Because Nasr's truly holistic worldview necessitates the mutual dependence of religion and philosophy, the absence of a critical essay questioning the legitimacy of Nasr's perennial philosophy from a theologically Islamic vantage point, (since that is the tradition through which he speaks), can't but be seen as a deficiency in an otherwise comprehensive collection of articles.
Finally, some readers might be troubled by Nasr's criticisms of modernity, such as his claim that the "the modern world is essentially evil and accidentally good," whereas the traditional world is "essentially good and accidentally evil." These statements have to be understood in the broader context of his philosophy.
For Nasr, the traditional world was pervaded by a tremendous sense of the Sacred and the Absolute, whereas the inception of modernity involved precisely the severing off of that awareness, resulting in what Max Weber would later dub the "disenchantment of the world."
Nazism was as much a product of that disenchantment as was secular liberalism, fascism, communism, and colonialism. All of these ideological strains were products of the Enlightenment. Modern day religious terrorism, guided as it is by a desire for a modern utopian state through the use of sophisticated modern weaponry and strategy is simply another expression of Modernity with the unique feature that it employs the symbology of religion.
Nasr has been an unrelenting opponent of Islamic fundamentalism in all its forms throughout his career because he sees it as a somewhat vigilante reactionary movement operating within the paradigm of the modern nation state, but even more so, because it lacks a well thought out metaphysical basis rooted in a traditional Muslim understanding of the world which respects both nature and human dignity.
To say then that Nasr's religiously based critique of modernity translates into a tacit endorsement of political terrorism is not only a gross misrepresentation of his outlook, but an indictment against one's own capacity to understand.
Rating: 4
Summary: A good summary of his philosophy
Comment: Book is about his philosophy in the form of critics written by other scholars in this field or against it. It starts with short biography of Dr.Nasr, mostly his activities written by him. It sounds a liitel strange when he praises himself but what is the difference if it is the truth. Main part of the book is various themas of his Perennial Philosophy. Each scholar has taken some aspects of his writings or known beliefs and either commented on it, supported it or tried to negate it. After each such writing, Dr. Nast has responded and gave his defence or clarifications on the issues that might have been mis represented or mis understood. This book is a quick and short way into his philosophy for lazy minds. Rather than reading his book "Knowledge and Sacred", you can read this book and get the whole idea. In his theory of Transendental Unity of Religions it sounds like he is building on the ayat that says similar to each man is born with a concept of God. Theory seems to be long strech and depends on definition of Religion. Besides the philosophy itself this book is worth to read for someone interested in unity of religions and view of contemporary Islamic scholar on philosphy of religion. One thing is important that you need to read this book with symbolism and mystisism in mind and in the context of the subject than you understand what he is saying, otherwise you could get crooked interpretations. One of the writers in the book had a wrong understanding about his statement about modern world and Mr. Nasr has given a good answer to it.
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Title: Transcendent Unity of Religions by Frithjof Schuon ISBN: 0835605876 Publisher: Quest Books Pub. Date: August, 1984 List Price(USD): $10.00 |
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Title: Traditionalism: Religion in the Light of the Perennial Philosophy by Harry Oldmeadow, Kenneth Oldmeadow ISBN: 9559028049 Publisher: The Sri Lanka Institute of Traditional Studies Pub. Date: April, 2000 List Price(USD): $37.50 |
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Title: History of Islamic Philosophy (Routledge History of World Philosophies) by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Oliver Leaman ISBN: 0415259347 Publisher: Routledge Pub. Date: 01 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $70.00 |
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Title: The Essential Titus Burckhardt: Reflections on Sacred Art, Faiths, and Civilizations (The Perennial Philosophy) by Titus Burckhardt, William Stoddart, Seyyed Hossein Nasr ISBN: 0941532364 Publisher: World Wisdom Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: Knowledge and the Sacred by Seyyed Hossein Nasr ISBN: 0791401774 Publisher: State Univ of New York Pr Pub. Date: September, 1989 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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