Perennial Philosophy

Kejawen (Javanese Sufism) and Perennial Philosophy in Kuntowijoyo’s Khotbah di Atas Bukit

by Mohd Faizal Musa

Journal Malay Literature, 24(1): 1-28

Khotbah di Atas Bukit (Sermon on a Hill) by Kuntowijoyo was written to foreground transcendental principles, in... more Khotbah di Atas Bukit (Sermon on a Hill) by Kuntowijoyo was written to foreground transcendental principles, in accordance with the Theory of Transcendental Literature. Transcendental principles are brought to the fore and applied in this work through the use of symbolism. Kuntowijoyo uses a local subject for enquiry, kejawen (Javanese sufism), to address issues of faith and tauhid (Islamic Monotheism or the Oneness of Allah). However, there is some ambiguity in the text which could affect the aspects of tauhid discussed. In presenting the teachings of Sufism, Kuntowijoyo may in the process be misunderstood and consequently considered to subscribe to global theology where tauhid is simplified and religions “combined”. Khotbah di Atas Bukit is a complex work to read because of the overuse of symbolism aimed at obscuring meaning. This kind of symbolism needs to be explained, particularly to readers who have little knowledge of sufism. It is this that makes Khotbah di Atas Bukit a specialized work for a specialized readership.

Key words: Islamic literature, Islam kejawen, sufism, perennial philosophy, Islamic leadership, tauhid, Kuntowijoyo, pluralism,
mysticism, Transcendental Literature, myth, global religion, orthodox Muslims (the faithful).

La condizione umana nella concezione tradizionale di R.Guenon.

by marco pucciarini

In this article I have tried to summarize the idea of the human condition  in Rene Guenon thought's.

Contributo per una Bibliografia Completa delle opere di A.K. Coomaraswamy.

by marco pucciarini

The first attempt to publish in Italian a complete bibliography of Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy's works.

Ars sine scientia nihil. Rôle et statut de l’art sacré dans la perspective de l’Ecole traditionnelle

by Olivier Santamaria

à paraître dans les Actes du Séminaire interuniversitaire (ULB, UCL, Lille3) "Esthétique et spiritualité".

Ars sine scientia nihil est ; l’art sans la science n’est rien. C’est par cette célèbre sentence qu’il convient... more Ars sine scientia nihil est ; l’art sans la science n’est rien. C’est par cette célèbre sentence qu’il convient d’ouvrir une réflexion sur l’art dans son rapport à la science ou, plus exactement, sur l’ « art sacré » dans son rapport à la « science sacrée ». La maxime ars sine scientia nihil est passe pour avoir été prononcée par le français Jean Mignot, « maître en géométrie » (expertus geometriae), autrement dit architecte, alors qu’il travaillait sur le chantier de la cathédrale de Milan, à la charnière des XIVe et XVe siècles . Dans l’esprit de Jean Mignot, de même que dans celui des scolastiques médiévaux, la pratique d’un art comme celui de l’architecture ou de tout autre art, en l’absence d’une connaissance appropriée — ce qui sous-entendait des connaissances non seulement géométriques mais encore mathématiques autant que théologiques — était tout simplement impossible, car le résultat d’une pratique (l’art) sans la connaissance (science) serait le néant.
Le cadre qui nous sert de réflexion est vaste, puisqu’il embrasse théoriquement l’art médiéval et même, bien au-delà, l’art traditionnel dans son ensemble. Cependant, nous n’abordons pas cet immense sujet de front, mais au travers d’un prisme, le courant de l’Ecole traditionnelle et de leur doctrine, formulée vers le milieu du XXe siècle, dans la période de l’entre-deux-guerres.

...

...leur doctrine nous intéresse ici pour comprendre trois points essentiels ;
Premièrement, ce qu’est l’art en lui-même, dans son rapport à la science et au travail technique ;
Deuxièmement, le statut de l’art dans une société traditionnelle, la place qu’il y occupe et, par conséquent, la situation de l’artiste qui en est le véhicule ;
Troisièmement, le rôle que l’art est amené à jouer à l’égard de la communauté, c’est-à-dire sa fonction.

(début de l'Introduction)

Mots-clés : perenialism, pérennialisme, traditionalisme, esthétique, art, théorie de l'art, art médiéval, art sacré, guénon, schuon, coomaraswamy.

Kuhn & Nasr: a Short Philosophical Exposition and Analysis

by dan seltzer

The paper presented here will consider critical issues from the works of T. S. Kuhn and H. S. Nasr as they pertain to... more The paper presented here will consider critical issues from the works of T. S. Kuhn and H. S. Nasr as they pertain to the history and philosophy of science. More particularly, the paper will
raise both thinkers’ view concerning the development of scientific theory, the source and criteria for a science, its internal function as a community and its external function within society at large. The work will include as main source of reference Kuhn’s seminal work The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1970) and Nasr’s Knowledge and the Sacred (1989). In order to frame the philosophical issues at hand, the work will include two expositions, dedicated to each thinker’s unique philosophy. The third part of this paper will than extrapolate each thinker’s convictions on a number of common issues. Conversely, the paper will attempt to show not so much the common ground and agreement between the two, as is usually the case with comparisons, but the distinctive values each theory maintains and the benefits one may hope to gain from these discrepancies.

How Esoteric is Rudolf Steiner's Concept of Freedom? With Special Reference to his Philosophy of Freedom

by Chris Fort

This was my final dissertation for the Western Esotericism post-graduate degree at the University of Exeter in 2010. While it is perhaps not the most exemplary piece of scholarship, I believe there are some interesting conclusions drawn and key aspects of Steiner's fascinating Philosophy of Freedom covered. I hope to re-address it and fine tune it at some point in the near future, and will certainly share the results on here.

Since its beginning in 1913, the Anthroposophical Society has concerned itself with research and investigation into... more Since its beginning in 1913, the Anthroposophical Society has concerned itself with research and investigation into esoteric matters. As a ‘Spiritual Science’, it delves into the spiritual aspects of man and his relation to the world. Its founding father, Rudolf Steiner, instigated the movement on the back of the principles he presented in the publication of his major treatise The Philosophy of Freedom in 1894. As the title suggests, it is a book centred on philosophical themes such as man’s freedom and covers related concepts such as epistemology and morality rather than specific esoteric matters; but its legacy as a fundamental document in the history of western esotericism has long been noted. The purpose of this paper is to look into the esoteric content of this book in order to find its appeal to the esoteric community ever since its publication. Drawing on Steiner’s early philosophical influences and thoughts, it will analyse how they were developed to compliment his inclinations and insights into spiritual realities. It will also show how Steiner’s concept of freedom relates to existing esoteric philosophies and the extent to which they may have also added to the development of his ideas.

Philosophia Perennis и «неоевразийство»: роль интегрального традиционализма в утопических построениях Александра Дугина

by Andreas Umland

Форум новейшей восточноевропейской истории и культуры. 2010. Т. 7. № 2. С. 169-186 (с Антоном Шеховцовым).

From Materialism to Miracles: Connections and Contradictions

by Lloyd Graham

MC (Modern Churchman, New Series; now Modern Believing) 34, 44-48, 1993

The worlds of scientific materialism and religious belief are usually regarded as opposite extremes of the... more The worlds of scientific materialism and religious belief are usually regarded as opposite extremes of the philosophical spectrum. An attempt to journey from one to the other, in either direction, is seldom made, but it is not impossible to traverse the barriers which traditionally separate the multiplicity of world-views, both secular and religious, within this spectrum. While the method I will adopt may be criticized for avoiding rather than overcoming these divisions, the result may nevertheless be interesting and instructive. It is in the hope of highlighting internal contradictions within, and constructive resonances between, the many traditions of thought and belief that this wide-ranging account is offered.

Is Dugin a Traditionalist? "Neo-Eurasianism" and Perennial Philosophy

by Andreas Umland

The Russian Review, vol. 68, no. 4 (2009), pp. 662-678 (with Anton Shekhovtsov).

Comment by Mark Sedgwick: more Comment by Mark Sedgwick: http://traditionalistblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/is-dugin-traditionalist.html
Rebuttal by Anton Shekhovtsov: http://anton-shekhovtsov.blogspot.com/2009/11/is-aleksandr-dugin-traditionalist.html
The opposite view by a Duginist: http://evrazia.org/article/1315

Al Junun Funun: Toward an Islamic Transpersonal Psychotherapy.

by Jamie Wood

Research Proposal.

Investigating implicit and explicit ontological and cosmological ideation held by members of three Muslim communities... more Investigating implicit and explicit ontological and cosmological ideation held by members of three Muslim communities across London, triangulated by survey and structured, semi-structured, and informal interviews facilitating deployment of psychotherapy with Muslims.

The research will develop a therapeutic instrument facilitating psychotherapy in an Islamic context; an applied anthropological project (Chambers, 2000) it draws from and contributes to interdisciplinary perspectives. Emic Muslim therapists observe therapy can lead to negative reaction manifesting as cognitive dissonance, discontinuation of treatment, and thus the prevention of benefit from therapy (Dwairy, 2006, and Al-Abdul-Jabbar and Al-Issa, 2000), with rationale for this phenomena in dynamics between Arab : Western; Collective : Individual; Authoritarian : Liberal (Dwairy, 2006). Relevancy via producing a culturally and religiously relevant therapeutic tool facilitating psychotherapeutic praxis by Muslim and non-Muslim therapists, justified (Carter and Little, 2007) through participation, observation, survey, and interview.

Research over three populations across London offers the required cultural heterogeneity, looking for continuity if not universals (Ellen, 2010). Anthropology has historically focussed on the small to reveal the greater, through the particular the universal (Eriksen, 2001), traditionally through single sites, and on a single community (Marcus, 1995); a method inappropriate in the development of comprehensive therapeutic instrument. The study utilises varied populations within London, using gatekeepers and informants previously known (Davies, 1998), and others identified within the populations. Overcoming both the limitations presented by but recognising ‘the practical advantage of ethnography fixed in a single locale’ (Marcus1, 1986, p.172), London is a locale of some 7.6 million people, thus dynamics between single-sited and multi-sited ethnography within a multi-ethnic metropolitan district (Passaro, 1997) presents as manifesting the glocal (Roudometof, 2005).