Perennial Wisdom Research Articles

Reviving Perennial Wisdom: Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s Model as A Solution to Modern Crises

This article presents a comprehensive examination of Seyyed Hossein Nasr's evaluation model within the context of perennial philosophy. Nasr’s model advocates for the revival of perennial wisdom—a traditional Islamic perspective that he believes offers a remedy to the contemporary crises plaguing modern civilization. According to Nasr, both Western and Islamic civilizations have faltered in achieving their fundamental objectives, leading to deteriorating human relations and widespread spiritual disillusionment, which in turn adversely impacts the environment. This paper employs a library research methodology, synthesizing data from a variety of sources including books, academic journals, and other relevant media. Through the lens of Nasr’s concepts, the study explores how his ideas might serve as a conduit for re-aligning contemporary society with the core principles of Islam and addressing the spiritual and existential challenges of modernity. Additionally, the paper discusses the potential reapplication of Sufism as a strategic approach to mitigate the crisis induced by rapid technological advancements and societal changes. By reintroducing and integrating these traditional insights, the study aims to offer solutions to the multifaceted problems faced by contemporary human societies.

Deep Sustainability as Care: A Nondual Approach to Environmental Communication

ABSTRACT This essay suggests the concept of “deep sustainability” as a philosophical orientation for environmental communication scholars to address not only the empirical but also the ethical and ontological questions associated with sustainability. Drawing on the thoughts of deep ecology and founded in a nondual ontology with origins in perennial wisdom, it argues that in order to create a counterculture to the uncaring neoliberal order, there is a need to substantially increase awareness of the devastating implications of the dualistic discourse inherent to this order. What is required is a new and radically different worldview of “interbeing,” rooted in the lived experience of the interconnectedness – oneness – of all life. Extending research in the study of sustainability discourse, this essay contends that it is only when our identity in-group becomes all-inclusive, that is, when duality dissolves, that caring for all beings, be they humans, trees, animals, or other lifeforms, comes effortlessly and with deep – lasting – sustainability as the natural result.

Experiencing Place for Experiential Learning

Experiential learning continues to be a valued outcome of international educational mobility. However, underlying this proposition are unexamined or uncritical assumptions about the nature of learning, its relationship to experience, and how place mediates between the two. A fuller, more grounded, specification of experiential learning is more than an exercise in conceptual clarity. Rather, it holds the promise of accessing one’s abilities as a learner in ways hitherto unimagined, especially when found through relational engagement with place. Drawing on Kryder’s work, the article first outlines how experiencing place (re)familiarizes us with our inherent abilities of perception and cognition. Subsequently, it draws on the symbolism of the Pemako or mountain of hidden teachings to thoroughly explore the many facets of treasure discovery as a learning paradigm conducive to experiencing place and tapping into its perennial wisdom.

Principles of Religious Pluralism

Religious pluralism is growing in significance because of increasing religious diversity and increasing religious conflicts, which cause unrest in contemporary society. Muslim perennialists represent one of many groups advocating for the common goals of religious pluralism and the reaffirmation of perennial wisdom, which lies at the heart of all primordial religious traditions. The purpose of the study is to explore the principles of religious pluralism advocated by Muslim perennialist philosophers. Using the discourse analysis methodology, this study analyzed the theological validity of the Muslim perennialist perspective for articulating interfaith dialogue and co-existence in multicultural societies. By conducting this critical analysis, the study concludes that the principles of religious pluralism advocated by Muslim perennialists are the means of bringing interfaith peaceful co-existence to society.

The Perennial Wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Great Books Tradition

The Perennial Wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Great Books Tradition

Wisdom through Quotations: A Search for Truth

This paper is devoted to a brief discussion on wisdom, supported by a range of quotations, from a variety of sources, biblical and otherwise. Since immemorial times, scholars and philosophers have reflected on life, human behaviour and the search for perennial wisdom. This attempt to explain “why we are here” and “what does it all mean” may not appear to all of us as a spiritual quest, but it is our God given spirituality, which is the driving force behind this search for the truth; our hunger for a deep, constant objective reality. The purpose of this document is to be of help to others who may be wondering about the great mystery that is all around us. Without claiming to be anyone's spiritual guide, it may teach that each of us can help each other in small ways.

„Bhagavad-Gītā, and the Universal Wisdom of Hinduism”

Abstract The brief episode represented by the Bhagavad-Gītā, entrenched in the great body of the epic Hindu poem Mahābhārata, is revealing for the long lasting intellectual and spiritual effort made by the enlightened Indian philosophers in order to over-pass the ritual and social constraints put in place by the Veda, during the early period of the Hindu tradition. By focusing on the dialogue between a valiant knight and the earthly incarnation of God himself, a perennial wisdom is to be noticed. This is a promise for salvation from fear and death for all who dare to follow their duty, by offering them other ways of attending the Supreme. The self-sacrifice, the renunciation to all ego and the pure love for the Divine represent sacrifices that equal those offered by Hindu priests. By this, every single individual is meant to finally embrace freedom and eternity.

Noetic dispositions: A model for intellectual excellence

ABSTRACT A burgeoning body of literature discusses the process of being and becoming a doctoral scholar, suggesting that graduate students should move beyond performing the role of ‘good student’ and transform into doctoral scholars and stewards of the profession. More recently, research has been conducted to identify more commonly held competencies and attributes doctoral scholars should develop. Even so, clear models for developing scholarly identity and specific habits-of-mind are more difficult to identify. The literature ranges from discussing this process as a form of transformation or identity development, as a form of socialisation, as regulative epistemology, or as the development of a scholarly habitus. While it would be fruitful to derive a new model for scholarly dispositions, we look to perennial wisdom and metaphors of intellectual excellence and lifelong learning that already exist. In this paper we illuminate three Confucian notions, elaborating the development of scholarly dispositions and cultivating particular habits of mind, values, and ways of being. Confucian philosophy sets forth ideal ways of being, valuing, and knowing that are highly developed in their own right and add a more holistic understanding to the conversation of scholarly identity development.

Self-Knowledge: Based on Knowledge of the First Cause of Creation (Aristotle’s Conception of the Soul)

This article argues that Aristotle depicts the soul as a detectable aspect of one’s being, is in the form of properties, and is discernable by cognition. Thus, he proposed that it is possible to discern the complementary connection between one’s being and the first cause of creation. Aristotle, like Kant, recognised that the age-old problem of scepticism posed a challenge to epistemological, ontological, and ethical claims. However, Kant did not develop his ideas regarding bridging the gap between what is demonstrable and the first cause of creation – which resulted in perpetuating problems with scepticism and dualism. Consequently, in the effort to resolve the problems of scepticism and dualism, to promote self-actualisation, holistic well-being and, to help individuals realise their full potential there is a resurgence of Aristotle’s explanation of the relationship between self-knowledge and knowledge of the first cause of creation.
 This article contributes to the philosophy of science, the philosophy of the social sciences, the philosophy of religion, to contemporary literature on social psychology, and to literature addressing the interface between the sciences and perennial philosophy by demonstrating that Aristotle’s perennial wisdom and his epistemic approach – based on logical positivism – resolve problems related to scepticism, materialism, and dualism.

Wisdom of the Body in Sport and Exercise Practices

Abstract Two alternative ancient views on medicine and health can be distinguished in western antiquity: first, that the knowledge of the doctor is sufficient, and second, that health is primarily a consequence of adapting one’s own life to the wisdom of the body. The body works according to its own laws, has its own “logic,” and speaks its own language. Therefore, listening to the body can be an important source of information for a healthy human life. The body is not merely an object for human manipulation and “the prison of the soul,” but a source of learning and knowledge. It seems that people rarely listen to their own bodies; however, the ancient wisdom of listening to the body is still present and cultivated in modern sports training. Good athletes and trainers are the ones who learn from the body and recognize its messages. In this article, we focus on four aspects of wisdom of the body, presented through four virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. The body teaches us temperance and justice; for example, when someone exaggerates too much, the body produces the feeling of pain. The body is a source of fortitude and persistence when rest and healing is needed. The body is a source of prudence or truth about oneself when we face the physical demands of sport. Therefore, through modern sports practices, the perennial wisdom of the body is still accessible to the modern man.

Off the beaten tracks: The neglected significance of interiority for sustainable urban development

Interiority, the inner being, consciousness, is the core theme of this essay. My main concern is the application of rather marginal approaches to address future potentials for sustainable urban development variously referred to as holistic, integral, transdisciplinary or meta-theoretical. What characterizes them is an attempt to acknowledge many different types of knowledge, including what is typically called “Eastern” and “Western” approaches to science, culture, the arts and also perennial wisdom traditions. In spite of this apparent neglect, these approaches have been noticeably linked in the past to futures studies by several scholars. A key argument is that as much as we recognize the outer built environment of cities to address major challenges of our times like the ecological crisis, we also need to integrate the much more subtle interior dimensions of human existence to address them adequately. On the one hand, this research inquires about the potentials of social urban pioneers and change agents, intentional communities and such transnational initiatives like the transition town movement, which are discussed within the context of their global relevance in developed and developing countries illustrated by the case of India. While on the other hand, it is a quest to develop a conceptual-theoretical approach to what may be called integral transformative urban development planning.

Cultivating The Sage's Creative Vision: Insights from Perennial Wisdom on Approaching Organizational Change and Sustainability

Cultivating The Sage's Creative Vision: Insights from Perennial Wisdom on Approaching Organizational Change and Sustainability

Aldous Huxley’s Poetry of Silence

Utopian thought, conventionally seeking to harmonize the world, witnessed an essential revision in the 20th century. This period of grand political and social upheavals, world wars, an arms race, scientific and technological progress, ecological concerns, and globalization radically undermined mankind’s faith in the humanistic potential of utopian projects. However, in Aldous Huxley’s writings, the intention to summon up a utopian experiment superseded any agonies of doubt about programmes of social reconstruction. Huxley turned to utopia when mass distrust in the constructive impulse of the genre had become notable in the socio-cultural climate. In Huxley’s last novel, Island (1962), “the poetry of silence” can be seen to render an optimistic response to the unholy state of the world.This article examines the novel’s lyrical interspersions, which arguably create a specific concept of silence through a series of thematic explorations comprising the ideas of noiselessness, speechlessness, and peace. The idea of noiselessness endorses a form of overcoming the world’s invincible cacophony. This kind of omnipotent dissonance can be diminished only by a supernatural power which integrates man’s disparate relationships with the universe. Like Nature for Wordsworth, Huxley’s image of the noiseless movement of the world unveils an image of unity to those who bring with them “a heart that watches and receives.” The idea of speechlessness surfaces in the lyrical fragments of the novel that touch upon intuition. Intuitive discoveries lie at the heart of a religion unfettered from dogma, and allow access to the perennial wisdom which becomes “suddenly visible” through the act of elevation to the summit of the universe. The idea of peace is placed outside the conventional frame of existential discrepancies. For this reason, the image of Shiva is meant to transcend the opposition of life and death. As long as Shiva dances simultaneously in all the planes of reality, the Palanese can learn from him how to exist in non-attachment. The acceptance of the world’s entropic progression checked by the poetry of silence leads the protagonist to a spiritual awakening and stirs his empathy for the utopian order realized in Pala.The poetry of silence embraces the beauty of the world which comes into existence from what Huxley calls a “pregnant emptiness.” The mystery of this creation cannot be subjected to any scientific, philosophical, or even theological systems of reference. One may only sense this mystery without reasoning. Wisdom converges with the skyin emptiness, dubbed “the womb of love,” and creates a universe from the poetry of silence. In Island, utopian thought, traditionally focusing on the regular patterns of a perfect society and state, attains a mystical profile promoted by the poetry of silence.

Embodying Evolutionary Vision: An Action-Based Experiment in Non-Dual Perception

This article suggests that “evolutionary vision,” the unifying paradigm of physical, biological, and sociocultural evolution, needs to be fully embodied and deeply experienced in the human being, and that this can be effected by the experience at the heart of the “perennial wisdom tradition,”1 that is, that of “non-dual perception.” The article suggests an “action-based” experiment paralleling the method of a “thought experiment,” based on the assumption that one way that one can experience this embodiment is by “trying on” the lens of non-dual perception, as practiced by the many traditions of perennial wisdom.

The Functions of Paraclesis

The Thomist 73 (2009): 89-107 THE FUNCTIONS OF PARACLESIS JOHN CORBEIT, 0.P. Dominican House ofStudies Washington, D.C. THE DEATH OF Fr. Servais Pinckaers, 0.P., has left the world of moral theology without one of its leading lights. His work in moral theology centered on the recovery of Thomas Aquinas's perennial wisdom as it concerns the nature and destiny of the human person. He was widely known as a ressourcement rather than as a systematic theologian. His own substantive proposals were appreciably different from those of the ressourcement theologians of the nouvelle theologie, both in regards to subject matter and in regards to certain central governing intuitions, above all about the proper interpretation of the principle "grace does not destroy nature but perfects it." Nevertheless, he shared with them the conviction that the further theology moved from immediate consideration of its normative sources, the more unhealthy its developments were likely to be. He certainly knew the necessity of rigorously scientific systematic theology and appreciated the insights offered by the more metaphysically recondite approach to the writings of Aquinas taken by the Thomistic commentatorial tradition. His own genius, however, was to make his proposal through the vehicle of historical exposition. This recovery of Aquinas was to be achieved through the discipline of reading Aquinas through the lens provided by his sources rather than the lens provided by his commentators. Pinckaers was convinced that Aquinas's sources, most fundamentally the Scriptures, but also the Fathers and, of course, Aristotle, had an idea of moral teaching that was fundamentally different from that provided by modernity. 89 90 JOHN CORBETT, O.P. If the moderns, beginning with William of Ockham, set the stage for considering moral teaching as chiefly concerned with the detailing and defense of moral obligations, the ancients were agreed in seeing moral teaching as chiefly engaged with setting out the authentic paths to human happiness. Pinckaers shared this conviction with the ancients and likewise the conviction that this path is essentially the path of virtue. Furthermore, as the telos of moral instruction is practical the teaching on virtue has to be accessible. Though Pinckaers recognized that there are distinctions that must be made with speculative rigor-for example, the distinction between the freedom of quality and the freedom of indifference-they were drawn out only to provide accessible help to the man or woman searching for authentic human happiness. I. THE NEGLECT OF PARACLESIS/PARAENESIS Pinckaers placed great weight on the ancient genre of paraclesis or exhortation as a mode of moral instruction. Several factors influenced him in this regard: his reverence for the authentic sources of Christian ethics; his conviction that the Scriptures are normative for the faith (and that they are to be read pace the Fathers in a "realist" fashion, and are in no way the private preserve of professional exegetes); his conviction that moral theology is, above all, about the search for authentic human happiness; his conviction that this search is integrally tied to the acquisition of virtue; and his conviction that discussions of virtue must be intelligible to the man or woman of today. Regretting that paraclesis is not as esteemed as it should be by modern ethicists he wrote: It is now considered as a minor, unimportant genre useful only for people who are aiming at perfection. It is sharply distinguished from a duty-driven morality or ethic, and is given the name paranesis to indicate that it is optional. Once again, the mistake is a serious one, for exhortation seems to have been the characteristic mode of apostolic moral teaching. If we are faithful to the primitive Christian vocabulary, we will replace paranesis, a termvery rarely used, (three times only: in Luke 3:18 and in Acts 27:2 and 22) with paraclesis, which indicates an earnest exhortation. We may think of it as a technical term in St THE FUNCTIONS OF PARACLESIS 91 Paul, for he often uses it to introduce moral teaching in his letters. For example "Think of God's mercy, my brothers, and worship him, I beg you" (Rom 12:1 See also Phil 2: 1; Eph 4:1 and 1 Peter 2: 11). Paraclesis puts...

Working from the inside out

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to offer an insight into the relevance for managers and leaders of what Huxley termed the “perennial philosophy”, a commonality of teachings found within the spiritual and indigenous traditions of all ages and all parts of the world.Design/methodology/approachThe paper proposes the use of a thought experiment to explore the subjective experience of the individual who works in a way that is aligned to the perennial philosophy. The purpose of the experiment is to assess the value of the philosophy to the practical dimensions of management.FindingsThe thought experiment uses an account of an ancient craft worker, working in a manner prescribed by perennial wisdom, as the basis for extrapolating, to a modern situation, the potential fruits of such work. Greater mental clarity and a greater ability to see potential and “unimpededness” are recognized, as is a natural elegance in the products and services that result.Research limitations/implicationsThe “thought experiment” suggested only speculates on the possible results, and therefore can only provide a working hypothesis which must be tested in one's own experience.Practical implicationsThe potential implications to a manager or leader of such an approach to work are very significant. If the effects of adopting the perennial philosophy are true, they result in a radically different understanding of effectiveness and how to produce the highest quality work.Originality/valueThe use of a thought experiment and the specific application of the perennial philosophy to the situation of the modern workplace are unique.

Body, Breath, Mind, and Spirit: The Pursuit of Inner Health

Illness and suffering inevitably bring one face to face with the ultimate questions of life. Thus it is no surprise that spirituality is currently the subject of intense study in medicine and allied disciplines. But these studies are floundering for want of a definition of spirituality, for one cannot research what one cannot clearly define. With very few exceptions Western investigators have yet to realize that the perennial wisdom already has a practical science of spirituality, which is known as Yoga. Here I will explore a very pragmatic definition of spirituality—furnished by the late Swami Rama—that can be applied to health and healing as an organizing context or map for the territory.

The phenomenon of a discovery: The unity of a new science and the perennial wisdom

The phenomenon of a discovery: The unity of a new science and the perennial wisdom

Perennial Wisdom and the Sayings of Mencius

Perennial Wisdom and the Sayings of Mencius

The Neurosis in the Light of Rational Psychology by A. A. A. Terruwe, M. D.

BOOK REVIEWS 669 Two additional comments, based more on prudential then doctrinal grounds, may be advanced. Although Smith several times considers history , his analysis-in the light of the widespread acceptation of Dawson's views-appears too brief and understated. Finally, since each chapter underscores the necessity of including the subjects it treats in the liberal arts' curriculum, the cumulative effect is to choke the college with a mass of necessary subjects. The author should have applied the " principle of selection " he found valid for precollege education. " Subjects preparatory to all further knowledge should be emphasized at the expense of subjects that a student can handle on his own " (p. 146) . However, such purely practical points fall outside the aim and content of the school. These last Professor Smith has examined with his accustomed wisdom and clarity. Providence CoUege, Pru11idence, R.I. THOMAS CuNNINGHAM, O.P. The Neurosis in the Light of Rational Psychology. By A. A. A. TERRUWE, M.D., trans!. by CoNRAD W. BAARS, M.D. New York, P. J. Kenedy & Sons. 1960. Pp. xxii, ~00. Psychiatry and clinical psychology are not theoretical disciplines, although each presupposes and incorporates definite principles and assumptions which are essentially theoretical in character. Genuine progress in the sciences of mental and emotional health will not be made on the basis of a false epistemology or philosophy of human nature; more positively, the psychiatrist must recognize the need and value of a sound understanding of the nature of man, an understanding which rational psychology provides . Mortimer Adler has demonstrated with consummate skill the basically practical aim and import of psychiatry in general and psychoanalysis in particular. There remains a pressing need to isolate and evaluate the theoretical elements implicit in psychiatric practice, to provide both a critical check and an authentic guide to the therapeutic efforts of the professionals in this field. Dr. Terruwe is unusually well qualified to contribute significantly towards that ·integration of theory and practice which is a prime desideratum in psychiatric medicine. The author has for a number of years carried on a broadly diversified practice in the treatment of personality disorders. At a crucial point in her clinical training Dr. Terruwe became acquainted with Thomistic psychology and was able, under the direction of a renowned Dutch clinician, to discern in Thomistic doctrine insights and principles which she believed would aid greatly in the diagnosis and treatment 670 BOOK REVIEWS of neurotic and psychopathic disorders. This expectancy was fulfilled in remarkable fashion over a period of years, and the experience of success in actual practice has been translated into a reflective analysis of the disorders in question. In the present work, a remarkably complete and carefully documented theory of neurosis is worked up on the basis of this experience and in the light of Aristotelian-Thomistic doctrine of the passions . There are pitifully few studies of this kind, incorporating close and critical familiarity with both philosophy and medicine. The plan of Terruwe's book is of far greater interest and significance than even the results reported and conclusions reached-which are, in fact, important enough in themselves and excellently presented. Psychiatry is primarily and essentially a branch of medicine, but more than any other medical specialty it reveals strikingly the complete and complex nature of the human patient. Terruwe's work is notable above all in these three respects: 1) it recognizes the indispensable need of verifying and confirming a theory of mental and emotional disturbance through a number of clinical cases in which the theory's validity is thoroughly tested and rechecked ; 2) it brings to the fore, as an inescapable factor in a total explanation of neurosis, the role of reason, of the spiritual dimension in man, in constituting and preserving mental and emotional health; and 3) it offers an object-lesson in good, fruitful methodology, applying certain principles of intelligibility to the solution of vexing empirical problems. Psychiatry has attracted a number of Thomistic philosophers and theologians , increasingly so in the past decade or more. This interest and concern attest the willingness and even eagerness of Thomists to face contemporary intellectual and cultural developments, with a view to making contact between the profound and perennial wisdom of...