Perennial philosophy
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The notion of perennial philosophy (Latin: philosophia perennis) suggests the existence of a universal set of truths and values common to all peoples and cultures. The term was first used in the 16th century by Augostino Steuco in his book entitled: De perenni philosophia libri X (1540), in which Scholastic philosophy is seen as the Christian pinnacle of wisdom to which all other philosophical currents in one way or another point. The idea was later, and more famously, taken up by the German mathematician and philosopher Gottfried Leibniz, who used it to designate the common, eternal philosophy that underlies all religions, and in particular the mystical streams within them. The term was popularized in more recent times by Aldous Huxley in his 1945 book: The Perennial Philosophy. The term "perennial philosophy" has also been used as a translation of the Hindu concept of Sanatana Dharma, the "everlasting or perennial truth, or norm".
The existence of a perennial philosophy is the fundamental tenet of the Traditionalist School, formalized in the writings of 20th century thinkers René Guénon and Frithjof Schuon. The Indian scholar and writer Ananda Coomaraswamy, associated with the Traditionalists, also wrote extensively about perennial philosophy.
Main principles
According to the tenets of the perennial philosophy, people in many cultures and eras have experienced and recorded comparable perceptions about the nature of reality, the self, the world, and the meaning and purpose of existence. These similarities point to underlying universal principles, forming the common ground of most religions. Differences among these fundamental perceptions arise from differences in human cultures and can be explained in light of such cultural conditioning.Among these perceptions are the following assertions:
- The physical or phenomenal world is not the only reality; another non-physical reality exists. The material world is the shadow of a higher reality which cannot be grasped by the senses, but the human spirit and intellect bear testimony to it in their deepest core.
- Humans mirror the nature of this two-sided reality: while the material body is subject to the physical laws of birth and death, the other aspect of human existence is not subject to decay or loss, and is identical to the intellect or spirit, which is the kernel of the human soul. In the modern West, this second or other reality has been frequently discounted or ignored.
- All humans possess a capacity, however unused and thus atrophied, for intuitive perceptions of ultimate or absolute truth, and the nature of reality. This perception is the final goal of human beings, and its pursuit and development are the purpose of their existence. The major religions try to (re-)establish the link between the human soul and this higher and ultimate reality. This ultimate reality, in the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), is called God; God is the Absolute principle from which all existence originated and to which all existence will return. In non-theistic religions, such as Buddhism, Jainism, and Taoism, the ultimate or absolute is characterized somewhat differently.
According to Huxley, the perennial philosophy is
- the metaphysic that recognizes a divine Reality substantial to the world of things and lives and minds; the psychology that finds in the soul something similar to, or even identical with, divine Reality; the ethic that places man's final end in the knowledge of the immanent and transcendent Ground of all being; the thing is immemorial and universal. Rudiments of the perennial philosophy may be found among the traditional lore of primitive peoples in every region of the world, and in its fully developed forms it has a place in every one of the higher religions (The Perennial Philosophy, p. vii).