"I have met with no more impressive work in the comparative study of Oriental and Occidental religion". -- T.S. Eliot. A momentous volume.

This collection of letters by Frithjof Schuon, the foremost spokesman of the perennial philosophy, contains nearly 200 newly translated letters from Schuon's youth to old age as written to friends, spiritual seekers, scholars, and others. Among the letters are those that address, in a simpler and more accessible manner, the same metaphysical subjects that continually recur in Schuon's published works. Other letters relate to the spiritual life in its simple and concrete aspects, by answering such fundamental questions as "Why (...) is there evil in the world?", "How can I recognize if I am on a wrong path?", and "What should I do to be saved?" Finally, there are letters that relate to various aspects of Schuon's life, most of which were written to his closest friends. While not a comprehensive autobiography, these letters offer an intimate view of certain key moments in his life. Taken as a whole, the present collection of letters offers insights into the content of Frithjof Schuon's message-his exposition of the perennial philosophy-as well as a glimpse into his life as messenger of that philosophy. (shrink)

Frithjof Schuon was the leading figure in the perennialist school of comparative religious thought.

This work gathers together essays by eighteen internationally known scholars, including Huston Smith, James Cutsinger, Philip Sherrard and Martin Lings. Frithjof Schuon's considerable influence on the thinking of contemporary philosophers and specialists in comparative religion is reflected in the wide range of contributions which make up this fascinating volume.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:The Purpose of Hegel's System FRITHJOF H. BERGMANN THIS ESSAYIS MEANTtO answer the question: what was Hegel really trying to do; what was the program that his system attempted to execute; what was the general enterprise that his philosophy sought to perform? Two things are clear: (1) Hegel insisted that philosophy had to be systematic. He ridiculed philosophers who made disconnected assertions and accused them of "shallowness" and (...) of "inspirationalism." The systematic exposition of philosophy was for Hegel synonymous with doing philosophy scientifically. If a proposition was not presented in the context of a philosophic system, it could not be more than a bald and unsupported assertion that did not merit serious philosophical consideration? (2) Hegel claimed that his own system demonstrated the "necessity" of its contents. The majority of the German Hegel scholars, Haym, Haering, Fischer, Rosenzweig, and Glockner, for example, never attempted to arrive at a precise explication of the function of Hegel's system or of his concept of necessity. They were interested in altogether different questions. The Englishspeaking scholars are generally agreed that by "necessity" Hegel meant "deductive certainty" or something very akin to it and that his system was therefore intended to demonstrate the indubitability, the certainty, or the a priority, of the propositions it contains. The deductions of Hegel's system were, according to them, designed to guarantee the factual truth of the statements derived. The general function of the system was to eliminate doubt. Stace, for example, defends this interpretation in his well-known book The Philosophy of Hegel. 2 In fact, he regards this claim to deductive certainty as the "cardinal claim" of Hegel's philosophy and extends it furthermore beyond the limits of Hegel's system so that, according to him, every possible true proposition can be established with logical necessity. Stace says: If we could discover a first principle, and could prove that it followed by logical necessity from that first principle that there must be a world and that it must be just the sort of world it is, then we should have an explanation.... Thus a philosophy which would genuinely explain the world will take as its first principle not a cause but a reason. From this first reason it will proceed to deduce the world, not as an effect, but as a logical consequent. We shall then see not merely that things are as they are, but we shall see why xCf. Preface to the Phenomenology. W. T. Stace, The Philosophy of Hegel (New York: Dover Publications Inc., 1955). [189] 190 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY they are as they are. This is the fundamental Hegelian idea of explanation. This is what tIegel's philosophy attempts to do? Later in the book Stace examines the "extraordinary position" which Hegel "takes up" on the question of the "contingency of nature." Hegel, as Stace points out, believed that particular facts and things cannot be deduced, that the "details of nature.., are governed by contingency and caprice." This position, according to Stace, "will not bear examination." Stace ascribes to tIegel the premise that "there is in this stone, or this man, nothing but thought, nothing but universals," and it, in Stace's opinion, implies that everything can be deduced. "If we are to have an idealistic monism it must explain everything from its single first principle, thought. And that means that it must deduce everything. To leave anything outside the network of deduction, to declare anything utterly undeducible, is simply dualism." * To answer this interpretation thoroughly, the character and purpose of Hegel's system has to be explained. This we shall attempt in the remainder of this essay. But three points can be made in a preliminary way: 1) Is the position which Hegel did not hold, but which he should have held, according to Stace, any more tenable than the position which Stace rejects as inconsistent? Is it really conceivable that every last fact concerning tile universe--including the number of hairs on Hegel's head--could be "logically deduced" from a first principle? 2) Did Hegel really accept the premise which in Stace's opinion implies that every fact must be deducible? This would certainly be important, since Ilegel... (shrink)

Frithjof Schuon (1907-1998), the author of more than 25 books on religion and spirituality, is the foremost representative of the "Perennialist" or "Traditionalist" school of comparative religious thought. This new edition of Logic and Transcendence, his most important philosophical work, is a fully revised translation from the French original and contains:.

This book combines writing and art pieces to convey the lives of the Plains Indians.

Lines of Identity are important elements in Existential Graphs. They can be assembled to whole networks called “ligatures.” They are not straightforwardly understandable: for example, in constrast to LoI, ligatures may stand for more than one object.This article elaborates the handling of ligatures. It is precisely investigated how ligatures are dealt with in the calculus and how they can be modified without changing the meaning of a graph. Finally, a sufficient criterion for reading a ligature similar to a LoI is (...) provided, as well as an algorithm which grasps the correct meaning of an existential graph even if it contains arbitrarily complex ligatures. (shrink)

This new edition of Logic and Transcendence, his most important philosophical work, is a fully revised translation from the French original and contains:.

Geistige Einsichten eines der bedeutendsten Religionsphilosophen In längeren und kürzeren Betrachtungen versucht der Autor die Urlehre zu ergründen, jenes "durch Menschenalter hindurch stets neugestaltig wiederkehrende und ewig sich gleich bleibende Wissen von den letzten Zusammenhängen." Mit seinen Gedanken möchte Frithjof Schuon den Leser zu einer Weltanschauung führen, die den ganzen Menschen umfasst, die lebendig und tiefgründig ist. Äußerlich besehen reihen sich die Betrachtungen in diesem Buch beinahe zusammenhanglos aneinander, doch innerlich sind sie geschlossen und eindeutig. So liegt dieses Buch (...) vor uns wie ein nie gewordener und nie beschlossener Gedankenkreis. (shrink)

Schuon proposes a view of man contradictory to the image of modern psychology; he views human nature in relationship to God.

With extraordinary elegance and philosophic power, Frithjof Bergmann presents a genuine rethinking of freedom. By changing the focus from outside to inside the person, Bergmann shows how freedom can be a reality in self-growth, parenting, education, and in shaping a society that stimulates rather than stunts the self.

The first part of this paper argues that the various contending positions in the contemporary Theory of Value share one tacit presupposition, namely that the world of facts is value?neutral. Some of the sources of this premise are identified and a critique attempts to show that it cannot be defended. The second part delineates the general implications that the abandonment of this premise would have for the Theory of Value and outlines an alternative position.

De l'Unité transcendante des religions est le premier maître-livre du grand métaphysicien traditionaliste. S'y dessinent déjà deux des principes fondamentaux de sa perspective : l'universalité et l'illimitation interne du Principe Divin transcendant toute forme conceptuelle, et l'économie providentielle des révélations religieuses dans leurs différences, complémentarités et signification séquentielle. L'exclusivisme religieux est à la fois dépassé et justifié dans les limites de la légitimité de son opportunité provisoire, au-delà de tout universalisme superficiel et de tout confessionnalisme sentimental. Un livre qui permet (...) de rendre compte d'une façon convaincante à la fois de l'unité et de la diversité des grandes religions de l'humanité, sans tomber dans le syncrétisme ou un unanimisme niveleur et relativiste. (shrink)

Schuon starts out from the conviction that Knowledge exists and that is an adequation to the Real, which is inseparable from a sense of the sacred -- the ultimate reason for human existence. With a mathematical clarity and musical profundity, these essays address not only the metaphysical foundations of belief but the miracle of human theophany.

This new edition of Frithjof Schuon's Spiritual Perspectives and Human Facts is a fully revised translation of the French edition, and has an extensive Appendix ...

A collection of essays provoking an unusually rich description of what constitutes the prerogatives and fulfillment of the human state.

These essays examines the spiritual patrimony of humanity.

This late work of Frithjof Schuon represents a general survey of his metaphysical perspective, which is that of the Sophia perennis, or "perennial wisdom" at the heart of the world's religions. This new edition features a fully revised translation from the French original as well as over 50 pages of new material, including previously unpublished selections from the author's letters and other private writings.