The Perennial Philosophy (Latin philosophia perennis) is the idea that a universal set of truths common to all people and cultures exists. The term was first used by the German mathematician and philosopher Gottfried Leibniz to designate the common, eternal philosophy that underlies all religious movements, in particular the mystical streams within them. The term was later popularized by Aldous Huxley in his 1945 book The Perennial Philosophy. The term "perennial philosophy" has also been used to translate the concept of the "eternal or perennial truth" in the Sanskrit Sanatana Dharma. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (also von Leibni(t)z)[1] (July 1 (June 21 Old Style) 1646, Leipzig – November 14, 1716, Hanover) was a German polymath, deemed a universal [1] genius in his day and since. ... Philosopher in Meditation (detail), by Rembrandt Philosophy is a field of study that includes diverse subfields such as aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, logic, and metaphysics, in which people ask questions such as whether God exists, whether knowledge is possible, and what makes actions right or wrong. ... Religious is a term with both a technical definition and folk use. ... The Flammarion Woodcut can be taken to illustrate the Gnostics mystical search for spiritual worlds by circumventing the constraints of materialism. ... Aldous Leonard Huxley (July 26, 1894 – November 22, 1963) was a British writer who emigrated to the United States. ... Sanskrit ( संस्कृतम् ; pronunciation: ) is an Indo-European classical language of India and a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. ... This article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings of the word, see Hindu (disambiguation). ...

The concept of perennial philosophy is the fundamental tenet of the Traditionalist School, formalized in the writings of 20th century metaphysicians René Guénon and Frithjof Schuon. The Indian scholar and writer Ananda Coomaraswamy, associated with the Traditionalists, also wrote extensively about the perennial philosophy. The Traditionalist School of philosophy was founded in its current form by the French metaphysician René Guénon, although its precepts are considered to be timeless and to be found in all authentic traditions. ... René Guénon (later also Sheikh Abd al-Wahid Yahya, name given to him upon his embracement of Islam) (Blois, France November 15, 1886 - Cairo, Egypt January 7, 1951) was a French-born author. ... Frithjof Schuon (June 18, 1907 - May 5, 1998) is a metaphysician, poet, painter and a leading figure of traditional metaphysics. ... Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy (22 August 1877 Colombo - 9 September 1947 Needham, Massachusetts) was the son of the famous Sri Lankan legislator and philosopher Sir Mutu Coomaraswamy and his English wife Elizabeth Beeby. ...

Main principles

According to the tenets of the perennial philosophy, humans in many cultures and eras have experienced and recorded similar 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. Reality in everyday usage means everything that exists. The term Reality, in its widest sense, includes everything that is, whether it is observable, accessible or understandable by science, philosophy, theology or any other system of analysis. ... Self might refer to various different things: Look up self on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The World in plate carrée projection The World In English, world is rooted in a compound of the obsolete words were, man, and eld, age; thus, its oldest meaning is age or life of man. Its primary modern meaning is the planet Earth, especially when capitalized: the World. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... There is no universally accepted theory of what the word existence means. ...

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 West, this second or other reality has been frequently discounted or ignored.
• All humans possess a capacity, however unused and therefore 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 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.

These worldwide perceptions are thought to be valid or reliable because of their consistency and due to the similarities among them in spite of their often independent origins. {{dablink|For alternative meanings, see nature (disambiguation). ... A phenomenon (plural: phenomena) is an observable event, particularly something special (literally something that can be seen from the Greek word phainomenon = observable). ... Senses are the physiological methods of perception. ... Intelligence is a general mental capability that involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas and language, and learn. ... The English word spirit comes from the Latin spiritus, meaning breath. ... The soul, according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is a self aware ethereal substance particular to a unique living being. ... Intuition has many but close meanings across many cultures, including: Quick and ready insight seemingly independent of previous experiences and empirical knowledge Immediate apprehension or cognition Knowledge or conviction gained immediately and without detailed consideration The power or faculty of attaining knowledge or cognition immediately without thought and inference. ... La Vérité by the French painter Jules Joseph Lefebvre Common dictionary definitions of truth mention some form of accord with fact or reality. ... Reality in everyday usage means everything that exists. The term Reality, in its widest sense, includes everything that is, whether it is observable, accessible or understandable by science, philosophy, theology or any other system of analysis. ... Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are biologically classified as bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin for wise man or thinking man) under the family Hominidae (the great apes). ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people with around 15 million followers as of 2006 [1]. It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recounted in the New Testament. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ) is a monotheistic religion based on the Quran. ... Image:Http://www. ... The Absolute is the totality of things, all that is, whether it has been discovered or not. ... Buddhism is a religion and philosophy focusing on the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni (Siddhārtha Gautama), who probably lived in the 5th century BCE. Buddhism spread throughout the ancient Indian sub-continent in the five centuries following the Buddhas death, and propagated into Central, Southeast, and East Asia... Jaina redirects here. ... Taoism (sometimes written as Daoism) is the English name for: (a) a philosophical school based on the texts the Dao De Jing (ascribed to Laozi) and the Zhuangzi. ...

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).

According to Ken Wilber, the German philosopher Schelling should be credited with a pivotal role for being one of the two philosophers: Metaphysics (Greek words meta = after/beyond and physics = nature) is a branch of philosophy, and related to the natural sciences, like physics, psychology and the biology of the brain; and also to mysticism, religion, and other spiritual subjects. ... Psychology (Gk: psyche, soul or mind + logos, speech) is an academic and applied field involving the study of the mind, brain, and behavior, both human and nonhuman. ... Ethics is a general term for what is often described as the science (study) of morality. In philosophy, ethical behavior is that which is good or right. ... Immanence is a religious and philosophical concept. ... Transcendental in philosophical contexts In philosophy, transcendental experiences are experiences of an exclusively human nature that are other-worldly or beyond the human realm of understanding. ... The Absolute is the totality of things, all that is, whether it has been discovered or not. ... Ken Wilber Kenneth Earl Wilber Jr. ... Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling (January 27, 1775 - August 20, 1854) was a German philosopher. ...

"...who set out in Western philosophy, the paradigm of Spirit unfolding through Nature, over time, towards "God-in-the-making". He describes Schelling's "key insight" as being that "the Spirit that is realized in a conscious fashion in the supreme identity is in fact the Spirit that was present all along as the entire process of evolution itself. All of Spirit, so to speak, is present at every stage, as the process of unfolding itself." ^[1] In Ken Wilber's view, and the view of many of its proponents, the Perennial philosophy is a philosophical expression of a nondual world-view.

A nondual philosophical or religious perspective or theory maintains that there is no fundamental distinction between mind and matter. ...

See also

• Ivan Aguéli
• Evolutionism
• Ken Wilber
• Meaning of life
• World view

Ivan Aguéli (Johan Gustaf Agelii or Sheikh Abd Al-Hadi Aqhili), (Sala, Sweden May 24, 1869 - Barcelona, Spain October 1, 1917) was a Swedish-born Impressionist painter and Sufi scholar. ... Evolutionism, from the Latin evolutio, unrolling, refers to theories that certain things develop or change as natural (unplanned) outgrowths of those that existed before, in contrast to beliefs that these things are fixed and immutable. ... Ken Wilber Kenneth Earl Wilber Jr. ... The philosophical question What is the meaning of life? means different things to different people. ... A world view, (or worldview) is a term calqued from the German word Weltanschauung (pronounced //) meaning a look onto the world. It implies a concept fundamental to German philosophy and epistemology and refers to a wide world perception. ... Philosopher in Meditation (detail), by Rembrandt Philosophy is a field of study that includes diverse subfields such as aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, logic, and metaphysics, in which people ask questions such as whether God exists, whether knowledge is possible, and what makes actions right or wrong. ... The philosophical question What is the meaning of life? means different things to different people. ... Below is a list of basic topics in philosophy -- topics which will help the beginner become familiar with the field of philosophy. ... This page aims to list articles on Wikipedia that are related to philosophy, beginning with the letters A through C. This is so that those interested in the subject can monitor changes to the pages by clicking on Related changes in the sidebar. ... For a comprehensive list of Philosophers (and others important in the history of philosophy), see the following pages: List of philosophers born in the centuries BC List of philosophers born in the first through tenth centuries List of philosophers born in the eleventh through fourteenth centuries List of philosophers born... Philosophical timelines have been split into three sections: Eastern, Western, and Global. ... This is a list of topics relating to philosophy that end in -ism. ... Philosophies: particular schools of thought, styles of philosophy, or discriptions of philosophical ideas attributed to a particular group or culture - listed in alphabetical order. ... This is a list of important publications in philosophy, organized by field. ... // January 1 1614: John Wilkins born. ... This is a list of lists. ...

Notes

1. ^ Schelling's pivotal role is discussed and assessed by Ken Wilber in his book A Brief History of Everything, taking up much of chapter 17 (p. 297–308). He adds that after Schelling and Hegel, their views were popularly overlooked in favor of a return to modernity (reflected in the popular saying "Back to Kant!").

Ken Wilber Kenneth Earl Wilber Jr. ... Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (August 27, 1770 - November 14, 1831) was a German philosopher born in Stuttgart, Württemberg, in present-day southwest Germany. ... Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (April 22, 1724 – February 12, 1804) was a Prussian philosopher, generally regarded as one of Europes most influential thinkers and the last major philosopher of the Enlightenment. ...

Publication data

• The Perennial Philosophy, 1945, Harper & Brothers
  • Harper Perennial 1990 edition: ISBN 0060901918
  • Harper Modern Classics 2004 edition: ISBN 006057058X
  • Audio Scholar 1995 audio cassette edition: ISBN 1879557290

Related books

• Bernard Haisch, The God Theory: Universes, Zero-point Fields, and What's Behind It All, Red Wheel/Weiser, 2006, ISBN 1578633745. An astrophysicist discusses Huxley and the perennial philosophy in this book about science and religion.

An astrophysicist is a person whose profession is astrophysics. ... Religious and scientific modes of knowledge Generally speaking, religion and science use different methods in their effort to ascertain Truth. ...

External links

• Books related to the perennial philosophy
• World Wisdom Books
• Fons Vitae Books
• A monthly e-zine with writings pertaining to the pursuit of the perennial philosophy
• A website on the perennialist school
• Vincit Omnia Veritas, the online journal of perennial studies