Perennial philosophy

The perennial philosophy (Latin: philosophia perennis),^{[note 1]} also referred to as perennialism and perennial wisdom, is a school of thought in philosophy and spirituality which posits that the recurrence of common themes across world religions illuminates universal truths about the nature of reality, humanity, ethics, and consciousness. Some perennialists emphasise common themes in religious experiences and mystical traditions across time and culture, while others argue that religious traditions share a single, metaphysical truth or origin from which all esoteric and exoteric knowledge and doctrine has grown.

Perennialism has its roots in the Renaissance interest in neo-Platonism and its idea of the One, from which all existence emerges. Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499) sought to integrate Hermeticism with Greek and Christian thought,^[1] discerning a prisca theologia which could be found in all ages.^[2] Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463–94) suggested that truth could be found in many, rather than just two, traditions. He proposed a harmony between the thought of Plato and Aristotle, and saw aspects of the prisca theologia in Averroes (Ibn Rushd), the Quran, the Kabbalah and other sources.^[3] Agostino Steuco (1497–1548) coined the term philosophia perennis.^[4]

Developments in the 19th and 20th Centuries integrated Eastern religions and universalism, the idea that all religions, underneath seeming differences, point to the same Truth. In the early 19th century the Transcendentalists propagated the idea of a metaphysical Truth and universalism, which inspired the Unitarians, who proselytized among Indian elites. Towards the end of the 19th century, the Theosophical Society further popularized universalism, not only in the western world, but also in western colonies. In the 20th century, this form of universalist perennialism was further popularized by Aldous Huxley and his book The Perennial Philosophy, which was inspired by Neo-Vedanta. Huxley and some other perennnialists ground their point of view in the commonalities of mystical experience and generally accept religious syncretism.

Also in the 20th Century, a distinct anti-modern form of perennialism emerged in the Traditionalist School. Inspired by Advaita Vedanta, Sufism and 20th Century works critical of modernity such as René Guénon's The Crisis of the Modern World, Traditionalism emphasises a metaphysical, single origin of the orthodox religions and rejects syncretism, scientism and secularism as a deviations from the truth contained in their concept of Tradition.

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