Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Seyyed Hossein Nasr (b. 1933, Tehran) is an Iranian-American philosopher, Islamic scholar, and one of the foremost voices of the Traditionalist School in the modern era. His work bridges Islamic philosophy, Sufism, metaphysics, and environmental thought, while also engaging critically with modern science and secular worldviews. Nasr's central project is the resacralization of knowledge - a call to restore the spiritual and metaphysical dimensions of human understanding that he believes modernity has stripped away.
Seyyed Hossein Nasr's philosophy is a call to remembrance - to recall the sacred roots of knowledge, the divine order of nature, and the transcendent unity of religions. In an age of ecological crisis, spiritual disorientation, and cultural fragmentation, his voice insists that the way forward is not through further secularization but through a return to the sacred
Intellectual Background
- Education: Studied physics at MIT, then geology and geophysics, and finally earned a PhD in the history of science at Harvard.
- Teachers: Trained under both Western academics and traditional Islamic masters, giving him a rare dual perspective.
- Influences:
- Islamic philosophers: Avicenna (Ibn Sina), Suhrawardi, Mulla Sadra.
- Sufi mystics: Ibn Arabi, Rumi.
- Perennialist thinkers: Rene Guenon, Frithjof Schuon.
This blend of scientific training and immersion in Islamic metaphysics shaped his lifelong critique of modernity.
Core Philosophical Themes
1. Perennial Philosophy (Sophia Perennis)
- Nasr is a leading representative of the Perennialist School, which holds that all authentic religions share a transcendent unity at their core.
- He emphasizes that while outward forms differ, the inner essence of traditions points to the same ultimate Reality.
- This perspective allows him to engage in interfaith dialogue while remaining rooted in Islamic orthodoxy.
2.Scientia Sacra (Sacred Knowledge)
- Nasr argues that modern science has become desacralized, severed from its divine source.
- He calls for a return to sacred science, where knowledge is not merely empirical but oriented toward metaphysical truth.
- For him, true knowledge must integrate reason, intuition, and revelation.
3. Islamic Philosophy and Sufism
- Nasr situates Islamic philosophy not as a derivative of Greek thought but as a prophetic philosophy rooted in revelation.
- He highlights the School of Isfahan and Mulla Sadra's transcendent theosophy as high points of Islamic intellectual history.
- Sufism, in his view, is the heart of Islamic spirituality, offering direct experiential knowledge of God.
4. Critique of Modernity
- Nasr critiques secularism, materialism, and scientism as forms of Promethean man—humanity cut off from the sacred.
- He contrasts this with Pontifical man, who acts as a bridge between heaven and earth, living in harmony with divine order.
- He sees the modern crisis—ecological, social, spiritual—as rooted in this desacralization.
5. Environmental Philosophy.
- Nasr is often called the father of Islamic environmentalism.
- He argues that the ecological crisis is fundamentally a spiritual crisis, stemming from humanity’s loss of reverence for nature.
- His call for the resacralization of nature insists that the environment must be seen as a divine trust (amanah), not merely a resource.
Global Significance
- Dialogue with the West: Nasr engages Western philosophy and science critically but respectfully, offering an alternative rooted in tradition.
- Islamic Intellectual Revival: He has been instrumental in reviving interest in classical Islamic philosophy and Sufism.
- Interfaith Bridge: His perennialist outlook makes him a key figure in global interreligious dialogue.
Major Works
Some of Nasr's most influential writings include:
- Knowledge and the Sacred (1976) – his magnum opus on sacred knowledge.
- Man and Nature: The Spiritual Crisis of Modern Man (1968) – a pioneering work on religion and ecology.
- Islamic Philosophy from Its Origin to the Present (2006) – a comprehensive survey of Islamic thought.
- Religion and the Order of Nature (1996) – on metaphysics and ecology.
Readings
A Methodological Framework
for Cross-Tradition Understanding
and Constructive Engagement
A Methodological Framework
for Cross-Tradition Understanding
and Constructive Engagement
Seyyed Hossein Nasr's Web page
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