What do you think?
Rate this book
Knowledge and the Sacred
PREFACE 1. Knowledge and Its Desacralization 2. What Is Tradition? 3. The Rediscovery of the The Revival of Tradition 4. Scientia Sacra 5. Man, Pontifical and Promethean 6. The Cosmos as Theophany 7. Eternity and the Temporal Order 8. Traditional Art as Fountain of Knowledge and Grace 9. Principial Knowledge and the Multiplicity of Sacred Forms 10. Knowledge of the Sacred as Deliverance INDEX
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
28 people are currently reading
669 people want to read
About the author
Seyyed Hossein Nasr
246 books724 followersSeyyed Hossein Nasr was born on April 7, 1933 (19 Farvadin 1312 A.H. solar) in Tehran into a family of distinguished scholars and physicians. His father, Seyyed Valiallah, a man of great learning and piety, was a physician to the Iranian royal family, as was his father before him. The name "Nasr" which means "victory" was conferred on Professor Nasr's grandfather by the King of Persia. Nasr also comes from a family of Sufis. One of his ancestors was Mulla Seyyed Muhammad Taqi Poshtmashhad, who was a famous saint of Kashan, and his mausoleum which is located next to the tomb of the Safavid king Shah Abbas, is still visited by pilgrims to this day.
Seyyed Hossein Nasr, currently University Professor of Islamic Studies at the George Washington University, Washington D.C. is one of the most important and foremost scholars of Islamic, Religious and Comparative Studies in the world today. Author of over fifty books and five hundred articles which have been translated into several major Islamic, European and Asian languages, Professor Nasr is a well known and highly respected intellectual figure both in the West and the Islamic world. An eloquent speaker with a charismatic presence, Nasr is a much sought after speaker at academic conferences and seminars, university and public lectures and also radio and television programs in his area of expertise. Possessor of an impressive academic and intellectual record, his career as a teacher and scholar spans over four decades.
Professor Nasr began his illustrious teaching career in 1955 when he was still a young and promising, doctoral student at Harvard University. Over the years, he has taught and trained an innumerable number of students who have come from the different parts of the world, and many of whom have become important and prominent scholars in their fields of study.
He has trained different generations of students over the years since 1958 when he was a professor at Tehran University and then, in America since the Iranian revolution in 1979, specifically at Temple University in Philadelphia from 1979 to 1984 and at the George Washington University since 1984 to the present day. The range of subjects and areas of study which Professor Nasr has involved and engaged himself with in his academic career and intellectual life are immense. As demonstrated by his numerous writings, lectures and speeches, Professor Nasr speaks and writes with great authority on a wide variety of subjects, ranging from philosophy to religion to spirituality, to music and art and architecture, to science and literature, to civilizational dialogues and the natural environment.
For Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr, the quest for knowledge, specifically knowledge which enables man to understand the true nature of things and which furthermore, "liberates and delivers him from the fetters and limitations of earthly existence," has been and continues to be the central concern and determinant of his intellectual life.
Seyyed Hossein Nasr, currently University Professor of Islamic Studies at the George Washington University, Washington D.C. is one of the most important and foremost scholars of Islamic, Religious and Comparative Studies in the world today. Author of over fifty books and five hundred articles which have been translated into several major Islamic, European and Asian languages, Professor Nasr is a well known and highly respected intellectual figure both in the West and the Islamic world. An eloquent speaker with a charismatic presence, Nasr is a much sought after speaker at academic conferences and seminars, university and public lectures and also radio and television programs in his area of expertise. Possessor of an impressive academic and intellectual record, his career as a teacher and scholar spans over four decades.
Professor Nasr began his illustrious teaching career in 1955 when he was still a young and promising, doctoral student at Harvard University. Over the years, he has taught and trained an innumerable number of students who have come from the different parts of the world, and many of whom have become important and prominent scholars in their fields of study.
He has trained different generations of students over the years since 1958 when he was a professor at Tehran University and then, in America since the Iranian revolution in 1979, specifically at Temple University in Philadelphia from 1979 to 1984 and at the George Washington University since 1984 to the present day. The range of subjects and areas of study which Professor Nasr has involved and engaged himself with in his academic career and intellectual life are immense. As demonstrated by his numerous writings, lectures and speeches, Professor Nasr speaks and writes with great authority on a wide variety of subjects, ranging from philosophy to religion to spirituality, to music and art and architecture, to science and literature, to civilizational dialogues and the natural environment.
For Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr, the quest for knowledge, specifically knowledge which enables man to understand the true nature of things and which furthermore, "liberates and delivers him from the fetters and limitations of earthly existence," has been and continues to be the central concern and determinant of his intellectual life.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 7, 2017
This is my first SHN book, and frankly I was surprised at the perspicacity of his analysis and interpretations of different doctrines and theories, from Suhraurdi to Plato... As did Guénon in a more revolutionary manner, Dr.Nasr describes how the "Moderns" separated the Logos from God, and consequently hid the sacred knowledge.. He then tackles the Definition of Tradition which is one of the most comprehensive definitions I've ever read so far, " it contains the sense of truth which is both of divine origin and perpetuated throughout a major cycle of human history through both transmission and renewal of the message by means of revelation.", and make things clearer regarding the Zeitgeist that is commonly known as the spirit of time, which is nothing more than a modern substitute of the anima mundi... and while Burckhardt uses Barzakh to define that man who links the skies to the earths and that this role is limited to avatars, Dr.Nasr uses the pontifical functions of men instead, bridging between heaven and earth...Add to that one of the most unusual treatises about sacred art, and symbolism with various references...
But why emphasize on the importance of sacred sciences ?
" To know is to be delivered" "Knowledge of the sacred leads to freedom and deliverance from all bondage and limitation because the sacred is none other than limitless Infinite and the Eternal"
"من يرد الله به خيرا يفقهه في الدين"
" And in this moment, I swear…
… we are infinite." - The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
But why emphasize on the importance of sacred sciences ?
" To know is to be delivered" "Knowledge of the sacred leads to freedom and deliverance from all bondage and limitation because the sacred is none other than limitless Infinite and the Eternal"
"من يرد الله به خيرا يفقهه في الدين"
" And in this moment, I swear…
… we are infinite." - The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
June 27, 2009
How did we get from there to here? From a green planet to a dying one? From sacred to sarcasm. Nasr provides a very clear and erudite analysis of modern thought, dismantling it so that we may have hopes of putting the pieces of the puzzle back together for ourselves and for the sake of the rest of the biosphere. Modern philosophical thoughts and their detriments are examined concisely but thoroughly. A must read for anyone who wishes to begin to understand what's really wrong at the heart of Modernity.
January 22, 2024
This is one of the most pedantic work by SH Nasr and it dissects the very essence of Tradition, Sacred Science and Knowledge - in which likely represent the school of thought that the author believe.
Reader might skip to finish up reading the book when they come over the lengthy footnotes even though the sphere of the discussion is still palatable.
To share one interesting message in this work,
“In normal times in fact, sacred knowledge was rarely divulged in books and if it were, it appeared in a form which necessitated the traditional oral commentary to unveil its true import. Plato himself a master of gnosis, said, serious things are not to be found in books. Over the millennia, sacred knowledge survived not because of the manuscripts by the masters were preserved in well-kept libraries, but because the oral transmission and a living spiritual presence continued.”
Reader might skip to finish up reading the book when they come over the lengthy footnotes even though the sphere of the discussion is still palatable.
To share one interesting message in this work,
“In normal times in fact, sacred knowledge was rarely divulged in books and if it were, it appeared in a form which necessitated the traditional oral commentary to unveil its true import. Plato himself a master of gnosis, said, serious things are not to be found in books. Over the millennia, sacred knowledge survived not because of the manuscripts by the masters were preserved in well-kept libraries, but because the oral transmission and a living spiritual presence continued.”
May 1, 2016
مروري بر كتاب
شناخت و نقد انديشه هاي سنت گرايانه بوسيله گفتمانهاي فكري ايران معاصر.
در اين كتاب مجموعه آرا و انديشههاي حسين نصر ( 1312ـ) ذيل عنوان "معرفت و امر قدسي "به چاپ رسيده است .در بخشي از كتاب آمده است" :نقد تفكر فلسفي معاصر در غرب بر بنياد آموزههاي سنت گرايانه يكي از اصليترين دغدغههاي "نصر "است .
او ميكوشد نشان دهد كه تمدن غربي در چند قرن اخير نه تنها زندگي موفقي نداشته، بلكه به واپس گراييده است .ثمرات و نتايج اين تمدن بسيار مخرب و ويرانگر است، به ويژه تكنولوژي بحرانهاي متعددي را در كره زمين پديد آورده است .تنها راهي كه سنت گرايان پيش روي تمدن غربي مينهند، بازگشت و احياي سنت است...چهره معرفي سنت، معرفت قدسي است كه در تمامي سنتهاي بشري وجود دارد" .
نصر "از بطن معرفت قدسي نظريهاي را بيرون ميكشد كه آن را "تكثر صور قدسي "نام مينهد .اين انديشه كه ريشه در انديشههاي "فريتيوف شوان "در وحدت استعلايي اديان دارد، داراي اشتراكات بسياري با نظريه پلوراليزم ديني در رويكردهاي دين شناختي آن را تقليلگرا و تقدشزاد ميدانند .
از طرف ديگر "نصر "ميكوشد كه جريان سنتگرايي را به كلي از بنيادگرايي و احياگري اسلامي جدا سازد .او اين دو جريان را نه تنها به دور از اسلام واقعي ميداند، بلكه آنها را متاثر از مدرنيسم ميداند .
شناخت و نقد انديشه هاي سنت گرايانه بوسيله گفتمانهاي فكري ايران معاصر.
در اين كتاب مجموعه آرا و انديشههاي حسين نصر ( 1312ـ) ذيل عنوان "معرفت و امر قدسي "به چاپ رسيده است .در بخشي از كتاب آمده است" :نقد تفكر فلسفي معاصر در غرب بر بنياد آموزههاي سنت گرايانه يكي از اصليترين دغدغههاي "نصر "است .
او ميكوشد نشان دهد كه تمدن غربي در چند قرن اخير نه تنها زندگي موفقي نداشته، بلكه به واپس گراييده است .ثمرات و نتايج اين تمدن بسيار مخرب و ويرانگر است، به ويژه تكنولوژي بحرانهاي متعددي را در كره زمين پديد آورده است .تنها راهي كه سنت گرايان پيش روي تمدن غربي مينهند، بازگشت و احياي سنت است...چهره معرفي سنت، معرفت قدسي است كه در تمامي سنتهاي بشري وجود دارد" .
نصر "از بطن معرفت قدسي نظريهاي را بيرون ميكشد كه آن را "تكثر صور قدسي "نام مينهد .اين انديشه كه ريشه در انديشههاي "فريتيوف شوان "در وحدت استعلايي اديان دارد، داراي اشتراكات بسياري با نظريه پلوراليزم ديني در رويكردهاي دين شناختي آن را تقليلگرا و تقدشزاد ميدانند .
از طرف ديگر "نصر "ميكوشد كه جريان سنتگرايي را به كلي از بنيادگرايي و احياگري اسلامي جدا سازد .او اين دو جريان را نه تنها به دور از اسلام واقعي ميداند، بلكه آنها را متاثر از مدرنيسم ميداند .
August 7, 2019
This book greatly expanded my worldview when I read it years ago and set me on a new path of learning.
February 8, 2025
Its opening chapter "Knowledge and its desacralization," sets the motion that knowledge, once considered sacred, has been progressively desacralized. In Chapter 2, Nasr clarifies that tradition, in this context, refers to divine truths revealed to humanity, transmitted through cosmic figures, and applied across various domains such as law, art, and science. Now, he argues, this knowledge has been gradually obscured, particularly in the West, where knowledge is now often seen as a natural, adaptive skill. The result, an analogy, has been like presenting music as if it were mere notations rather than melodies heard.
However, a tradition that views knowledge as a means of salvation has persisted, and Nasr suggests it may be undergoing a revival, as explored in Chapter 3. These three chapters are the core of his arguments.
Within the context of his central thesis, the book serves three main purposes. First, a history of secularization of knowledge. Secondly, a comparative philosophy and religious approach to critique approaches that are scientistic, historicist, phenomenological, or syncretistic. Thirdly, a theological study as the science of God, or "Scientia Sacra," aligned with perennialism.
Nasr also presents a comprehensive examination of various themes such as cosmology, time, sacred art, and spiritual disciplines.
A key point in Nasr's analysis is the shift in European thought from Platonic to Aristotelian epistemology. This change moved the focus of knowledge away from being sacred and divine, placing more emphasis on reason and logic instead. Nasr also critiques modern ecumenism, arguing that interfaith dialogue often arises from a lack of confidence in one's own faith, rather than from a strong belief in religious principles. As a result, participants tend to emphasize tolerance over true conviction in their beliefs, often because they’re uncertain about their own faith.
For me, it presents arguments from a theological perspective, but I’m not convinced by Nasr's advocacy for returning to tradition. While it gives much space to the critique of modernization of knowledge, it doesn’t convincingly argue for the value of tradition or provide concrete answers on how to reintegrate it. Additionally, treatment of the shift from Platonic transcendence to Aristotelian empiricism and naturalism is incomplete, as he stops there. He does not fully engage with the deeper consequences of this transition. Hence, neglecting the broader impact of this shift. Particularly how it paved the way for the rise of reason, and later for departure from Aristotelian logic in 17th ce.
So, although the book sometimes uses complex or exaggerated arguments, its overall contribution to understanding sacred knowledge from the perspective of Islamic philosophical tradition is significant.
However, a tradition that views knowledge as a means of salvation has persisted, and Nasr suggests it may be undergoing a revival, as explored in Chapter 3. These three chapters are the core of his arguments.
Within the context of his central thesis, the book serves three main purposes. First, a history of secularization of knowledge. Secondly, a comparative philosophy and religious approach to critique approaches that are scientistic, historicist, phenomenological, or syncretistic. Thirdly, a theological study as the science of God, or "Scientia Sacra," aligned with perennialism.
Nasr also presents a comprehensive examination of various themes such as cosmology, time, sacred art, and spiritual disciplines.
A key point in Nasr's analysis is the shift in European thought from Platonic to Aristotelian epistemology. This change moved the focus of knowledge away from being sacred and divine, placing more emphasis on reason and logic instead. Nasr also critiques modern ecumenism, arguing that interfaith dialogue often arises from a lack of confidence in one's own faith, rather than from a strong belief in religious principles. As a result, participants tend to emphasize tolerance over true conviction in their beliefs, often because they’re uncertain about their own faith.
For me, it presents arguments from a theological perspective, but I’m not convinced by Nasr's advocacy for returning to tradition. While it gives much space to the critique of modernization of knowledge, it doesn’t convincingly argue for the value of tradition or provide concrete answers on how to reintegrate it. Additionally, treatment of the shift from Platonic transcendence to Aristotelian empiricism and naturalism is incomplete, as he stops there. He does not fully engage with the deeper consequences of this transition. Hence, neglecting the broader impact of this shift. Particularly how it paved the way for the rise of reason, and later for departure from Aristotelian logic in 17th ce.
So, although the book sometimes uses complex or exaggerated arguments, its overall contribution to understanding sacred knowledge from the perspective of Islamic philosophical tradition is significant.
April 16, 2019
Over the years, I have developed a taste for the verbose kind of books. Books that drip with detail, and poignancy and depth. After taking a break from non-fiction for a few months, I yearned for that educative scholarly style of writing. Nasr’s points of view are quite disparate from more conservative Muslim scholars. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the essence of his argument; that is, the West have managed to secularize their thought to such a level that knowledge and spirituality have been divorced completely from each other. And once the purpose of gaining knowledge has been reduced to simply improving our materialistic needs, it loses its value, its essence, its pleasure. The book does tend to get extremely technical, but Nasr does mention in the beginning if his book, that he intended to create this work as a source of reference for further research in subjects of Orientalism, Modernity and Secularism. Maybe you won’t be able to read the whole book. At the very least, you could always read the chapters that interest you as these topics have always been of great importance to those who care about preserving and understanding their identity (Muslim or more broadly Eastern).
August 17, 2016
Amazing to say the least. Dr. Nasr's monumental work is as relevant today as it was when he delivered his noteworthy Gifford Lecture from which the book is made. I had been struggling to understand a few concepts and ideas that Dr. Nasr presented in terms the language. It seemed at times I would make sense of one paragraph then a few more down the line I was lost. This was because of my background mainly. However, it was suggested by a good friend to read the first chapter again when confused. As well I found this lecture presented by one of Dr. Nasr's students to be quite helpful (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIiMU...). This book gave me an insight to many aspects that I never knew of. For example, the history of Christian mysticism.
October 27, 2008
I've already read this book and I though it was pretty good. The problem was that I read it over a year ago for a class I was taking at the time and I don't think I fully absorbed it. Nasr's work deserves the reader's full attention so I intende to pick this one back up soon.
Read
May 6, 2018Well written exposition on the thesis of Traditionalism. Mostly old ideas dating back to pre WWII Europe and it is kind of concerning that these (imho fairly toxic) ideas are slowly coming back in fashion today.
July 10, 2010
چه لازم است به زاهد بهزور می دادن// بهخاک تیره مریزید آبروی شراب
June 4, 2011
very differemt, some fantastic insights about the limitations of purely rational knowledge. However, the book was unbearably verbose at times.
September 26, 2014
This book Redefines reality, better to say it defines reality in its correct terms.
August 5, 2009
teorik tarin ketabe nasre.mishe goft taghriban tamame masaeli ke az lahaze nazari niyaz be tozih dashteo unja bayan karde
June 23, 2021
جایگاه خرد همان قلب است نه سر . ص 127
September 24, 2009
I started reading this book from the middle to the start! Will upadate.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews