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In the Face of the Absolute
Presents and illustrates many concepts and distinctions essential to metaphysics, anthropology, and religious phenomology.
250 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
About the author
Frithjof Schuon
183 books230 followersFrithjof Schuon was a native of Switzerland born to German parents in Basel, Switzerland. He is known as a philosopher, metaphysician and author of numerous books on religion and spirituality.
Schuon is recognized as an authority on philosophy, spirituality and religion, an exponent of the Religio Perennis, and one of the chief representatives of the Perennialist School. Though he was not officially affiliated with the academic world, his writings have been noticed in scholarly and philosophical journals, and by scholars of comparative religion and spirituality. Criticism of the relativism of the modern academic world is one of the main aspects of Schuon's teachings. In his teachings, Schuon expresses his faith in an absolute principle, God, who governs the universe and to whom our souls would return after death. For Schuon the great revelations are the link between this absolute principle—God—and mankind. He wrote the main bulk of his metaphysical teachings in French. In the later years of his life Schuon composed some volumes of poetry in his mother tongue, German. His articles in French were collected in about twenty titles in French which were later translated into English as well as many other languages.
http://www.sophia-perennis.com/philos...
Schuon is recognized as an authority on philosophy, spirituality and religion, an exponent of the Religio Perennis, and one of the chief representatives of the Perennialist School. Though he was not officially affiliated with the academic world, his writings have been noticed in scholarly and philosophical journals, and by scholars of comparative religion and spirituality. Criticism of the relativism of the modern academic world is one of the main aspects of Schuon's teachings. In his teachings, Schuon expresses his faith in an absolute principle, God, who governs the universe and to whom our souls would return after death. For Schuon the great revelations are the link between this absolute principle—God—and mankind. He wrote the main bulk of his metaphysical teachings in French. In the later years of his life Schuon composed some volumes of poetry in his mother tongue, German. His articles in French were collected in about twenty titles in French which were later translated into English as well as many other languages.
http://www.sophia-perennis.com/philos...
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 18, 2026
This is not a book to rush through. It is a book to pause with. Every page feels less like an argument and more like an invitation, to silence, contemplation, and the search for what is eternal amidst the noise of everyday life.
Frithjof Schuon reminds us that the greatest questions are not "What do I know?" but "Who am I?" and "What is ultimately Real?" His writings gently point beyond the changing world toward the Absolute, the unchanging source from which all truth, beauty, and goodness flow.
What I appreciate most is that Schuon never separates knowledge from spiritual transformation. In his view, true understanding is not measured by how much we have read, but by how deeply truth has changed our character. Wisdom is something to be lived, not merely discussed.
Although I do not necessarily agree with every aspect of Schuon's perennial philosophy, I found his reflections profoundly enriching. They encouraged me to revisit my own Islamic tradition with greater gratitude, reminding me that the purpose of knowledge is not intellectual achievement alone, but nearness to God and the cultivation of a purified heart.
This is more than a collection of essays and letters. It is a quiet companion for anyone seeking meaning in an increasingly distracted world. Some books fill the mind; this one gently invites the soul to remember what it has always been searching for.
Frithjof Schuon reminds us that the greatest questions are not "What do I know?" but "Who am I?" and "What is ultimately Real?" His writings gently point beyond the changing world toward the Absolute, the unchanging source from which all truth, beauty, and goodness flow.
What I appreciate most is that Schuon never separates knowledge from spiritual transformation. In his view, true understanding is not measured by how much we have read, but by how deeply truth has changed our character. Wisdom is something to be lived, not merely discussed.
Although I do not necessarily agree with every aspect of Schuon's perennial philosophy, I found his reflections profoundly enriching. They encouraged me to revisit my own Islamic tradition with greater gratitude, reminding me that the purpose of knowledge is not intellectual achievement alone, but nearness to God and the cultivation of a purified heart.
This is more than a collection of essays and letters. It is a quiet companion for anyone seeking meaning in an increasingly distracted world. Some books fill the mind; this one gently invites the soul to remember what it has always been searching for.
April 23, 2009
the other book that changed my life/.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews