The Philosophy of Seyyed Hossein Nasr

The Library of Living Philosophers, Vol. XXVIII

Edited by Lewis Edwin Hahn, Randall E. Auxier, and Lucian W. Stone, Jr

Open Court, 2001     Amazon.com

Book Description:

Seyyed Hossein Nasr, a Persian Sufist is the subject of volume 28 in the Library of Living Philosophers series. As in the other volumes of the series, the subject discusses his life and philosophical development in an intellectual autobiography. This is followed by 33 critical essays by various scholars and Nasr’s replies to each of them. Nasr has been influential in the fields of comparative religion, theology and Islamic studies, as well as philosophy and comparative philosophy. He is also known for his writings on the history of art, the history of science and Sufism (Islamic Mysticism).

From the editors’ Preface:

Seyyed Hossein Nasr, currently University Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University, is not only the first Muslim philosopher in our series, but also the first traditionalist since our volume on Martin Buber. Some mainstream philosophers are unaware that traditionalist philosophy still persists in the world, and still more would be hard pressed to say what exactly traditionalist philosophy is. This is regrettable, given the popularity and breadth of traditionalist views beyond the narrower world of Anglo-American and European academies. Professor Nasr, standing as he does at the head of a handsome group of traditionalists, boldly challenges the assumptions and values of the modern world, and of much scientistic philosophy. Yet, this challenge has been issued forth not as a pure reaction against modernity, but as an informed engagement with modernity. Indeed, some of the most “modern” ideas, such as the movement towards religious dialogue in the discipline of religious studies, turn out on close examination to rest upon values and ideas that are traditional – ideas long understood by those who study and practice the major world traditions seriously.

The present volume, therefore, stands as a contribution to cross-cultural dialogue, and to dialogue across traditions. Among Professor Nasr’s enduring achievements we may count an on-going and successful effort spanning over four decades to bring the world’s living traditions into a kind of exchange that leaves intact the autonomy and viewpoint of each, but also creates a space for mutual understanding and the reinforcement of the forms of life that are nourished by all genuine traditions. Professor Nasr has tirelesly argued that the attempt to live outside of all tradition leads to rootlessness, degradation of the natural world and human beings, and the kinds of madness that are so well characterized by the recently ended bloodiest century in human history. These traditionalist views are very controversial, and Professor Nasr’s critics have not spared him the very objections that many first-time readers will want to voice.

Professor Nasr’s philosophical achievements are stunningly broad, spanning the globe and numerous languages. Readers unfamiliar with his writings will find this volume a serviceable introduction to his thought, and to the wider world of Islamic philosophy generally. Readers who are more familiar with Nasr and his views will find this volume a very stimulating engagement of those ideas at a high level. We are proud to present a slate of critics from so many places and traditions, and of such prominence, but this far-reaching project has created special challenges in producing this volume. Being obliged, as we have been, to work with so many untranslatable terms, with transliterations, with authors whose first language is not English, and in such an extensive volume as this, it is inevitable that some errors and inconsistencies of usage will have slipped by us. These are not the responsibility of any of the contributors or of Professor Nasr. The errors belong to the editors, and we hope that they have not been terribly numerous.

About the Editors (updated by JOB):

Lewis Edwin Hahn was Professor of Philosophy at Southern Illinois University and the Editor of the LLP at the time of the publication of this volume; Randall E. Auxier is Professor of Philosophy at SIU and the current Editor of the LLP; Lucian W. Stone, Jr was at the time of this volume a Ph.D. candidate in philosophy at SIU.