Perennial Philosophy

In this lucid explanation of perennial philosophy, Arthur Versluis reveals this tradition—so often described as esoteric and inaccessible—to be closer to our interests and experience than many of us have realized. Versluis has distilled an immense amount of scholarship into this small volume, but its brevity is deceiving. Like the culmination to any alchemical work, Perennial Philosophy is a powerful tincture that—once imbibed—transports receptive readers to a world in which they are part of a spiritual hierarchy that links heaven to earth. Arthur Versluis has distilled an immense amount of scholarship to produce a disarmingly accessible, lucid, and deeply penetrating study of the great philosophic traditions that underlie Western culture. Versluis concisely explains what perennial philosophy is and what it isn’t. The clarity of his prose makes this deep book a pleasure to read. A remarkable achievement!
—Gregory Shaw, author of _Theurgy and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus_
This brilliant little book, written with stunning clarity, offers an entirely new perspective on what “perennial philosophy” actually means and entails. This is a return to the real philosophical quest, almost entirely forgotten by the academic world: a going beyond the limited self, to experience our kinship with the greater world and the deepest levels of reality, which results in a transformation of the self and a realization of our human nature.
For anyone interested in the roots of our philosophical tradition, or what a living philosophy could look like today and in the future—a philosophy that actually inspires and fertilizes culture, art, and human experience—this book is indispensable.
—David Fideler, author of _Restoring the Soul of the World_ and other books and essays
This book is about transcendence: self-transcendence. It traces a pathway to such self-transcendence from Plato (Pythagoras and the Orphic mysteries), through Plotinus, Damascius, Meister Eckhart and Emerson. Perennial Philosophy unveils a contemplative way often referred to as “ mysticism” that leads to a selfless, compassionate caring for all existence, from the animate to the inanimate, since all that exists expresses divine creation. The book has no footnotes and yet is scholarly. It records a perennial way of being-in-the-world that contrasts sharply with the way most of us live and see, and is about a past that offers glimpses of a better future. To read it is to question the contemporary understanding of who we are, and what we are capable of becoming. It is medicine for difficult times.
—Robert E. Carter, Trent University, author of _Encounter with Enlightenment_, _The Kyoto School_, and many other books.