agostino on perennial philosophy
via michel bauwens repost [https://x.com/soushi888/status/2105848900108067223?s=20]:
I find that the idea of perennial philosophy resonate a lot with those hidden knowledge, traditions and our commun work with collective intelligence, distributed/p2p governance and economic, etc.
resonate because none are deep enough to get to a legit/deep-enough perennial ness.. ie: 2 missing pieces; root of problem/healing
we need a problem deep enough to resonate w/8b today.. via a mechanism simple enough to be accessible/usable to 8b today.. in an ecosystem open enough to set/keep 8b legit free
ie: org around a problem deep enough (aka: org around legit needs) to resonate w/8b today.. via a mechanism simple enough (aka: tech as it could be) to be accessible/usable to 8b today.. and an ecosystem open enough (aka: sans any form of m\a\p) to set/keep 8b legit free
[https://alternef.garden/knowledge/culture-and-education/philosophia-perennis]
which was a reply to michel’s tweet [https://x.com/mbauwens/status/2105746193066103211?s=20]:
< ” recovering them (the repressed esoteric traditions) matters more now than at almost any other point in modern history. ” >
cancerous distractions to the dance..
The Marxist scholar of esoteric traditions predicts an unprecedented spiritual revolution:
https://youtu.be/VOEp7L2hi9g?si=pYSeoZ9d9SuOnqyU via @YouTube
“Dr. Justin Sledge is a scholar of philosophy and Western esotericism, and the voice behind the YouTube channel Esoterica, which has grown to over a million subscribers. He has spent his career studying the traditions that history tried to erase: Gnosticism, Kabbalah, Hermeticism, witchcraft, and alchemy. In this conversation, we explore why these systems were suppressed, what was actually lost, and why recovering them matters more now than at almost any other point in modern history.”
again.. cancerous distractions to the dance..
[i almost responded to this earlier as the title of the video link is: ‘you were fed a false story’.. which to me has been ongoing ever since that day.. two books et al.. ]
notes/quotes on via alternef.garden site linked above:
Philosophia perennis, or “perennial philosophy,” designates the vision that there exists a universal and timeless wisdom present at the heart of the world’s great religious and metaphysical traditions. .t This idea rests on the hypothesis that, despite their apparent differences, spiritual traditions share a fundamental truth concerning the nature of reality, the human soul, and consciousness.
rather.. universal/timeless ness present at heart of each soul.. ie: religious/metphysical traditions/truths cancerous distractions to that dance..
this is huge and we’re missing it
findings (aka: the things i can’t unsee) from on the ground ness deep dive and why we need tech w/o judgment
ie: the dance won’t dance unless/until it’s 1\ all of us 2\ legit free
nothing to date (ever since that day) has gotten to that root of problem
legit freedom will only happen if it’s all of us.. and in order to be all of us.. has to be sans any form of measuring, accounting, people telling other people what to do
ie: imagine if we listen to the itch-in-8b-souls 1st thing everyday & use that data to connect us (tech as it could be.. ai as augmenting interconnectedness)
the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness
The term was popularized in the 16th century by the Italian bishop Agostino Steuco in his work De perenni philosophia (1540), where he defended the idea of a single, divine knowledge transmitted through the ages. Later, thinkers such as Leibniz and, in the 20th century, Aldous Huxley (in his book The Perennial Philosophy, 1945) contributed to spreading this notion. Huxley presented an anthology of mystical texts from various traditions, emphasizing the unity of spiritual experience.
The philosophia perennis proposes that beneath the diversity of religious forms, rituals, and doctrinal expressions, there exists a common substrate of universal truth. This truth is said to be:
- Transcultural: Present across all civilizations and epochs
- Metaphysical: Concerned with the fundamental nature of reality
- Experiential: Accessible through direct spiritual realization rather than mere intellectual assent
- Universal: Applicable to all human beings regardless of cultural context
Unlike comparative religion, which studies similarities and differences between traditions, perennial philosophy asserts an underlying metaphysical unity that transcends historical and cultural particularities. This wisdom is described as:
- Primordial: Existing prior to and independent of historical revelations
- Universal: Accessible to all human beings through various spiritual paths
- Synoptic: Revealing the common patterns underlying diverse traditions
Agostino Steuco (1497-1548), an Italian bishop and scholar, coined the term philosophia perennis in his 1540 work De perenni philosophia. Steuco argued for a continuous philosophical tradition deriving from divine revelation, preserved through ancient wisdom and transmitted to later cultures. His conception integrated:
- Platonic philosophy with Christian theology
- Ancient wisdom traditions (Prisca theologia)
- The idea of a single, eternal truth discernible across cultures
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) further developed perennialist ideas through his concept of a theodicy and the notion of universal harmony. Leibniz sought to demonstrate the fundamental compatibility between reason and faith, proposing that true philosophy and genuine religion converge on the same truths.
Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) brought perennial philosophy to a broader audience with his 1945 book The Perennial Philosophy. Huxley defined it as: “The metaphysic that recognizes a divine Reality substantial to the world of things and lives and minds; the psychology that finds in the soul something similar to, or even identical with, divine Reality; the ethic that places man’s final end in the knowledge of the immanent and transcendent Ground of all being.”
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