Spiritual Perspectives and Human Facts: A New Translation with Selected Letters (Writings of Frithjof Schuon)

This new edition of Frithjof Schuon's Spiritual Perspectives and Human Facts is a fully revised translation of the French edition, and has an extensive Appendix containing previously unpublished letters and other private writings. Eric Norton - Library Journal More than 30 of Swiss philosopher Schuon's (1907-98) works on various religious and philosophical subjects have been translated into English. Cutsinger's (theology & religious thought, Univ. of South Carolina) translation is based on the French edition of a work first published in 1953. It is composed of reflections and extracts from letters and notes gathered by related subject matter into chapters. One chapter is devoted to the Hindu school of philosophy known as the Vedanta, while the rest cover a range of thought. Schuon's writing isn't for the casual reader. If your readership isn't ready to process statements like When bhakti becomes exoteric intellection becomes more and more excluded and is replaced by a moral individualism, which tends to be sufficient in itself, this isn't a book for your collection. The sensibilities of the 1950s world show through at some points, with comments on the Germanic mind or how Asians or Negroes think. This translation includes a short appendix of selections from Schuon's previously unpublished writings. Suitable for religion or philosophy collections in academic libraries. This new edition of philosopher Frithjof Schuon's classic Spiritual Perspectives and Human Facts is a fully revised translation of the French edition, and contains a new extensive appendix of previously unpublished selections from Schuon's letters and other private writings related to the topics covered in the chapters. Schuon, the foremost representative of the Perennialist school of comparative religious thought, writes on an extraordinary range of subjects, including the limitations of modern civilization and its modes of thought, the role of aesthetics and symbolism in art and nature, the “way of love” and the “way of knowledge” in religion, and the Hindu Vedanta. Of particular interest are the groundbreaking sections on the interplay between love, knowledge and universal virtue in spiritual life. Front Cover ......Page 1 Series Page ......Page 2 Title Page ......Page 4 Copyright Page ......Page 5 Table of Content ......Page 6 Editor's Preface......Page 10 Preface ......Page 12 1.THOUGHT AND CIVILIZATION......Page 14 2. AESTHETICS AND SYMBOLISM IN ART AND NATURE......Page 34 3. CONTOURS OF THE SPIRIT......Page 62 4. VEDĀNTA......Page 110 5. KNOWLEDGE AND LOVE ......Page 144 6. THE SPIRITUAL VIRTUES ......Page 194 Appendix: Selections from Letters and Other Previously Unpublished Writings ......Page 244 Editor's Notes ......Page 260 Glossary ......Page 290 Index ......Page 300 Biographical Notes ......Page 310 "This revised and expanded edition contains a new translation; an editor's preface by James S. Cutsinger; an appendix of selections from letters and other previously unpublished writings; editor's notes; a glossary and index; and biographical notes."--BOOK JACKET