The Crisis of the Modern World [Paperback]

Rene Guenon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1996

It is no longer news that the Western world is in a crisis, a crisis that has spread far beyond its point of origin and become global in nature. In 1927, René Guénon responded to this crisis with the closest thing he ever wrote to a manifesto and 'call-to-action'. The Crisis of the Modern World was his most direct and complete application of traditional metaphysical principles-particularly that of the 'age of darkness' preceding the end of the present world-to social criticism, surpassed only by The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times, his magnum opus. In the present work Guénon ruthlessly exposes the 'Western deviation': its loss of tradition, its exaltation of action over knowledge, its rampant individualism and general social chaos. His response to these conditions was not 'activist', however, but purely intellectual, envisioning the coming together of Western intellectual leaders capable under favorable circumstances of returning the West to its traditional roots, most likely via the Catholic Church, or, under less favorable ones, of at least preserving the 'seeds' of Tradition for the time to come.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

René Guénon (1886–1951) was one of the great luminaries of the twentieth century, whose critique of the modern world has stood fast against the shifting sands of intellectual fashion. His extensive writings, now finally available in English, are a providential treasure-trove for the modern seeker: while pointing ceaselessly to the perennial wisdom found in past cultures ranging from the Shamanistic to the Indian and Chinese, the Hellenic and Judaic, the Christian and Islamic, and including also Alchemy, Hermeticism, and other esoteric currents, they direct the reader also to the deepest level of religious praxis, emphasizing the need for affiliation with a revealed tradition even while acknowledging the final identity of all spiritual paths as they approach the summit of spiritual realization. René Guénon, of whom Jacob Needleman wrote in The Sword of Gnosis that ‘no other modern writer has so effectively communicated the absoluteness of truth,’ is gradually being recognized by deeper thinkers as one of the few who have truly penetrated the seductive veil of the modern age. As an expositor of pure metaphysics and its application to the science of symbols, Guénon is without peer; and his extraordinarily prescient critique of the modern world is attracting more and more attention among cultural commentators. Little known in the English-speaking world till the recent appearance of his Collected Works in translation, Guénon has nevertheless long been recognized as a veritable criterion of truth by a vanguard of remarkable writers who evince that rare combination: intellectuality and spirituality. After a lonely childhood, often interrupted by ill health, Guénon navigated the seductive half-truths of occultism toward a deeper, unified vision offering a way out from the confusion and fragmentation of our time. Regarded by leading scholars as the first truly authentic interpreter of many Eastern doctrines in the West, Guénon never tired, in face of the seemingly inexorable process of dissolution in the twentieth century, of pointing to the transcendent unity of all religious faiths and the abiding Truth that contains them all. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Kazi Pubns Inc (July 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0900588098
• ISBN-13: 978-0900588099
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,997,053 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A World Weighed and Found Wanting, December 10, 2003

By 

denis_abellio (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Crisis of the Modern World (Paperback)

This book is perhaps the best introduction to the thought of a difficult, little known, but immensely important thinker. I say "thinker", but that word does not adequately describe Rene Guenon (1886-1951), a man difficult to characterize because he does not fit into any of the categories of thought current in our culture.

Perhaps the best word to describe him is "sage" with all the overtones of antiquity, orientality, and wholeness that that word evokes. He is certainly not a "philosopher" in the usual understanding of that word, nor is he a "theologian", although all his thought is centered on the Source of all reality.

A student of Guenon, Jean Borella, has written an extremely helpful essay called "Rene Guenon and the Traditionalist School" which can be found in the book "Modern Esoteric Spirituality". Borella finds five fundamental themes in Guenon's writings, among which is the theme of "intellectual reform and criticism of the modern world". This is the theme that informs "The Crisis of the Modern World".

Guenon begins with a PREFACE in which he meditates on the word "crisis". This word can be understood to mean a "critical phase" i.e. a turning point for either better or worse, but it can also be understood, in keeping with its original meaning, to suggest a time in which the thing in crisis is ripe for judgment and discernment. Accordingly, the remainder of Guenon's book is his judgment of modernity and its fate in the light of traditional doctrine.

In the next chapter, THE DARK AGE, Guenon sketches the traditional doctrine of the human cycle or "Manvantara". (A more complete explanation of this can be found in "The Myth of the Eternal Return" cf. my review) According to this teaching we are now far into the fourth age of the world, called the "Kali Yuga" ("time of troubles"), which is characterized by a remoteness from the principle and source of human flourishing and therefore darkness, materialism, and chaos. This doctrine is the very opposite of the modern notion of progress.

In THE OPPOSITION BETWEEN EAST AND WEST, Guenon traces the cause of this opposition to the West's abandonment of the traditional and normal mentality which has been retained for the most part by the East. (Guenon was writing in 1927.) By "East" he means the Chinese, Indian, and Islamic Civilizations, and by "West" he means Europe and America. He sees the solution to this opposition in a return to tradition by a western intellectual elite. It should be noted that Guenon gives the words "tradition" and "intellectual" a very exact and easily misunderstood meaning.

In KNOWLEDGE AND ACTION Guenon examines the subordination of contemplation to action as the key difference separating the modern from the traditional world, and therefore West from East. From this inversion results the mental scattering and agitated monotony characteristic of modern times. Here we see Guenon's understanding of "intellectual" and its coordination with "tradition". The intellect is the supra-rational faculty which beholds tradition i.e. that which is given or "handed over." (from the Latin "tradere" to give over.)

Continuing the discussion of knowledge, Guenon distinguishes SACRED SCIENCE AND PROFANE SCIENCE in the next chapter. The sacred or traditional sciences proceed from and lead back to principles which are grasped in intellectual intuition. Profane or modern sciences view the same objects as the sacred sciences, but from the "profane point of view" which is to say in ignorance or blindness of the principles from which these objects flow. Guenon discusses ancient and modern physics, astrology and astronomy, and alchemy and chemistry.

The "root error and cause" of modern science is INDIVIDUALISM according to Guenon. Here again we must be careful to understand the word as Guenon uses it. The individual in question is distinguishing himself not from the rest of human society, but from the supernatural world or the authority of the realm of principles. Individualism then, which is at the heart of modernity, is nothing more than a negation. Guenon explains how modern errors follow from individualism in philosophy and religion and looks at such manifestations of individualism as "originality".

In chapter 7, THE SOCIAL CHAOS, Guenon examines democracy and its modern psuedo-priniciple, social equality. He finds democracy's appeal to the law of the greatest number to be nothing more than an appeal to the law of the brute force of matter, because matter is by nature a multiplicity as distinguished from spirit which is by nature a unity.

In A MATERIAL CIVILIZATION, Guenon summarizes his judgment on the modern civilization of the West. It is characterized by materialism which Guenon defines as living life as if nothing existed but the material world. It is therefore a disease that infects the West almost completely, even including those who acknowledge the world of the spirit but live as do those who do not.

In chapter 8, WESTERN ENCROCHMENT, Guenon discusses the spread of the modern mentality into the East and takes issue with the opinions of Henri Massis expressed in his book "Defense of the West". (Massis was a disciple of Charles Marras founder of "Action Francaise", a French Monarchist organization.) Guenon finds Massis to completely misunderstand Eastern doctrines, and sees him as a fine example of "low-grade" traditionalism.

In SOME CONCLUSIONS, Guenon discusses the prospects for the reestablishment of a Western traditional elite whose purpose would be to somewhat curtail the disastrous effects of materialism, and transmit the traditional doctrine into the new world that will follow the present dissolution.

This is only the briefest summary of a book rich in depth and insight in spite of its small size. Anyone who carefully reads and meditates on its contents cannot help but feel the singular power and purity of the author's intelligence, even though one may question some of the doctrines it contains. Many would find its contents incomprehensible or even scandalous but "he who has ears to hear, let him hear."

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book show us the roots of our modern world., June 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Crisis of the Modern World (Paperback)

This book is for those that, unsatisfied with the course os the modern world and it's oppressive materialism, are looking for convincing explanations, out of the common political and economical vision. The author examines the deep factors that conducted our world to it's present unbalance, demonstrating that, since the Middle Age, the Occident went further and further away, with increasing velocity, from the principles that ruled all the humanity until that momment. Principles that presume an hierarchy of values, from the highest (spiritual) ones to the basic (material) ones; principles that are within the essence of the traditional civilizations, that harmonize man and nature. We find examples of traditional civilizations with the north-american native tribes (as the Hopi and Sioux, among others); the Tibet, before the chinese invasion; the medieval Japan... René Guénon (1886-1951), with this book that is at once masterly and accessible, don't give us illusions about the future of our civilization. Instead he provides us with new and wide horizons, with tools that enables us to evaluate and stand up to the great challenges of the modern world crisis. It's the best way to make a first contact with René Guénon and the traditional view.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Work, June 27, 2001

By 

Kevin S. Schemerholtz (Sunny Oakland, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Crisis of the Modern World (Paperback)

This book is very special, in that it forms a perfect introduction to Traditional thought and critique. People used to the spirit-negating attitudes of our times may be both shocked and annoyed at the writer's conclusions. Others may find their beliefs and basic feelings clearly articulated for the very first time.

Guenon never uses the apologetics about religion and spiritual matters so common in almost every book on these subjects. he assumes the reader shares his beliefs and views and wastes no time trying to convince us that God exists, spirit is superior to matter, or that there is value in religion. Once reading this refreshing prespective, is hard not to be changed.