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East and West Paperback – July 2, 2004

by Rene Guenon (Author)

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East and West, first published in 1924, was the fourth of a series of books that cleared the ground for Guénon's later writings. His first book, Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines (1921), was an exposition of metaphysics as transmitted in the Hindu tradition, and served to establish his specific use of important terms such as 'esoterism', 'tradition', and 'orthodoxy'. He next set about writing two extensive volumes critiquing what he called 'pseudo-esoteric' groups. The first of these, Theosophy: History of a Pseudo-Religion (1921), is an exposé of Madame Blavatsky's Theosophical Society; the second, The Spiritist Fallacy (1923), examines the current of nineteenth-century spiritism that set the stage for many occult movements that appeared toward the end of that century. Guénon's application of traditional metaphysics to the special case of pseudo-esoteric groups was then broadened in the present book to the general question of East and West as conservators and transmitters of traditional wisdom in the modern age. The titles of its two parts, 'Western Illusions' and 'How the Differences Might be Bridged', describe perfectly the book's intention. Later books, especially The Crisis of the Modern World and its magisterial sequel, The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times, further extended Guénon's penetrating critique of the modern world.

East and West

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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.

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Product Details

Paperback: 188 pages
Publisher: Sophia Perennis (July 2, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0900588349
ISBN-13: 978-0900588341
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.4 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,935,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #545 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age & Spirituality > Theosophy
- #3076 in Books > History > World > Civilization & Culture
- #5044 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > International & World Politics > Asian

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Modern West & traditional East: insurmountable barriers?

By A Customer on May 2, 1999

Format: Paperback

Nowadays, when the East is mentioned, and more specifically, the traditional East, immediately rise almost insurmountable barriers, such the differences of mental physiognomy that characterizes the modern westerners and the orientals. Few know that, only six centuries ago, the Occident had much more points in common that divergences, in relation to the East, because both had ther respective civilizations developed from similar priciples, that is, both respected the natural hierarchy that orders everything, from the highest, that is, the spiritual, until the lowest, the material. René Guénon, in this exemplary book, written with extreme clarity, provides us a "radiography" of the modern Occident and its roots, as no other contemporary author had ever accomplished. In the first part of the work, Guénon, shows the modern western civilization as truly monstrous, because it is the only one that grew exclusively in a material sense; he brings to the light the philosophical deformations, from Renascence, that constituted the roots of this type of "development and progress", words so in fashion and at the same time, so insignificant. The author approaches the limits of the modern science and the most spread prejudices against the East. In the second part are examined the frustrated attempts of approach between the East and the West, as well as how such an objective could be reached through an agreement on certain principles. Guénon approaches the role that the constitution of an elite would carry out in such agreement.Read more ›

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Not the best topic for Guénon

By Avery on March 21, 2013

Format: Paperback

In the 1920s when Guénon composed this long treatise, the question of the duality of "East and West" was a common one in European intellectual circles. The divisions may be harder to see today, but at that time, the West -- Western Europe and America -- had discovered a number of "civilizations" in the East, and Orientalists had recognized the existence of complex societies in these civilizations, but with the exception of Japan, none of them rose to the challenge of European imperialism. The question as posed at the time was, why did Eastern civilizations form in a different way than the nation-states of Western and Eastern Europe? For a member of the Perennial School this question has an easy answer, and indeed Guénon probably chose to discuss this topic because it was easy for him to answer. As an overview of metaphysics it is not terrible so I will not give it a low rating.

However, this turns out to be not the best topic for Guénon to demonstrate his expertise. Being tied up with the West's imperial ambitions, "East and West" necessarily includes some geopolitics, and the Metaphysician demonstrates a very poor grasp of this topic, including the infamous "puppets" passage (72-76) which Schuon harshly criticized in Rene Guénon: Some Observations. Here the terms "Eastern" and "Western" are employed for a permanent symbolism, but Guénon does not explain this anywhere, which leaves his image of the symbolic "true Easterner" open to being slandered as a gross generalization or even a prejudice.Read more ›

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modernity and foundations of modernity explained in brilliant way.

By Danish on December 23, 2016

Format: Paperback

must read, modernity and foundations of modernity explained in brilliant way.

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- O que afasta e o que aproxima o Oriente e o Ocidente ?

By A Customer on April 8, 1999

Format: Paperback

Hoje em dia, quando se fala de Oriente, e mais especificamente, do Oriente tradicional, imediatamente se erguem barreiras quase intransponíveis, tal a diferença da `fisionomia mental' que caracteriza os ocidentais modernos e os orientais. Poucos sabem que, há apenas seis séculos, o Ocidente tinha muito mais pontos em comum que divergentes, em relação ao Oriente, pois um e outro tinham suas respectivas civilizações desenvolvidas a partir de princípios semelhantes, isto é, ambos respeitavam a hierarquia natural que ordena todas as coisas, desde o mais elevado, isto é, o espiritual , até o mais baixo, o material. René Guénon, neste livro magistral, escrito com extrema clareza, nos proporciona uma `radiografia' do Ocidente moderno e suas raízes, como jamais qualquer outro autor contemporâneo havia realizado. Na primeira parte da obra, Guénon , mostra a civilização ocidental moderna como verdadeiramente monstruosa, pois é a única que se desenvolveu num sentido exclusivamente material ; traz à luz as deformações filosóficas, desde a Renascença, que constituíram as raízes deste tipo de "desenvolvimento e progresso", termos tão em moda e ao mesmo tempo, tão insignificantes. O autor aborda os limites da ciência moderna e os preconceitos mais difundidos contra o Oriente. Na segunda parte, são examinadas as tentativas frustradas de aproximação entre o Oriente e Ocidente assim como em que termos tal objetivo poderia ser alcançado, isto é, através de um acordo sobre determinados princípios. Guénon aborda o papel que a constituição de uma elite desempenharia em tal hipótese.Read more ›

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