Traditionalism

Mark Sedgwick is one of the leading scholars of traditionalism and is Professor of Arab and Islamic studies at Aarhus University in Denmark. I have read quite widely in this area, especially the work of Guénon, Schuon, Nasr, Burckhardt, Huston Smith, Keith Critchlow and Philip Sherrard (not mentioned here). This book is an informed and scholarly critical introduction to traditionalism and perennialism in four principal sections: introduction and history, foundations, the core projects of self-realisation, religion and politics, and further projects covering part, gender, nature and dialogue; then the final section features post-traditionalism in relation to the radical right. Traditionalism is metaphysical in its commitments to a sacred primordial order and tradition, and it is anti-modernist, a position that has significant political implications. Besides those already mentioned, the work of Julius Evola is extensively discussed, and reference is also made to Jordan Peterson and Aleksandr Dugin. I think the author is right in characterising traditionalism as a form of Counter-Enlightenment, a term coined by Sir Isaiah Berlin who applied it to Blake and the German idealists, who were aware of the potentially dehumanising and alienating effects of rationalism.

The author gives an interesting account of the history of perennialism, including a 1720 formulation by John Toland of the distinction between esoteric and exoteric. He discusses a variety of interpretations and their sources, also mentioning the work of Mircea Eliade around symbol, myth and rite as ‘a complex system of coherent affirmations about the ultimate reality of things, a system that can be regarded as constituting a metaphysics.’ (p. 57) While William James and Rudolph Otto stressed universal experience, most of the emphasis is on metaphysics. The philosophy of history is also central, and it draws on the two dominant narratives of ancient, mediaeval and modern (then post-modern), along with the myth of the fall to be succeeded by a messianic age. The important point for traditionalists is that modernity represents decline rather than progress, a narrative going back to Edward Gibbon and that came to the fore with Oswald Spengler’s Decline of the West.

The traditionalist critique of modernity is incisive and illuminating – see also my review of Roderick Main in this issue. Positively, modernity can be associated with ‘rationality, freedom, individualism, ethical autonomy, and self-realisation, all underpinned by secularism, capitalism, and rational bureaucratic authority.’ (p. 97) It seems to me that the last few years have strengthened the underpinnings while undermining the earlier characterisations with the emergence and imposition of increasingly authoritarian structures. Guénon emphasised the reign of quantity, criticised ceaseless agitation and acceleration, while noting the disappearance of the nonphysical world. Interestingly, he associated the growth of individualism with that of uniformity – equality becomes conformity, and workers are servants of the machine.

The project of self-realisation is put in a historical context to include Neoplatonism, medieval mysticism, Advaita Vedanta and Sufism, where the important distinction is introduced between the spirit (spiritus/ruh) and the ego (nafs/anima) that anchors us in the physical world. For Guénon, the unitive journey effaces the ego before the Self, following initiation. Julius Evola saw things differently, advocating a path of action or asceticism for men and devotion for women (this would now be regarded as sexist). The path of action is the aristocratic path of the knight corresponding to Nietzsche’s master rather than slave morality and to his self-overcoming. Evola also had an interest in tantra. Leading traditionalists had different attitudes towards orthodox religion, as explained in the relevant chapter. Only Evola was politically active - the chapter on politics discusses order, spiritual authority, temporal power and virtue in contemporary and pre-modern political theory.

The chapter on art focuses on Ananda Coomaraswamy, who, consistently with traditionalist views, dates the decline of art back to the Renaissance, and he makes the interesting point that icons convey a palpable sense of the sacred. The author also discusses Titus Burkhardt, Keith Critchlow and Sir John Tavener in the context of art is ultimately about the transcendent. As far back as 1966 (Man and Nature), Nasr used traditionalism to argue for environmental protection, proposing that the real crisis was a spiritual one, resulting in desacralisation – Lord Northbourne, Rudolf Steiner and EF Schumacher also made important contributions, taken up by the then Prince of Wales. The chapter on interfaith dialogue makes the point that the transcendent unity of religions provides a fruitful point of departure.

The final section deals with post-traditionalism in its political expression. I had not heard of the work of Alain de Benoist, who published a Manifesto for a European Renaissance in 1999. Aleksandr Dugin formulates an opposition between Slavic Eurasia and the Atlantic world, and postulates the need for a fourth political theory beyond the shortcomings of liberalism, communism and fascism, seeking out their positive aspects, though the current overall trend seems to be towards technocracy drawing on communism and fascism. The conclusion neatly brings the threads together, showing how traditionalism makes a distinctive contribution in terms of its foundations, critique of modernity and application across a number of disciplines. The book presents a thorough and even-handed overview.