Prof. S. H. Nasr on “The Recovery of the Sacred: Tradition & Perennialism in the Contemporary World”

“The Recovery of the Sacred: Tradition and Perennialism in the Contemporary World” was the keynote address given by Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr to the Sacred Web 2006 Conference in Edmonton, Canada.

His talk presented a survey of the influences that scientism and modernism have had on the contemporary world. Prof. Nasr also pointed out significant ways in which the Perennialist perspective has contributed to a more objective assessment of that world. In addition, the talk includes clear definitions of some of the central tenets of Perennialism. After clarifying what he means by "Traditionalist" or "Traditionalism," Dr. Nasr uses these terms interchangeably with "Perennialist" and "Perennialism.

Seyyed Hossein Nasr (b. 1933) is University Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University. The author of over thirty books and three hundred articles, he is one of the world’s most respected writers and speakers on Islam, its arts and sciences, and its traditional mystical path, Sufism. He is undeniably the most significant living spokesperson on the Perennial Philosophy, as well as on its reflections on such fields as ecology, art, science, interfaith dialogue, comparative religion, and more.