Perrenialism

[Fool]

Does Perrenialism have any basis in the world's major religions?

 

[Sunstone]

Perrenialism has some basis, I think. Constructivism has some merit as well.

The way I see it, the mystical experience has a common core, but our interpretations of it vary by culture and individual.

 

[Fool]

Perrenialism has some basis, I think. Constructivism has some merit as well.

The way I see it, the mystical experience has a common core, but our interpretations of it vary by culture and individual.

somewhat like the jain parable and the 10 blind men trying to explain an elephant?

 

[Sunstone]

somewhat like the jain parable and the 10 blind men trying to explain an elephant?

Maybe. But perhaps more like a Hindu will most likely put a Hindu spin on the experience, while a Christian will most likely put a Christian spin on it, and so forth, while everyone will also add a bit of their own individual perspectives to the spin, too.

 

[Fool]

Maybe. But perhaps more like a Hindu will most likely put a Hindu spin on the experience, while a Christian will most likely put a Christian spin on it, and so forth.

true, we tend to cloud our belief systems with what we understand and experience. the mind tries to make sense from chaos; especially things we don't understand and haven't experienced.

Revelation 10:1
And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:


belief has a power of its own and if allowed to grow without question and check, it becomes like a bull in a china shop at the minimal and monster at the maximum.

 

[Quintessence]

As a pluralist, perenialism is something of a dirty word to me. Here we have this wonderful cultural diversity and the perenialist would have us explain it away and underwrite it. No thanks.

 

[Sunstone]

As a pluralist, perenialism is something of a dirty word to me. Here we have this wonderful cultural diversity and the perenialist would have us explain it away and underwrite it. No thanks.

Perrenialism, however, appears to be supported to some extent by the neurosciences. To again reference a work that I just now referenced in another thread, see "Why God Won't Go Away" by Newberg ad D'Aquili. I think the diversity comes in, not with the mystic experience itself, but with the cultural and individual spins placed upon it -- which seem endless.

 

[Fool]

As a pluralist, perenialism is something of a dirty word to me. Here we have this wonderful cultural diversity and the perenialist would have us explain it away and underwrite it. No thanks.

ideas are not necessary the same as their forms. like people aren't necessarily the same color, height, physical age, psychological age, ethnicity, sex, gender, socio-economic class.

a quote i once heard. "Unity can only be manifested by the binary. Unit and the idea of unity are already two."

 

[sun rise]

I looked up the word and found that it does not apply to religion since it's an educational philosophy.

They are Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism, and Reconstructionism. These educational philosophies focus heavily on WHAT we should teach, the curriculum aspect. Perennialism. For Perennialists, the aim of education is to ensure that students acquire understandings about the great ideas of Western civilization.
https://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP3.html

 

[Sunstone]

I looked up the word and found that it does not apply to religion since it's an educational philosophy.

They are Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism, and Reconstructionism. These educational philosophies focus heavily on WHAT we should teach, the curriculum aspect. Perennialism. For Perennialists, the aim of education is to ensure that students acquire understandings about the great ideas of Western civilization.
https://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP3.html

Like most words, perennialism has more than one meaning. In the philosophy of religion, perennialism refers to the notion that there is a core mystical experience which is cross-cultural and can be found through-out human history. Aldous Huxley coined the usage in 1945 with his book, "The Perennial Philosophy".

The opposing view to perennialism is the notion that the content of mystical experiences is constructed -- influenced, shaped, determined -- by one's culture. This is called, "constructivism".

Perennialism once had a much greater following among scholars than it does today. Today, the majority position seems to be hard or soft constructivism.

I myself subscribe to a combination of perennial and constructivist views seasoned with a dash of my own lunacy -- and I'm almost always right about these things, excepting only when I'm wrong about them.

 

[sun rise]

Like most words, perennialism has more than one meaning. In the philosophy of religion, perennialism refers to the notion that there is a core mystical experience which is cross-cultural and can be found through-out human history. Aldous Huxley coined the usage in 1945 with his book, "The Perennial Philosophy".

The opposing view to perennialism is the notion that the content of mystical experiences is constructed -- influenced, shaped, determined -- by one's culture. This is called, "constructivism".

Perennialism once had a much greater following among scholars than it does today. Today, the majority position seems to be hard or soft constructivism.

I myself subscribe to a combination of perennial and constructivist views seasoned with a dash of my own lunacy -- and I'm almost always right about these things, excepting only when I'm wrong about them.

Hmm. My internet searching did not turn up that alternative meaning. "Google fail" on my part.

 

[Sunstone]

Hmm. My internet searching did not turn up that alternative meaning. "Google fail" on my part.

That's certainly not your failure: Google has let you down!

Here's more than you probably ever wanted to know about perennialism and constructivism in the noble philosophy of religion. Well, actually, it's only an introduction -- but it sounds much better the way I put it.

Perennialism begins at section 4, constructivism at section 6.

 

[Fool]

I looked up the word and found that it does not apply to religion since it's an educational philosophy.

They are Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism, and Reconstructionism. These educational philosophies focus heavily on WHAT we should teach, the curriculum aspect. Perennialism. For Perennialists, the aim of education is to ensure that students acquire understandings about the great ideas of Western civilization.
https://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP3.html

Perennial philosophy - Wikipedia

spiritual growth is often associated with a guru, teacher.

spiritual and mental are synonyms. they pertain to a state of mind; which is the cause of action.

 

[Tomyris]

As a pluralist, perenialism is something of a dirty word to me. Here we have this wonderful cultural diversity and the perenialist would have us explain it away and underwrite it. No thanks.

Speaking as a Perennialist, I don't think that's so. There is one central Truth, but this truth, being obscured by processes of the ages, has assumed the character of countless cultures and local customs. In each case it is a precious whole: You cannot extract from it the Truth, you must take it as it is. The "underwriting" is solely that all religions are true, though we don't know which parts are, and since you cannot extract the fundamental truth from them, you must accept the framework built around that truth, even though you may hold that somewhere within is the unifying truth which brings together all faiths and all understandings of the Almighty. Substantial parts of any religion may not hold truth, may be later additions, but they reflect a cultural diversity which must be cherished due to the fact of our absence of knowledge. The esoteric traditionalist does not think herself fortunate enough to have a revelation to guide her; she must approach religions as artworks, buried in which are truth enough to live and die by but only appreciable through the fabric of the Whole. In the end, this component of the Sophia Perennis is why so many past adherents have become extremely orthodox, conservative members of specific religions.