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DOI: 10.24234/wisdom.v21i1.712 Rakhmat KARIMOV, Rauf BEKBAEV
THE TRADITIONALISM OF RENE GUENON IN THE DISCOURSE OF PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY AND SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Abstract
The article provides a complex analysis of the problems of traditionalism in the teaching of Rene Guenon, a famous French philosopher author of works on metaphysics, symbolism and initiation. Attention is drawn to the fact that traditionalism sublimated and produced a theoretical formulation of ideals, systems, values aimed at the conscious cultivation of this worldview. The roots of the philosophical reflection of traditionalism, which originated in ancient times, starting with ancient Chinese and ancient Indian philosophy, through ancient Greek philosophy to its modern doctrines, are analyzed. The concept of Tradition, which Guenon defined as the so-called Primordial Tradition, is considered. A comparative analysis of the problem of intellectual intuition of Rene Guenon and Henri Bergson in the context of social philosophy is carried out. Particular attention is paid to the concept of Rene Guenon's philosophy of history, in which the basic position is occupied by the theory of cosmic cycles based on the cosmology of Hinduism.
Keywords: tradition, traditionalism, perennialism, philosophy, social anthropology, historiosophy.
Introduction
In the history of philosophy, the phenomenon of tradition has been an actual problem of the philosophical discourse of both Western and Eastern philosophy. Elements of traditionalism were already present in the philosophy of Confucianism and in some way manifested themselves in ancient Greek philosophy. Despite the fact that traditionalism is inherent in Eastern social life, as a separate trend in philosophy, traditionalism is formed in Western philosophy of the 20th century. The founder of philosophical traditionalism is the French philosopher Rene Jean-Marie-Joseph Guenon, whose metaphysics is of interdisciplinary nature. Guenon's works stand at the interface of various philosophical disciplines, as well as other social and humanitarian sciences. Thus, Guenon's philosophy affects ontology, epistemology, historiosophy, social philosophy and philosophical anthropology, as
well as cultural studies, religious studies, art history, literary studies, etc. It should be noted that Guenon's works are also relevant in the context of comparative and intercultural philosophy. For instance, M. Sedgwick (2021) notes that Guenon's traditionalism influenced South American literature, in particular, the literary and artistic environment of Argentina in the 1920s; A. Kolesnikov (2004) examines the metaphysics of Guenon in the East-West dialogue; P. Nosa-chev (2013) analyzes Guenon's traditionalism in the context of politics and religion; I. Bembel (2020) draws attention to the transformation of traditionalism in architectural studies; Barbara Batista Santos (2017) discovers elements of traditionalism in Thai culture. The traditionalist philosophy of Rene Guenon continues to be an actual subject of modern historical and philosophical research, both in the West and in the East. However, there are still certain gaps in this area. For example, there is not enough research on the
anthropological teaching of Guenon, his comparative philosophical conception, as well as the theory of cognition. Although at the same time there are many works aimed at the study of his philosophical and religious conceptions, the doctrine of tradition, the philosophy of history. M. Sedgwick (2004) undertook a detailed historical study of the genesis and development of traditionalism. At the same time, the definition of the place of Rene Guenon traditionalism in the history of philosophy remains out of the field of attention of modern scholars.
Some Elements of Traditionalism in the History of Philosophy
Before proceeding directly to the problem of studying the philosophy of history and social anthropology of Rene Guenon, attention should be paid to the manifestation of the phenomenon of tradition in the history of Western and Eastern philosophy. Thus, we find traditionalism in the philosophy of Confucianism. The dictum of Confucius (2000) is known: "I continue - I do not create; I believe in antiquity and love it wholeheartedly" (p. 36). This expresses the traditionalist essence of Confucianism, which opposes changes in social life and turns to the past. Confucianism is based on the social experience of previous generations and hence the requirement to respect and observe the customs and traditions of the ancestors, not to deviate from fate, "Tao ". It should be noted that the "Tao" is the central concept of Taoism, which also contains elements of traditionalism. For example, the principle of "Wu-Wei" or "inaction" also requires everyone not to resist their fate, to follow it unconditionally. The traditionalist aspects of Chinese philosophy had a significant impact on the development of the Chinese Empire, especially considering that Confucianism was the state ideology for a long time, and Taoism was widespread among the common population. In that regard, it is interesting to note Feng Yu-lan (1958), who wrote: "According to Chinese tradi-
tion, the study of philosophy is not a profession. Everyone should study philosophy just as in the West everyone should go to church" (p. 11). These words express the spirit of traditionalism, which is also present in modern Chinese philosophy.
Traditionalism is also present in ancient Indian philosophy. Here we should pay attention to the category of the holy scriptures as Smriti. The word "Smriti" is translated as "that which is remembered", i.e. a tradition transmitted from memory (Upanishads, 1992, p. 8). In the traditionalism of Rene Guenon (1945), it is noted that "oral teaching methods almost everywhere preceded written teaching" (p. 58). The traditional knowledge is transmitted primarily orally, as was the case with the Vedas. However, traditionalism in ancient India is expressed most of all in the social structure of society, namely, in the caste system, which follows directly from the study of the Vedas. Castes are sometimes considered as an exceptional feature of the social structure (Bongard-Levin & Il'yin, 1985, p. 134), and it expresses traditionalism since the caste system is not just a form of social structure, they are directly related to the fate of a person. Buddhism denied the caste system and, as a result, was ousted from ancient India. Castes continue to play a big role in modern Indian society.
Ancient Greek philosophy, as well as ancient Eastern philosophy, is also not devoid of the presence of elements of traditionalism in it. Moreover, this manifests itself starting from ancient Greek mythology with its cosmocent-rism, which will also manifest itself in philosophy. Traditionalism is most clearly found in the philosophy of Plato, who was highly appreciated by Guenon himself. Plato's social philosophy, like ancient Indian philosophy, divides society into estates and interprets the concept of justice in a peculiar way. According to Plato (2007), "justice consists in everyone having his own and doing his own, too" (p. 244).
Stringent social stratification, no less strict laws, predetermined not only some motives of
the social philosophy of traditionalism, but also influenced the further development of political thought. K. Popper calls the justice that Plato speaks of "totalitarian justice" and points to the key formula of Plato's political program: "Arrest all political change!" (Popper, 1943, p. 74). Why is this formula important for understanding Plato's traditionalism? Because changing political thinking violates traditional attitudes, changing people's way of thinking can give them political freedom, it destroys tradition. It should be noted that here Plato's social philosophy approaches Confucianism. Aristotle, despite the fact that he was less radical than Plato, was strongly influenced by the traditionalist motives of his teacher's philosophy. This is especially evident in the fact that he systematized slavery naturalized by Plato: "It is decent for the Greeks to rule over barbarians; barbarian and slave are identical concepts by nature" (Aristotle, 2010, p. 26). In the future, Cicero will continue this thought of Aristotle and note that barbarian peoples are "born for a slavery condition" (Fedorov, 2018, p. 246).
Ancient philosophy is partially imbued with the spirit of traditionalism, which was strengthened in the Middle Ages when philosophy became the "servant of theology". Scholasticism is not only conservative in nature, and it is in general an expression of religious traditionalism with its theocentrism, which declined in the 14th century and was replaced by Renaissance anthro-pocentrism. It is not for nothing that Guenon notes that "what is called the Renaissance was in reality not a re-birth but the death of many things" (Guenon, 2003, p. 15). It is interesting that it was during the Renaissance that what will be called by M. Sedgwick (2004) perennialism was formed as one of the elements of the philosophy of traditionalism (p. 39). The founder of perennialism or "Eternal Philosophy" is, as Sedgwick notes, Marsilio Ficino. However, it should be said that Ficino's "Eternal Philosophy" was turned to Neoplatonic tendencies and sought to synthesize Christianity and the teachings of Plato, as well as other religions. Nevertheless,
perennialism is essential for understanding Rene Guenon's traditionalism.
The Doctrine of the Primordial Tradition
In the philosophy of traditionalism of Rene Guenon, the central place and the basic position is occupied by such a concept as tradition. It is a system-forming concept of his philosophy. The word "tradition" itself means "transmission" and today is defined as "a universal form of fixation and selective preservation of certain elements of socio-cultural experience, as well as a universal mechanism of its transmission, ensuring stable historical and genetic continuity in socio-cultural processes" (The Newest Philosophical Dictionary, 2003, p. 1047). The concept of "tradition" covers a wide range of phenomena in various fields of human activity and is an integral part of social life. Guenon (1945) defines that "tradition simply means "that which is transmitted: in some way or other" (p. 88). In the context of tradition-nalism, the phenomenon of tradition means the transmission of transcendent knowledge, since "all that authentically traditional may be generally defined as the intervention of 'non-human' element" (Guenon, 2001c, p. 19). The tradition contains the initial knowledge, the initial spirituality. However, the philosopher focuses on the primordial tradition, which is "the primordial revelation, which is, like Creation, a work of the Word, is itself incorporated, so to speak, in symbols which have been transmitted from age to age ever since the origin of humanity" (Guenon, 1995, p. 16). As a source of absolute divine truth, the primordial tradition contained genuine spirituality, since "it is a 'law' or 'rule' ... which reflects the divine Will and expresses the universal Order" (Guenon, 2002, p. 93). It follows from this that the primordial tradition is directly connected with religion, which is one of the most important forms of its manifestation, but at the same time, it influences the social hierarchy and ensures the correct social organization. Accor-
ding to Guenon (2003), the primordial tradition is one, unique, but with the passage of history, the change of different epochs, "primordial spirituality becomes gradually more and more obscured" (p. 7), as a result of which it is divided into local traditions. Initially, the oral way of transmitting the tradition is gradually being replaced by its written fixation, which distorts its original meaning. The degradation of human spirituality plays an important role in this, which "stands for the individualization of conceptions, the substitution of the rationale for the truly intellectual, and of the scientific or philosophical for the metaphysical point of view" (Guenon, 1945, p. 41). At the same time, if local forms of tradition continue to exist in the East, then in the West they are lost with the beginning of the Renaissance and Reformation, which "were primary results, made possible only by the preceding decadence; but, far from being a readjustment, they marked an even deeper falling off, consummating, as they did, the definitive rupture with the traditional spirit, the former in the domain of the arts and sciences, and the latter in that of religion itself, although this was the domain in which it might have seemed the most difficult to conceive of such a rupture" (Guenon, 2003, p. 15). The Renaissance is marked by the turn of Western philosophy from theocentrism to anthropocentrism, but at the same time, the process of secularization and an appeal to individualism begins, which, according to Guenon (2003), "the negation of any faculty of a supra-individual order" (p. 44). Medieval Catholicism was for Guenon the best form of expression of tradition, but now it is lost. Local traditions now exist in the East in the form of Confucianism, Taoism, Hinduism and Islam. It should be noted that traditionalism is close to Islamic dogmatism since traditionalism and dogmatism as a whole are in an essential relationship. However, here Sufism is of great importance for Guenon, which is an esoteric tradition in Islam, although irrationalism, as K. Popper (1945) noted, must tend towards dogmatism (p. 226).
The Social Anthropology
Rene Guenon develops his own social anthropology based on the doctrine of the primordial tradition. Guenon (2001b), in the spirit of Hinduism, defines that man is the unity of spirit (Purusha) and matter (Prakrti), he is the identity of microcosm and macrocosm, because "the "Self' is the transcendent and permanent principle of which the manifested being, the human being, for example, is only a transient and contingent modification" (p. 23). The "Self' is potentially located in the individual, but the union of his own essence with the divine in him is realized only when a person comprehends the possibility of their "union" through the manifestation of intellectual intuition in him, which "is even more immediate than sensory intuition, for it is beyond the distinction between subject and object which the latter allows subsisting; it is at once the means of knowledge and the knowledge itself, and in it, subject and object are identified" (Guenon, 1945, p. 168). Intellectual intuition stands above not only sensory cognition but also rational thinking, which, according to Guenon (2003), produces only various forms of speculation, which remain something completely external and purely verbal, and not genuine and effective (p. 39). At the same time, "this intuition has nothing common with the ability of the unconscious and sensual... this faculty can also be called the pure intellect, following the practice of Aristotle and his Scholastic successors, for to them, the intellect was in fact that faculty which possessed a direct knowledge of principles" (Guenon, 1945, pp. 116-117). Here Guenon approaches Henri Bergson's (1999) teaching about intuition, according to which, for example, the concept of duration is known not through rationality, but through "grasping" the stream of consciousness: "There is at least one reality that we grasp from the inside, by intuition, and not by simple analysis. This is our Self that lasts" (p. 1176). According to Bergson, intuition "grasps" the phenomena of reality directly, without
rational cognition. Guenon, leaning towards "direct comprehension of principles", practically approaches intuition in Bergson's understanding. In addition, while criticizing rationality, which is identified with intelligence, he also again approaches Bergson's position on this issue: "Bergson has written as follows: 'Intelligence, considered in what seems to be its original feature, is the faculty of manufacturing artificial objects, in particular tools to make [sic], and of indefinitely varying the manufacture". And again: "Intelligence, even when it no longer operates upon its own object (i.e., brute matter), follows habits it has contracted in that operation: it applies forms that are indeed those of unorganized matter. It is made for this kind of work. With this kind of work alone is it fully satisfied. And that is what intelligence expresses by saying that thus only it arrives at distinctness and clearness" (Guenon, 2001a, p. 12). According to Bergson (1999), the work of the intellect is like the work of a camera taking mechanical pictures of things and phenomena or a candle that hardly illuminates the darkness around itself, and only intuition is capable of spontaneous, imaginative thinking (pp. 339, 876). However, Guenon (2001a) is critical of Bergson's philosophy as a continuation of Cartesianism (p. 29), because "the quarrel between spiritualism and materialism, around which almost all philosophical thought has revolved since the time of Descartes, has nothing to do with pure metaphysic" (Guenon, 1945, p. 151). Descartes, according to Guenon, postulated the dualism of "spirit-matter", as a result of which Western philosophy formed not only a distorted understanding of the nature of the universe but also of man, who is also seen as existing within this antagonism. Moreover, this led to the fact that orientalists began to consider the concepts of "Purusha" and "Prakrti" as analogues of "spirit" and "matter", respectively. In fact, these concepts are similar to the concepts of "essence" and "substance", which are the single beginning of both the individual and the whole being (Guenon, 2001b, pp. 36-45). Proceeding
from this, we cannot observe the antagonism of spirit and matter in human nature, since they are "consubstantial", and intellectual intuition is the highest degree of human spirituality as opposed to reason, whose role is only "fulfilling the needs of a lower and bodily level" (Guenon, 2003, p. 86). Thus, Guenon's anthropology is gradually approaching mysticism, especially when he points out that "haqiqah is pure knowledge" (Guenon, 2004a, p. 1).
Despite the fact that Guenon develops deeply spiritual ideas about man as a microcosm, similar to the macrocosm, his philosophy is not addressed to man. Developing the idea of intellect-tual intuition as a supra-rational human ability, he believes that "the haqiqah, literally the 'inward truth', reserved to an elite, not because some arbitrary decision, but by the very nature of a thing, since not all men possess the aptitudes or 'qualifications' required to reach the knowledge of the truth" (Guenon, 2004a, p. 1). People naturally have different abilities. Therefore not everyone can follow the path of "truth", most are only available to the "great way" or Sufi "shariyah" (Geunon, 2004a, p. 1). Based on these differences, Guenon forms his socio-philosophical concept, which is based on the caste system.
So, since people have different abilities by their own nature, each individual can only perform a certain function; therefore, an organized hierarchy is necessary, where each being takes its place. Thus, the thinker postulates the fatality of human fate because, in each individual, some abilities are initially inherent, and therefore, he is destined to occupy only one specific position in the entire hierarchy and not be able to change it; otherwise, he will enter into contradiction with "divine providence", which, in turn, is an anti-traditional phenomenon.
The correct social organization for Guenon, as noted above, is the hierarchy. It contains the following categories of individuals: 1. The spiritual or intellectual elite, similar to the
Brahmins caste, who are few in number but
have super-rational abilities, they have access
to traditional knowledge.
2. Military, officials or Kshatriya caste performing judicial and administrative functions.
3. Merchants, farmers, artisans or the Vaishya caste. They perform an economic function.
4. Workers and peasants or Sudras occupy the lowest position in the social hierarchy. Their activity consists in performing physical labour. Guenon speaks quite pejoratively about this category of people since they are characterized by "the lowest kind utilitarianism, the negation of all disinterested knowledge and of all reality beyond the perceptible domain" (Guenon, 2004b, p. 74).
The aforementioned social hierarchy, according to Guenon, reflects the "original unity", since there is only differentiation of people according to their abilities, and the caste system reflects the division of functions and this structure is the most natural: "In effect, each man, by reason of his proper nature, is suited to cry out certain definite functions to the exclusion of all others; and in a society established on a regular traditional basis, these aptitudes must be determined according to precise rules, so that, by the correspondence of the various functions with the principal categories in the classification of 'individual natures', each finds his proper place (barring exceptions due to errors of application which, although possible, are reduced to a minimum), and thus the social order exactly expresses the hierarchical relationships that result from the nature of the beings themselves" (Guenon, 2004b, p. 9).
The socio-philosophical concept of Guenon is a synthesis of the ancient Indian caste system, Platonic social philosophy and the theology of Thomas Aquinas. Like Plato, Guenon also believes that society is gradually degrading, which is expressed in the change of its social organization. The "original unity" is broken when changes begin from a perfect form of government to a decadent one. If Plato's philosopher-ruler is a "philosopher-breeder" (Popper, 1943, p. 131), then Guenon's role is performed by the intellect-
tual elite, which has access to traditional knowledge, "truth". Social stratification, according to Plato and Guenon, is natural since the abilities and skills of individuals are a priori determined by nature. Therefore, the optimal solution is to determine each of them their own place in the hierarchy.
For Guenon, society is a set of people whose management is possible only with a hierarchical system and one that implies the division of society into strata based on the natural abilities of specific individuals. Guenon believes that equality is impossible and is a delusion. Attempts to implement egalitarian theories only lead to an imbalance in society, and in order to prevent this, the thinker offers his own model of the correct social structure in accordance with traditional conceptions. Other alternatives are considered invalid and destructive since it is through the system-hierarchical organization of society that it is possible to maintain not only stable development but also the preservation of tradition and spirituality.
The Philosophy of History
In the traditionalism of Rene Guenon, a special place is occupied by his conception of the philosophy of history, in which the basic position is occupied by the theory of cosmic cycles based on the cosmology of Hinduism. Guenon (1991) gives a twofold understanding of the historical process: in a broad sense, this is "the process of unfolding a certain state of manifestation", in a narrow sense, it is "a more or less limited and specialized modality of this state" (Guenon, 1991, p. 11).
A broad understanding of the cycle is the whole existence of the universe as the life of Brahma, which goes through cycles of "day and night". The "day" of Brahma or Kalpa consists of fourteen manvantaras, in each of which Manu is created - the progenitor of mankind, the first ruler who established order through the Laws of Manu as a set of religious and ethical rules go-
verning all spheres of society. In turn, already in manvantara, we come to the cycles of human history - the four Yugas (Guenon, 1991, p. 14):
1. Satya Yuga or the Golden Age.
2. Treta Yuga or the Silver Age.
3. Dvapara Yuga or the Copper Age.
4. Kali Yuga or the Iron Age.
Guenon (1991) notes that each cycle is "marked by degeneration in relation to the preceding period" (p. 14), which is explained by a gradual departure from the "principle" or "original tradition". The people of the Golden Age, being close to the truly traditional knowledge, were in a state of "pure spirituality", true 'unity' and genuine "quality". The social way of life corresponds to the necessary hierarchy, and everyone occupies his proper place. The high spirituality of the Golden Age is expressed in the fact that the individual does not distinguish himself from the social environment. All human activity of the Golden Age in a priori form is aimed at fulfilling socially important tasks predetermined by his inner nature; therefore, he does not think about defining himself autonomously from society since this is a contradiction of tradition. The era of Satya Yuga is analogous to the rule of the Brahmins, which the follower of Guenon - Mircea Eliade (2001) compared with the supreme guardian of justice, the judge-almighty Varun (p. 180) and this comparison is not accidental, since during this period genuine justice is ensured through "purely spiritual and intellectual dominion". It should be noted that here Guenon, like Confucius or Hesiod and a number of other philosophers, is inclined to idealize the past.
The Silver Age of human history is marked by the first tendencies towards "materialization" and is associated with "a subversion of the social hierarchy, as can be seen, for example, in the repeated attempts made by Kshatriyas to throw off the Brahmanas" (Guenon, 1945, p. 222). Individuals of the previous era were distinguished by their spiritual purity and the absence of any negative qualities. However, people of the silver Age show elements of hostility, greed and hypocrisy
to each other, which is further aggravated in the cycle of Dvapara Yuga, in which the management of society is already carried out by Vaish-yas or farmers, merchants, artisans whose active-ties are generally in the field of material, but nevertheless they "can also be qualified for initiation" (Guenon, 2001c, p. 246). The tradition is still available, however, to a lesser extent, as vice increases. Accordingly, spirituality declines and the social hierarchy is gradually disrupted and the very last cycle - Kali Yuga, the Iron or dark Age, the "period of obscuration", in which "spiritual knowledge has become hidden, and only a few can still achieve it if they find themselves in the right conditions" since the characteristic feature of this time is "the mingling of castes", i.e. "the destruction of all true hierarchy" (Guenon, 2001c, p. 252), contributing to "social chaos", the transition of "quality into quantity", when human thinking degrades towards materialism and pragmatism, losing all connection with tradition and giving absolute attention only to its "ego", filled with passions and desires, suppressing intellectual intuition, which previously lay at the heart of everything in traditional civilizations, but now we are dealing with "profane" civilizations with their inherent "modern" worldview. Kali Yuga is the last epoch of history, after which a new manvantara must begin, and the cycle must repeat again, because "the present age, however painful and troubled it may be, must also, like all the others, have its allotted place in the complete course of human development, and indeed the very fact of its being predicted by the traditional doctrines is indication enough that this is so" (Guenon, 2003, p. 18). It can be seen that the theory of the cyclic history of Guenon has a pessimistic character since there is an involution. Therefore, the idea of evolution and progress, which are identified only with material and technical development, is denied. The genesis of the idea of progress for Guenon is of an anti-traditional nature, expressed, for example, in the fact that Pascal stated that "those whom we call ancient were actually new in
everything... in this respect Pascal had at least one predecessor, since Bacon had already said with the same implication: Antiquitas saeculi, juventus mundi (Ancient ages - the youth of the world)" (Guenon, 2001a, p. 17). For Guenon, such beliefs are nothing but sophism, a "simplistic" view of history, which, under the name of the "philosophy of becoming" with all its variations, is called "evolutionism", which "implies a formal denial of whatever lies beyond nature, in other words the realm of metaphysics - which is the realm of immutable and eternal principles" (Guenon, 2003, p. 41). Under the influence of these "anti-metaphysical" theories, "pseudo-intuitive" ideas are also formed, among which Guenon (2003) notes Bergsonianism, in which intuit-tion "modeled on the ceaseless flux of the things of the senses, far from being able to serve as an instrument for obtaining true knowledge, represents in reality the dissolution of all possible knowledge" (p. 41).
Guenon's historiosophy was influenced by both Eastern and Western philosophy. The theory of cyclical and fatalistic history was formed in ancient Indian philosophy. Nostalgia for antique-ty was present in ancient Chinese and ancient philosophical and historical thought. Guenon was particularly influenced by Plato's philosophical and historical concept, which also had a negative attitude to any changes, especially social ones, which are degeneration (Popper, 1943, p. 16) because the ideal state of society is the power of the Brahmins, "which are above change" (Guenon, 1945, p. 223). Any changes in the tradition give rise to its aberration, the consequence of which is first its disintegration, and then completely "darkening". Guenon was even more influenced by scholastic philosophy, the pinnacle of which is Thomism for him, because "the Summa Theologica of St Thomas was, in its time, a manual for the use of students, Today, where are the students who would be capable of fathoming and assimilating it?" (Guenon, 1995, p. 3). It is the loss of medieval theocentric Christianity and the beginning of Renaissance anthro-
pocentrism that is a symbol of decline for Guenon, and all further development is a movement towards a modern crisis.
Conclusion
The fundamental concept of Rene Guenon's traditionalism is tradition, through the prism of which various conceptions of his philosophy are formed. At the same time, the basic position is occupied by his doctrine of the primordial tradition as the original content of spirituality, transcendent, but lost knowledge, transformed into local traditional doctrines in the East and West, affecting their historical development both at the individual and social level. History is interpreted by Guenon as a process that is in direct relationship with tradition, and he does not limit its chronological framework to existing empirical data, assuming that a lot of information about the historical past was transmitted orally, not reflected in writing, which eventually led to different interpretations. In order to restore the true history, Guenon considers it necessary to deconstruct it.
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