What is Metaphysics?; Ruminations on Principial Knowledge and Some of Its Applications; Nasr

Seyyed Hossein Nasr [+–]

The George Washington University

Currently University Professor of Islamic Studies at The George Washington University, Seyyed Hossein Nasr is one of our time’s most significant philosophers and scholars of religion. His illustrious career has been marked by the global influence of his writings across diverse fields, from Islamic philosophy, spirituality, science, and art to environmental studies and comparative religion. Among Professor Nasr’s many accolades is his inclusion in the prestigious Library of Living Philosophers under the title, The Philosophy of Seyyed Hossein Nasr (2001).

What is Metaphysics? offers an exposition, informed primarily by the Islamic metaphysical tradition, of principial and divine knowledge as distinct from information or merely factual knowledge. Advancing an argument in favor of integrating metaphysics at every level of one’s being, the book also delves into various applications of metaphysics pertaining to the domains of religion, education, philosophy, art, ecology, and science.

Series: Global Philosophy

Preface

Chapter 1

What is the Meaning of Metaphysics and What is Its Significance? [+–]

This chapter focuses on some of the key ideas and concepts that are necessary for understanding metaphysics as taught traditionally, especially in Islamic civilization. It exposits metaphysics as principial knowledge and as knowledge of Divine realities, and also explains religion and civilization’s dependence upon it. While making a fundamental distinction between sacred science and information or merely factual knowledge, this chapter also advances an argument in favor of integrating metaphysics both intellectually and existentially.

Chapter 2

The Domain of Contingency in Light of Metaphysical Knowledge [+–]

This chapter delves into metaphysical explanations of a variety of topics, such as the question of what it means to be human, the distinction between reason and intellect, and the contrasts between modern Western and Islamic conceptions of metaphysics. Other topics addressed from the perspective of traditional metaphysics include traditional art, ethics, science, ecology, and spirituality.

Chapter 3

Some Applications of Metaphysical Principles [+–]

This chapter delves further into the various applications of metaphysics, especially as it pertains to religious knowledge, education, philosophy, art, and science. Another key focus of the discussion is on how to understand and evaluate developments particularly in Islamic contexts in light of metaphysical principles.

Reviews

What is Metaphysics? distills the wisdom of one of our time’s most important sages and global philosophers, highlighting with remarkable explanatory clarity both the theoretical and practical dimensions of the Sufi philosophical worldview.
Mukhtar H. Ali, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Cutting across a wide expanse of disciplines such as art, science, religion, and ethics, this book clearly demonstrates why and how metaphysics, seen as the science of the real and the real science, is unique in its ability to offer meaningful solutions to our world’s most pressing issues, from the environmental crisis to the loss of meaning in modern life.
Yousef Casewit, University of Chicago Divinity School

Religious Studies and Philosophy

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What is Metaphysics?

Ruminations on Principial Knowledge and Some of Its Applications

Seyyed Hossein Nasr [+–]

The George Washington University

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