The Need for a Sacred Science An Intellectual Defence of the Tradition by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Albany: State University of New York Press, SUNY Series in Religious Studies, 1993.

Abstract

Looking through humanity's experience of history one finds, in a variety
of ways, a tendency to go beyond time. This was true in premodem
man and is equally prevalent in the postmodern view of human spirituality,
even though postmodemism as an entity has failed to recognize the need
and logic of such an idea. In response, contemporary religious thinkers,
philosophers, and spiritualists have argued for the revival of "tradition,"
religious values, and spirituality. Some of the main proponents of this "traditionist
school" (p. 53) are Huston Smith, Frithjof Schuon, Gai Eaton,
Titus Burckhardt, Martin Lings, and, of course, Seyyed Hossein Nasr.
Nasr has written on several topics within the field of Islamics as well
as other related disciplines. However, the major portion of his writings
have been permeated with such themes as scientia sacra, perennial philosophy,
and the revival of spiritual traditions. These are indicative of his
concern for and commitment to the cause of the revival of tradition. In the
words of Jane Smith, he is the "defender of the sacred."
His works on Islam, especially on Sufism, the philosophy of religion,
Shi'ite thought, and various topics in world religions are too innumerable
to be accounted for here. But Nasr's relevance extends far beyond the
areas of Islamic studies and comparative religion, for he writes for the
specialist and for the wider public and appeals to those who are interested
not only in religion and spirituality as such but also in their interrelation
to philosophy, science, social science, policy making, art, and youth
issues. Above all, Nasr provides material for those who simply seek to
understand life's deeper mysteries. It has been rightly pointed out that
Nasr has been
one of the leading figures in ... the "neo-traditionist" movement
in modem Islam and has contributed enormously to the enrichment
of ideas earlier propounded by Rene Guenon. [Further] his
defense of the "whole and integral tradition of Islam" separates
him from other contemporary Shi'ite Muslim thinkers and brings
him closer to the mainstream of Islamic thought ...