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Perennialism: Or, “Give Me That Old Time Religion”

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Perennialism: Or, “Give Me That Old Time Religion” PERENNIALISM 3 PERENNIALISM: OR, “GIVE ME THAT OLD TIME RELIGION” Glenn A. Jent* INTRODUCTION (“The William Tell Overture”) The perennial philosophy goes by many names—e.g., Neo- Thomism, Traditionalism, Rational Humanism, Catholic supernaturalism. Whatever the name, the end result is essentially the same: a belief that certain universal truths or ideas exist at all times and that the level of existence that man attains is determined by his attention, or inattention, to these eternal principles. The perennialist traces the foundation of his philosophy back to Plato and Aristotle together with the revised understanding of their ideas as interpreted by Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. In the modern era, the primary spokesmen are Jacques Maritain, Mortimer Adler, and Robert Hutchins. These writers appeal to the fundamental beliefs held in the time of Aquinas, who subscribed to the fundamental beliefs held by Aristotle, who together with Plato subscribed to the fundamental beliefs held during the Golden Age of Greece. It seems appropriate, therefore, to consider the fundamental principles of perennialism via the assistance of classical music. The Introduction should fittingly be accompanied by the words "The Lone Perernnialist Rides Again." The writer will present a brief history of perennialism accompanied by the music of Rossini's The Barber of Seville—indicative of the truth that perennialism, like hair, though removed, will certainly make a return. The second section will present the major contributors to the accompaniment of "The Waltz of the Flowers," from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. The third section will present the philosophical concepts of perennialism while being accompanied by “I Know I’ll Love You Till the End of Time,” found in Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, in B Minor (“Pathetique”). The *The Rev. Dr. Glenn A. Jent, Ed.D., is Academic Dean and Professor of Christian Education at TTGST. Dr. Jent has over 35 years of pastoral experience in the USA and Korea. He is currently serving as Pastor of the Torch Trinity Community Church at the campus of TTGST and the Somang Presbyterian Church in Apgujeong, Seoul. 4 TORCH TRINITY JOURNAL 6 (2003) fourth section wil1 present the educational implications of perennialism to the music of Handel's Water Music Suite (it is “sink- or-swim” time). The writer prepared this document while listening to Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No. 1. A BRIEF HISTORY OF PERENNIALISM (“The Barber of Seville ”) A perennialist is “one who believes that certain perennial truths in and about education have existed from the very beginning and continue to have existence and validity as ‘first principles’ which all right-thinking men will accept.”1 Although these ideas are considered to be eternal truths, they were not put into a philosophical system until the fourth century before Christ. Plato, upon looking at his contemporary society, felt that the people needed to return to the principles held during the Golden Age of Greece. He set out in his Republic to discover the highest good which would enable men to have worthwhile standards by which to live. 2 Aristotle, a pupil of Plato, sought to give a more practical assessment of reality than that of Plato, for he felt that his teacher was too ethereal. 3 In the early 400s Augustine “baptized” Platonic thought, and his Christianized interpretation of Plato was the dominant philosophy until Aquinas. In the thirteenth century, Aquinas “baptized” Aristotelian thought, and this Christianized interpretation of Aristotle became the dominant thought (with a nod in the direction of Plato and Augustine). Reason and revelation became waltzing partners. Although the perennial philosophy did not die out—thanks to the Roman Catholic Church—it did slowly lose its influence. During the last century, it declined rapidly because of the industrial revolution. Around the turn of the century, a new philosophy was formulated and gained widespread acceptance. That philosophy was progressivism (or modernism, experimentalism, etc.) and was popularized by John Dewey. From the first decade of the 1900s until 1930, it was 1Kenneth H. Hansen, Philosophy in American Education (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1960), 177. 2Theodore Brameld, Philosophies of Education in Cultural Perspective (New York: Dryden Press, 1955), 290-91. 3Ibid., 293 PERENNIALISM 5 predominant in American educational philosophy. 4 In response to the disintegration of society because of the Great Depression, the traditionalists, as Adler calls the perennialists, suddenly revived for a comeback sometime around 1930. Because of the traditionalist appeal for a return to the fundamental beliefs of a pre-scientific and pre- industrial age, the modernists fought back vigorously. The two factions have bad a running verbal feud ever since, and they have developed a whole new vocabulary to describe each other. The traditionalists have identified and “pigeon-holed” the modernists as “child-centered,” “interest-centered,” “fact-centered,” “personality- centered,” “hand-minded,” “presentist,” “permissive,” “emotionalist,” and “faddist.” The modernists describe the traditionalists as “book- centered,” “teacher-centered,” “curriculum-centered,” “disciple- centered,” “compulsory,” “medieval,” “mystic,” and “fascist.”5 Because the modernist discounts any pre-scientific thought as outdated and no longer applicable, the traditionalist has had to rethink his posture and has come up with the three following philosophical propositions: The first is that philosophy is knowledge, not opinion or conjecture, and that it has the validity of knowledge as much as science. The second is that philosophical knowledge is independent of the empirica1 sciences in that the latter’s methods are incapable of answering philosophical questions or of refuting philosophical conclusions. The third is that philosophical knowledge is superior to empirical science both theoretically and practically—theoretically, in that it is concerned with their phenomenal aspects; and, practically, in that it is concerned with directing human life and society to its ends or goals, while science is concerned with technological applications in the sphere of productivity for man’s use en route.6 These propositions claim top priority for the philosopher and that no lesser discipline is capable of judging philosophical truths. In spite of a continuing struggle with the modernists, the traditionalists are not united. They fall into two branches—the Aristotelians, or non-Christians, and the Thomists, or Christians. Although they disagree concerning God, they both agree that it is of 4Mortimer J. Adler and Milton Mayer, The Revolution in Education (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1958), 147. 5Ibid., 150. 6Ibid., 167. 6 TORCH TRINITY JOURNAL 6 (2003) utmost importance that the greatest philosophers of all time be given the pre-eminence they deserve if a sick society is to be healed. 7 THE MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS OF PERENNIALISM (“The Waltz of the Flowers”) Thomas Buford lists four philosophers as the major contributors of perennialism while Brameld lists only three (omitting Augustine in the following presentation). Modern writers such as Maritain, Adler, and Hutchins are not treated separately but only in terms of their contributions to the philosophical concepts and educational principles that will be discussed later in this paper. Plato Plato studied under Socrates and learned from him the need “to strip the superfluous, the secondary, the transitory from the inner core of reality, truth, and value.”8 Living about a hundred years after the Golden Age of Greece, Plato felt that people could find meaning in life if they returned to those ideals of that period—i.e., the ultimate ideals of justice, harmony, moderation, truth, beauty, goodness.9 Plato felt that “reality is a realm of necessary, immutable, and eternal forms, patterns, or ideas of which men ought to come to an understanding and in terms of which they ought to conduct their lives individually and corporately.”10 These Ideas would provide leaders with moral and political criteria for establishing and maintaining a society within which persons might lead happy lives.11 Aristotle Aristotle sought to moderate some of the extremes of Plato’s philosophy. His Ethics and Politics were written to provide men some sensible rules that they might trust in their everyday life experiences.12 Aristotle posited a single cosmic order of increasing perfection in 7Brameld, 291. 8Ibid. 9Thomas O. Buford, Toward a Philosophy of Education (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1969), 417. 10Ibid. 11Brameld, 292. 12Ibid., 292-93 PERENNIALISM 7 contrast to the dualistic world-view of Plato. Aristotle believed that reality “must be understood as formed-matter.”13 He taught that “permanence and change are mingled together in every object of our experience,” and all objects (including humans) are “constantly in the process of becoming what they can and ought to become.”14 Humans seek to actualize their rational dimension by choosing the moderate path (“golden mean”) in both moral decisions and in contemplating “the meaning of reality, the end toward which it is moving, the unmoved mover.”15 People will be able to achieve universal ends only in society—i.e., society as understood to exist in the Golden Age. Therefore, Aristotle, like Plato, advocated a return to the “good old days” and the cultural ideals and metaphysical principles held at that time.16 Augustine Augustine was influenced by Plato through the translations of Plotinus. Platonic
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