René Guénon
French metaphysician, esotericist and intellectual (1886–1951), a leading figure of the Traditionalist School; known for writings on metaphysics, symbolism, initiation and critique of modernity. He lived in Egypt from 1930 and adopted the Islamic name ʿAbd al-Wāḥid Yaḥyā.
Books
This list of books are ONLY the books that have been ranked on the lists that are aggregated on this site. This is not a comprehensive list of all books by this author.
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1. The Multiple States Of The Being
A concise metaphysical treatise arguing that existence manifests in distinct states—each with its own mode of consciousness and principles—rather than as a single homogeneous reality; these states (from the purely material and vital up through psychic, intellectual and spiritual modes) are qualitatively different ways of being, and passage between them is possible through inner realization and traditional initiatory methods. The work contrasts this view with modern reductionism, clarifies the distinction between ‘states’ (different modalities of being) and ‘degrees’ (levels of intensity or perfection within a modality), and outlines how authentic traditional doctrines offer paths to higher states and to a recovery of primordial unity.
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2. Insights Into Islamic Esoterism And Taoism
A comparative, metaphysical study that examines the inner principles and practices of Islamic esotericism and Taoism, arguing that both traditions preserve an essential, supra‑religious doctrine accessible through initiation and symbolic transmission; it contrasts exoteric forms with inner paths (such as Sufi methods of remembrance and transmission and Taoist internal alchemical practices), explains their cosmological and metaphysical doctrines and correspondences, and critiques modern rationalism and secularism for obscuring the perennial truths these traditional systems safeguard while emphasizing the experiential, transformative aim of returning to an original spiritual Principle.
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