The perennial philosophy originates from a blending of neo-Platonism and
Christianity. Neo-Platonism itself has diverse origins in the syncretic culture of the
Hellenistic period, and was an influential philosophy throughout the Middle Ages.
Classical world Hellenistic period: religious syncretism During the
Hellenistic period,
Alexander the Great's
campaigns brought about exchange of cultural ideas on its path throughout most of the known world of his era. The Greek
Eleusinian Mysteries and
Dionysian Mysteries mixed with such influences as the
Cult of Isis,
Mithraism and
Hinduism, along with some Persian influences. Such
cross-cultural exchange was not new to the Greeks; the
Egyptian god Osiris and the
Greek god Dionysus had been equated as
Osiris-Dionysus by the historian Herodotus as early as the 5th century BCE (see ).
Roman world: Philo of Alexandria Philo of Alexandria () attempted to reconcile Greek Rationalism with the
Torah, which helped pave the way for Christianity with
neoplatonism, and the adoption of the Old Testament with Christianity, as opposed to Gnostic roots of Christianity. Philo translated
Judaism into terms of
Stoic,
Platonic and
neopythagorean elements, and held that God is "supra rational" and can be reached only through "ecstasy". He also held that the
oracles of God supply the material of moral and religious knowledge.
Neoplatonism Neoplatonism arose in the 3rd century CE and persisted until shortly after the closing of the
Platonic Academy in Athens in 529 CE by
Justinian I. Neoplatonists were heavily influenced by
Plato, but also by the Platonic tradition that thrived during the six centuries which separated the first of the neoplatonists from Plato. The work of neoplatonic philosophy involved describing the derivation of the whole of reality from a single principle, "
the One". It was founded by
Plotinus, and has been very influential throughout history. In the
Middle Ages, neoplatonic ideas were integrated into the philosophical and theological works of many of the most important medieval Islamic, Christian, and Jewish thinkers.
Renaissance Ficino and Pico della Mirandola Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499) believed that
Hermes Trismegistos, the supposed author of the
Corpus Hermeticum, was a contemporary of Moses and the teacher of
Pythagoras, and the source of both Greek and Christian thought. He argued that there is an underlying unity to the world, the soul or love, which has a counterpart in the realm of ideas. Platonic Philosophy and Christian theology both embody this truth. Ficino was influenced by a variety of philosophers including Aristotelian
Scholasticism and various pseudonymous and mystical writings. Ficino saw his thought as part of a long development of philosophical truth, of ancient pre-Platonic philosophers (including
Zoroaster,
Hermes Trismegistus,
Orpheus, Aglaophemus and
Pythagoras) who reached their peak in Plato. The
Prisca theologia, or venerable and ancient theology, which embodied the truth and could be found in all ages, was a vitally important idea for Ficino.
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463–1494), a student of Ficino, went further than his teacher by suggesting that truth could be found in many, rather than just two, traditions. This proposed a harmony between the thought of Plato and Aristotle, and saw aspects of the
Prisca theologia in
Averroes, the
Koran and the
Kabbalah among other sources. After the deaths of Pico and Ficino this line of thought expanded, and included
Symphorien Champier, and
Francesco Giorgio.
Steuco De perenni philosophia libri X The term
perenni philosophia was first used by
Agostino Steuco (1497–1548) who used it to title a treatise,
De perenni philosophia libri X, published in 1540.
De perenni philosophia was the most sustained attempt at philosophical synthesis and harmony. Steuco represents the
renaissance humanist side of 16th-century Biblical scholarship and theology, although he rejected Luther and Calvin.
De perenni philosophia is a complex work which only contains the term philosophia perennis twice. It states that there is "one principle of all things, of which there has always been one and the same knowledge among all peoples." This single knowledge (or sapientia) is the key element in his philosophy. In that he emphasises continuity over progress, Steuco's idea of philosophy is not one conventionally associated with the
Renaissance. Indeed, he tends to believe that the truth is lost over time and is only preserved in the
prisci theologica. Steuco preferred Plato to Aristotle and saw greater congruence between the former and Christianity than the latter philosopher. He held that philosophy works in harmony with religion and should lead to knowledge of God, and that truth flows from a single source, more ancient than the Greeks. Steuco was strongly influenced by
Iamblichus's statement that knowledge of God is innate in all, and also gave great importance to Hermes Trismegistus.
Influence Steuco's perennial philosophy was highly regarded by some scholars for the two centuries after its publication, then largely forgotten until it was rediscovered by
Otto Willmann in the late part of the 19th century. Overall,
De perenni philosophia was not particularly influential, and largely confined to those with a similar orientation to himself. The work was not put on the
Index of works banned by the Roman Catholic Church, although his
Cosmopoeia which expressed similar ideas was. Religious criticisms tended to the conservative view that held Christian teachings should be understood as unique, rather than seeing them as perfect expressions of truths that are found everywhere. More generally, this philosophical
syncretism was set out at the expense of some of the doctrines included within it, and it is possible that Steuco's critical faculties were not up to the task he had set himself. Further, placing so much confidence in the prisca theologia, turned out to be a shortcoming as many of the texts used in this school of thought later turned out to be bogus. In the following two centuries the most favourable responses were largely Protestant and often in England.
Gottfried Leibniz later picked up on Steuco's term. The German philosopher stands in the tradition of this concordistic philosophy; his
philosophy of harmony especially had affinity with Steuco's ideas. Leibniz knew about Steuco's work by 1687, but thought that by
Huguenot philosopher
Phillippe du Plessis-Mornay expressed the same truth better. Steuco's influence can be found throughout Leibniz's works, but the German was the first philosopher to refer to the perennial philosophy without mentioning the Italian. ==Popularisation and later developments==