The Crisis of the Modern World (Book)

The Crisis of the Modern World (French: La Crise du Monde Moderne) is a work published in 1927 by the French thinker René Guénon (Abdülvâhid Yahya). Having published the work “East and West” in 1924, author further deepens the themes and problems he examined in that earlier work, seeking to clarify certain issues. The persistence with which certain ideas opposed by René Guénon were defended by specific individuals prompted the author to write this book.

Content of the Book

Recognized as one of the foundational texts of the traditionalist school, this book addresses the crisis and degeneration of modern West civilization resulting from contemporary developments and the passage of centuries. Guénon argues that modern society has severed its spiritual roots and that a civilization based on materialism has plunged humanity into a profound spiritual crisis.

In the book, Guénon contrasts traditional Eastern and Western civilizations, asserting that the West has distanced itself from spiritual knowledge and as a result has been drawn into a deep identity crisis. From a traditionalist perspective, he contends that modernism impoverishes the individual and society spiritually, and that scientific and technological progress, so long as it remains disconnected from metaphysical reality, cannot provide humanity with any genuine solution. The author also argues that the Western world has been drawn into a more intense and profound process of degeneration compared to the East.

The author also describes how the West has launched material and spiritual attacks against the East, and explains how traditional sacred science and modern secular science are fundamentally incompatible. Addressing the issue of individualism, the author also outlines the negative conditions that may arise from it.

The Crisis of the Modern World is the most widely read of René Guénon’s works. This book has become an important source for those interested in traditionalist thought and has exerted significant influence on many intellectuals during the 20th century. Translated into Turkish at the end of the 1970s, work was also rendered into English by Marco Pallis and Richard Nicholson under the title The Crisis of the Modern World.