Scientia sacra: a holistic educational approach for transforming environmental consciousness

Abstract

This research studies the educational approach to the environmental crisis called Scientia Sacra which was developed by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, a perennial and a contemporary Islamic philosopher. The paper aims to understand the background and underpinnings of this philosophy. It will discuss Nasr’s critique of modernism as the root cause of our environmental crisis, and the manner in which he sees an educational approach informed by the concept of scientia sacra as the solution. The researcher also discusses various critiques of Nasr’s approach and challenges in its application to education. It will investigate whether scientia sacra can contribute to solutions to the environmental crisis which can operate across religious and secular divides.