Philosophy of Rene Guenon as Philosophical Esoterism

Philosophy of Rene Guenon, despite not being known to general public and remaining understudied by academic community, is one of the most interesting intellectual events of 20th century. The attempt to classify and define the philosophy of Rene Guenon is presented in the article. In author’s point of view, it is important for scientific study of Guenon’s philosophy. For the exact definition of Guenon’s philosophy author suggests the term “philosophical esoterism”, which marks the philosophical character of Guenon’s works as its main feature and places it in the field of esoterism. Some key concepts of Guenon’s philosophy are also presented. The scale of the impact of Guenon’s thought is also mentioned. The author compares the philosophical views of Rene Guenon and the views of his predecessors, contemporaries and followers. When studying the philosophy of Rene Guenon one should take into account its original esoteric origin and philosophical nature, that is, the presence of a certain system, rules of thinking and terminology. Author makes some conclusions about possible scientific and philosophical value of studying Guenon’s ideas.