Axial Age

Axial Age

Origin of the Concept

Karl Jaspers' (1883 - 1969) The Origin and Goal of History (1953) is the source of the Axial Age Idea. It is not accepted by all historians, because for some it implies that history was somehoe being directed, or supervised, which they find unacceptable. However, according to Jaspers the period beteen from 800 to 200 B.C.E.), during which time all the fundamental creations that underlie man's current civilization came into being, plays a central, foundational or crucial role in human history. Some extend the Axial period as late at 600C.E. Following from the insights that came to him in preparing his book, Jaspers was led to realize the possibility of a political unity of the world in a 1958 work called Die Atombombe und die Zukunft des Menschen (The Future of Mankind, 1961). The aim of this political world union would not be absolute sovereignty but rather world confederation, in which the various entities could live and communicate in freedom and peace. Those who believe that religions are not merely human attempts at answering the deep questions about life and meaning and purpose but represent divine intervention will regards the Axial Age as a period during which God revealed moral truths to humanity.

Charecteristics of the Axial Age

Jaspers was struck by the fact that so many of the great philosophers and religious leaders , including Confucius, the Buddha, Lau Tsu, Zarathustra (for the Mesopotamians), Moses flourished at roughly the same time, as if something parrallel was happening in the world, although people were unaware that similar or complimentary ideas were being developed at the same time. This period, said Jaspers, "gave birth to everything which, since then, man has been able to be." This is also the time of the great empires of antiquity (the Romans, the Macedonian, the Thracian Empires) which disseminated culture, legal frameworks and a sense of belonging to larger realities across tribal and ethnic boundaries. Jaspers saw this period as a particularly intense time of intellectual and religious development which continues to resonate in thought and society. The questions that the great seminal personalities of philosophy and religion tried to answer, such as the meaning and purpose of life, the meaning of suffering, how to distinguish good from evil, were of universal interest and their answers were meant for people everywhere, not just for their own clan or even just for their own time. The legacy of these great philosophers and teachers was so radical that it affected all aspects of culture, transforming consciousness itself. It was within the horizons of this form of consciousness that the great civilizations of Asia, the Middle East, and Europe developed. The ‘Classic Age’ saw the emergence of democracy in Athens, the flowering of philosophy (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle in Greece), and great artistic achievements. Some argue that wherever people live today, they are influenced by the structure of consciousness that was shaped in this Axial Age. The ancient Olympic games saw the birth of competitive sport and of the idea that sport can help to promote generositry, understanding and international co-operation and concern for human dignity and peace . In the 18th and 19th centuries, in Europe and North America, this period was romanticized but Hippocrates and Galen still form the basis of medical science. Virgil (17 B.C.E. to 19 C.E.) spoke of a Golden Age when people had lived in utopia but also believed that there are recurrent cycles of history.

Theological Aspects

Much of the thinking of the Axial age was about the meaning and purpose of life, and focused on the identity of the individual rather than on the 'tribe', although not exclusively. However, in the Indian Upanishads the atman, the transcendent center of the self, was of central concern while the Buddha charted the way of individual enlightenment; the Jewish prophets preached moral responsibiliy individuals as well as for society. Confucius was concerned with the ideal, humane individual as the basic building blocks of a just society. A religious or theological interpretaion of the Axial Age might posit a divine or supernatural source for these teachings of ethical and individual moral responsibility.

Historiographical Implications

Historians who are skeptical about positing parallel developments or archytypes tend to dismiss the idea of an Axial Age. However, the concept resonates with several approaches to historiogarphy, such as 'Big History', 'World History' (interested in processes that have drawn people together)and the 'Annales School' approach, with its interest in long term historical structures ((la longue durée) over events. In his book, Socrates, Buddha, Confucius, Jesus (Jaspers decribed these four as 'paradigmatic individuals' and pointed out (p 88) that their undertsnading of love (loving your neighbout) was universal.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Jaspers, Karl Socrates, Buddha, Confucius, Jesus: From the Great Philosophers (V1), Harvest (1966) ISBN 0156835800

Jaspers, Karl The Origin and Goal of History, Greenwood Press Reprint (1977) ISBN 0837189837

Internet resources

http://classes.seattleu.edu/religious_studies/trst267/Chan/General%20Course%20Folder/Lectures/Axial%20Age1.html

http://campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/World/Axial.html