What was the Axial Age and why is it important?

The term ‘Axial Age,’ coined by German philosopher Karl Jaspers (1883-1969), refers to the period between 900 and 300 BCE, when the intellectual, philosophical, and religious systems that came to shape subsequent human society and culture emerged.

Is Islam an Axial Age religion?

Like Christianity, Islam does not belong directly to the Axial Age but can be regarded as an offshoot or another stage of it. As far as money and property is concerned, Islam has basically taken over the approach of the biblical traditions.

Who lived during the Axial Age?

The Axial Age, coined by German philosopher Karl Jaspers, is a period from roughly the 8th to 3rd century BCE that signified a cultural shift in the major Eurasian civilizations of China, India, Persia and the Mediterranean toward the modern era.

What new ideas beliefs and questions emerged from the Axial Age?

In line with this idea, Axial Age doctrines were associated with a variety of beliefs, including polytheism (e.g., in Daoism, Buddhism, and most Greek philosophical sects), dualism (in Manichaeism), monotheism (in Christianity), and largely non-theistic worldviews, as in the case of the Stoics, who saw the world as …

Is the Axial Age a legitimate historical idea?

Despite its tenuous historical foundations, the Axial Age continues to be an influential idea, with many scholars accepting that profound changes in religious and philosophical discourse did indeed take place but disagreeing as to the underlying reasons.

What changed in the Axial Age?

The standard approach to the Axial Age defines it as a change of cognitive style, from a narrative and analogical style to a more analytical and reflective style, probably due to the increasing use of external memory tools.

What is the Axial Age for religion?

Axial Age (also Axis Age, from German: Achsenzeit) is a term coined by German philosopher Karl Jaspers. It refers to broad changes in religious and philosophical thought that occurred in a variety of locations from about the 8th to the 3rd century BCE.

What was happening in China during the Axial Age?

In China, the Hundred Schools of Thought (c. 6th century BCE) were in contention and Confucianism and Taoism arose during this era, and in this area it remains a profound influence on social and religious life. Zoroastrianism, another of Jaspers’ examples, is one of the first monotheistic religions.

What is the Axial Age in history?

Axial Age (also Axis Age) is a term coined by German philosopher Karl Jaspers in the sense of a “pivotal age”, characterizing the period of ancient history from about the 8th to the 3rd century BCE. Karl Jaspers (1883 – 1969) pioneered the idea of the Axial Age.

What are the best books on the Axial Age?

Halton, Eugene (2014), From the Axial Age to the Moral Revolution: John Stuart-Glennie, Karl Jaspers, and a New Understanding of the Idea, New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-349-49487-3 Muesse, Mark (2013), The Age of the Sages: The Axial Age in Asia and the Near East (1st ed.), Minneapolis: Fortress Press, ISBN 978-0-8006-9921-5.

Are We entering the Second Axial Age?

The contemporary transformative shift in consciousness is of a magnitude that compares to that the Axial Period, hence we can speak of a second Axial Age. Swidler argues that at the start of the third millennium, humanity is finally leaving behind the monologue that has dogged human history and is entering the Age of Dialogue.

What is the Axial Age breakthrough?

The emergence of this specific type of Axial Age breakthrough was connected with the special mode of disintegration of the tribal communities and of construction of new collectivities and institutional complexes. […]