The Origins and Diversity of Axial Age Civilizations

The Origins and Diversity of Axial Age Civilizations

Author: Shmuel N. Eisenstadt

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2012-02-01

Total Pages: 572

ISBN-13: 1438401949

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This book presents a new and original analysis of the great ancient civilizations, focusing on the breakthroughs and their institutionalization in Greece, Israel, China, and India. The conditions under which these civilizations developed are systematically explored. For comparative purposes, the civilization of Assyria, where such a breakthrough did not take place is analyzed. Attention is given to the transformation of modes of thought and symbolism. Special focus is brought to the development of the great religions and the perception of tension between the transcendental and mundane orders and between rulers and other elites.


Book Synopsis The Origins and Diversity of Axial Age Civilizations by : Shmuel N. Eisenstadt

Download or read book The Origins and Diversity of Axial Age Civilizations written by Shmuel N. Eisenstadt and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 572 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a new and original analysis of the great ancient civilizations, focusing on the breakthroughs and their institutionalization in Greece, Israel, China, and India. The conditions under which these civilizations developed are systematically explored. For comparative purposes, the civilization of Assyria, where such a breakthrough did not take place is analyzed. Attention is given to the transformation of modes of thought and symbolism. Special focus is brought to the development of the great religions and the perception of tension between the transcendental and mundane orders and between rulers and other elites.

Axial Civilizations and World History

Axial Civilizations and World History

Author: Johann P. Arnason

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2004-09-01

Total Pages: 585

ISBN-13: 9047405781

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A collection of essays by social theorists, historical sociologists and area specialists in classical, biblical and Asian studies. The contributions deal with cultural transformations in major civilizational centres during the “Axial Age”, the middle centuries of the last millennium BCE, and their long-term consequences.


Book Synopsis Axial Civilizations and World History by : Johann P. Arnason

Download or read book Axial Civilizations and World History written by Johann P. Arnason and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2004-09-01 with total page 585 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of essays by social theorists, historical sociologists and area specialists in classical, biblical and Asian studies. The contributions deal with cultural transformations in major civilizational centres during the “Axial Age”, the middle centuries of the last millennium BCE, and their long-term consequences.

The Axial Age and Its Consequences

The Axial Age and Its Consequences

Author: Robert N. Bellah

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2012-10-31

Total Pages: 561

ISBN-13: 0674067401

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This book makes the bold claim that intellectual sophistication was born worldwide during the middle centuries of the first millennium bce. From Axial Age thinkers we inherited a sense of the world as a place not just to experience but to investigate, envision, and alter. A variety of utopian visions emerged and led to both reform and repression.


Book Synopsis The Axial Age and Its Consequences by : Robert N. Bellah

Download or read book The Axial Age and Its Consequences written by Robert N. Bellah and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2012-10-31 with total page 561 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book makes the bold claim that intellectual sophistication was born worldwide during the middle centuries of the first millennium bce. From Axial Age thinkers we inherited a sense of the world as a place not just to experience but to investigate, envision, and alter. A variety of utopian visions emerged and led to both reform and repression.

Convenient Myths

Convenient Myths

Author: Iain Provan

Publisher:

Published: 2019-09-15

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781602589926

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The contemporary world has been shaped by two important and potent myths. Karl Jaspers' construct of the "axial age" envisions the common past (800-200 BC), the time when Western society was born and world religions spontaneously and independently appeared out of a seemingly shared value set. Conversely, the myth of the "dark green golden age," as narrated by David Suzuki and others, asserts that the axial age and the otherworldliness that accompanied the emergence of organized religion ripped society from a previously deep communion with nature. Both myths contend that to maintain balance we must return to the idealized past. In Convenient Myths, Iain Provan illuminates the influence of these two deeply entrenched and questionable myths, warns of their potential dangers, and forebodingly maps the implications of a world founded on such myths.


Book Synopsis Convenient Myths by : Iain Provan

Download or read book Convenient Myths written by Iain Provan and published by . This book was released on 2019-09-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The contemporary world has been shaped by two important and potent myths. Karl Jaspers' construct of the "axial age" envisions the common past (800-200 BC), the time when Western society was born and world religions spontaneously and independently appeared out of a seemingly shared value set. Conversely, the myth of the "dark green golden age," as narrated by David Suzuki and others, asserts that the axial age and the otherworldliness that accompanied the emergence of organized religion ripped society from a previously deep communion with nature. Both myths contend that to maintain balance we must return to the idealized past. In Convenient Myths, Iain Provan illuminates the influence of these two deeply entrenched and questionable myths, warns of their potential dangers, and forebodingly maps the implications of a world founded on such myths.

From World Religions to Axial Civilizations and Beyond

From World Religions to Axial Civilizations and Beyond

Author: Saïd Amir Arjomand

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2021-03-01

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1438483414

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The post–World War II idea of the Axial Age by Karl Jaspers, and as elaborated into the sociology of axial civilizations by S. N. Eisenstadt in the later twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, continues to be the subject of intense scholarly debate. Examples of this can be found in recent works of Hans Joas and Jürgen Habermas. In From World Religions to Axial Civilizations and Beyond, an internationally distinguished group of scholars discuss, advance, and criticize the Jaspers-Eisenstadt thesis, and go beyond it by bringing in the critical influence of Max Weber's sociology of world religions and by exploring intercivilizational encounters in key world regions. The essays within this volume are of unusual interest for their original analysis of relatively neglected civilizational zones, especially Islam and the Islamicate civilization and the Byzantine civilization, and its continuation in Orthodox Russia.


Book Synopsis From World Religions to Axial Civilizations and Beyond by : Saïd Amir Arjomand

Download or read book From World Religions to Axial Civilizations and Beyond written by Saïd Amir Arjomand and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2021-03-01 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The post–World War II idea of the Axial Age by Karl Jaspers, and as elaborated into the sociology of axial civilizations by S. N. Eisenstadt in the later twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, continues to be the subject of intense scholarly debate. Examples of this can be found in recent works of Hans Joas and Jürgen Habermas. In From World Religions to Axial Civilizations and Beyond, an internationally distinguished group of scholars discuss, advance, and criticize the Jaspers-Eisenstadt thesis, and go beyond it by bringing in the critical influence of Max Weber's sociology of world religions and by exploring intercivilizational encounters in key world regions. The essays within this volume are of unusual interest for their original analysis of relatively neglected civilizational zones, especially Islam and the Islamicate civilization and the Byzantine civilization, and its continuation in Orthodox Russia.

Religious Evolution and the Axial Age

Religious Evolution and the Axial Age

Author: Stephen K. Sanderson

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2018-01-25

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 1350047449

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Religious Evolution and the Axial Age describes and explains the evolution of religion over the past ten millennia. It shows that an overall evolutionary sequence can be observed, running from the spirit and shaman dominated religions of small-scale societies, to the archaic religions of the ancient civilizations, and then to the salvation religions of the Axial Age. Stephen K. Sanderson draws on ideas from new cognitive and evolutionary psychological theories, as well as comparative religion, anthropology, history, and sociology. He argues that religion is a biological adaptation that evolved in order to solve a number of human problems, especially those concerned with existential anxiety and ontological insecurity. Much of the focus of the book is on the Axial Age, the period in the second half of the first millennium BCE that marked the greatest religious transformation in world history. The book demonstrates that, as a result of massive increases in the scale and scope of war and large-scale urbanization, the problems of existential anxiety and ontological insecurity became particularly acute. These changes evoked new religious needs, especially for salvation and release from suffering. As a result entirely new religions-Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism-arose to help people cope with the demands of the new historical era.


Book Synopsis Religious Evolution and the Axial Age by : Stephen K. Sanderson

Download or read book Religious Evolution and the Axial Age written by Stephen K. Sanderson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-01-25 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religious Evolution and the Axial Age describes and explains the evolution of religion over the past ten millennia. It shows that an overall evolutionary sequence can be observed, running from the spirit and shaman dominated religions of small-scale societies, to the archaic religions of the ancient civilizations, and then to the salvation religions of the Axial Age. Stephen K. Sanderson draws on ideas from new cognitive and evolutionary psychological theories, as well as comparative religion, anthropology, history, and sociology. He argues that religion is a biological adaptation that evolved in order to solve a number of human problems, especially those concerned with existential anxiety and ontological insecurity. Much of the focus of the book is on the Axial Age, the period in the second half of the first millennium BCE that marked the greatest religious transformation in world history. The book demonstrates that, as a result of massive increases in the scale and scope of war and large-scale urbanization, the problems of existential anxiety and ontological insecurity became particularly acute. These changes evoked new religious needs, especially for salvation and release from suffering. As a result entirely new religions-Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism-arose to help people cope with the demands of the new historical era.

Practicing Transcendence

Practicing Transcendence

Author: Christopher Peet

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-06-05

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 3030144321

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This book introduces readers to the concept of the Axial Age and its relevance for a world in crisis. Scholars have become increasingly interested in philosopher Karl Jaspers’ thesis that a spiritual revolution in consciousness during the first millennium BCE decisively shaped world history. Axial ideas of transcendence develop into ideologies for world religions and civilizations, in turn coalescing into a Eurasian world-system that spreads globally to become the foundation of our contemporary world. Alongside ideas and ideologies, the Axial Age also taught spiritual practices critically resisting the new scale of civilizational power: in small counter-cultural communities on the margins of society, they turn our conscious focus inward to transform ourselves and overcome the destructive potentials within human nature. Axial spiritualities offer humanity a practical wisdom, a profound psychology, and deep hope: to transform despair into resilience, helping us face with courage the ecological and political challenges confronting us today.


Book Synopsis Practicing Transcendence by : Christopher Peet

Download or read book Practicing Transcendence written by Christopher Peet and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-06-05 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces readers to the concept of the Axial Age and its relevance for a world in crisis. Scholars have become increasingly interested in philosopher Karl Jaspers’ thesis that a spiritual revolution in consciousness during the first millennium BCE decisively shaped world history. Axial ideas of transcendence develop into ideologies for world religions and civilizations, in turn coalescing into a Eurasian world-system that spreads globally to become the foundation of our contemporary world. Alongside ideas and ideologies, the Axial Age also taught spiritual practices critically resisting the new scale of civilizational power: in small counter-cultural communities on the margins of society, they turn our conscious focus inward to transform ourselves and overcome the destructive potentials within human nature. Axial spiritualities offer humanity a practical wisdom, a profound psychology, and deep hope: to transform despair into resilience, helping us face with courage the ecological and political challenges confronting us today.

Jewish Civilization

Jewish Civilization

Author: Shmuel N. Eisenstadt

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2012-02-01

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 1438401930

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This book explains why the best way to understand the Jewish historical experience is to look at Jewish people, not just as a religious or ethnic group or a nation or "people," but, as bearers of civilization. This approach helps to explain the greatest riddle of Jewish civilization, namely, its continuity despite destruction, exile, and loss of political independence. In the first part of the book, Eisenstadt compares Jewish life and religious orientations and practices with Hellenistic and Roman civilizations, as well as with Christian and Islamic civilizations. In the second part of the book, he analyzes the modern period with its different patterns of incorporation of Jewish communities into European and American societies; national movements that developed among Jews toward the end of the nineteenth century, especially the Zionist movement; and specific characteristics of Israeli society. The major question Eisenstadt poses is to what extent the characteristics of the Jewish experience are distinctive, in comparison to other ethnic and religious minorities incorporated into modern nation-states, or other revolutionary ideological settler societies. He demonstrates through his case studies the continuous creativity of Jewish civilization.


Book Synopsis Jewish Civilization by : Shmuel N. Eisenstadt

Download or read book Jewish Civilization written by Shmuel N. Eisenstadt and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explains why the best way to understand the Jewish historical experience is to look at Jewish people, not just as a religious or ethnic group or a nation or "people," but, as bearers of civilization. This approach helps to explain the greatest riddle of Jewish civilization, namely, its continuity despite destruction, exile, and loss of political independence. In the first part of the book, Eisenstadt compares Jewish life and religious orientations and practices with Hellenistic and Roman civilizations, as well as with Christian and Islamic civilizations. In the second part of the book, he analyzes the modern period with its different patterns of incorporation of Jewish communities into European and American societies; national movements that developed among Jews toward the end of the nineteenth century, especially the Zionist movement; and specific characteristics of Israeli society. The major question Eisenstadt poses is to what extent the characteristics of the Jewish experience are distinctive, in comparison to other ethnic and religious minorities incorporated into modern nation-states, or other revolutionary ideological settler societies. He demonstrates through his case studies the continuous creativity of Jewish civilization.

Breaking Monotheism

Breaking Monotheism

Author: Jeremiah W. Cataldo

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2014-03-13

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0567402177

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This work offers a social-scientific analysis of Yehud and uses that analysis to construct a model through which to analyze later monotheistic religious developments.


Book Synopsis Breaking Monotheism by : Jeremiah W. Cataldo

Download or read book Breaking Monotheism written by Jeremiah W. Cataldo and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2014-03-13 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work offers a social-scientific analysis of Yehud and uses that analysis to construct a model through which to analyze later monotheistic religious developments.

A Social-Political History of Monotheism

A Social-Political History of Monotheism

Author: Jeremiah W. Cataldo

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-01-03

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1315406888

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In A Social-Political History of Monotheism, Cataldo shows how political concerns were fundamental to the development of Judeo-Christian monotheism. Beginning with the disruptive and devastating historical events that shook early Israelite culture and ending with the seemingly victorious emergence of Christianity under the Byzantine Empire, this work highlights critical junctures marking the path from political frustration to imperial ideology. Monotheism, Cataldo argues, was not an enlightened form of religion; rather, it was a cultic response to effluent anxieties pouring out from under the crushing weight of successive empires. This provocative work is a valuable tool for anyone with an interest in the development of early Christianity alongside empires and cultures.


Book Synopsis A Social-Political History of Monotheism by : Jeremiah W. Cataldo

Download or read book A Social-Political History of Monotheism written by Jeremiah W. Cataldo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-01-03 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In A Social-Political History of Monotheism, Cataldo shows how political concerns were fundamental to the development of Judeo-Christian monotheism. Beginning with the disruptive and devastating historical events that shook early Israelite culture and ending with the seemingly victorious emergence of Christianity under the Byzantine Empire, this work highlights critical junctures marking the path from political frustration to imperial ideology. Monotheism, Cataldo argues, was not an enlightened form of religion; rather, it was a cultic response to effluent anxieties pouring out from under the crushing weight of successive empires. This provocative work is a valuable tool for anyone with an interest in the development of early Christianity alongside empires and cultures.