The first classics in human history--the early
works of literature, philosophy, and theology to which
we have returned throughout the ages--appeared in the
middle centuries of the first millennium bce. The
canonical texts of the Hebrew scriptures, the
philosophical writings of Plato and Aristotle, the
Analects of Confucius and the Daodejing, the Bhagavad
Gita and the teachings of the Buddha--all of these works
came down to us from the compressed period of history
that Karl Jaspers memorably named the Axial Age. In The
Axial Age and Its Consequences, Robert Bellah and Hans
Joas make the bold claim that intellectual
sophistication itself was born worldwide during this
critical time. Across Eurasia, a new self-reflective
attitude toward human existence emerged, and with it an
awakening to the concept of transcendence. From Axial
Age thinkers we inherited a sense of the world as a
place not just to experience but to investigate,
envision, and alter through human thought and action.
Bellah and Joas have assembled diverse scholars to guide
us through this astonishing efflorescence of religious
and philosophical creativity. As they explore the
varieties of theorizing that arose during the period,
they consider how these in turn led to utopian visions
that brought with them the possibility of both societal
reform and repression. The roots of our continuing
discourse on religion, secularization, inequality,
education, and the environment all lie in Axial Age
developments. Understanding this transitional era, the
authors contend, is not just an academic project but a
humanistic endeavor.
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