Axial Age in the History of Humankind - Essay Example

College: What evidence does the Axial Age provide that ‘man is a meaning seeking creature’? The Axial Age is the period inhistory extending from 600 to 200 BCE, during which several key regions of the world underwent revolutionary thinking and change in human understanding and attitudes to existence. The changes that the populations of these regions of the world experienced were strikingly similar to each other, and the people who spearheaded them were key thinkers, philosophers, and religious leaders. Among the ancient civilizations and regions which experienced the axial concepts are Ancient Greece, India, and the Israelite Kingdom. This crucial period in history gave rise to the philosophies of Siddhartha Gautama ‘The Buddha’, Greek philosophers such as Solon and Thucydides, and the Hebrew prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah (Plott, 32). One of the key transformations that occurred during the axial age is that people became conscious of their nature, existence, and limitations. Societies whose lives had previously been extensively dictated by religious extremism and disorder, transformed into cultured and civilized settlements governed by rules and regulations that imposed limits on human behaviors and actions. As these societies became more orderly, people for the first time had the opportunity to observe, analyze, and understand many of the natural and human phenomena around them. This enabled them to understand the reason for the occurrence of many of the events around them and how to bring them under their control. Many scholars and philosophers have opposed the propositions and ideas expressed by the proponents of the Axial Age, especially German philosopher Karl Jaspers, who was the first person to identify the period as key to human reconnaissance for meaning, and coined the phrase ‘Axial Age’. Opponents of the propositions of the Axial Age, such as scholar Johann Arnason, assert that although the contexts of the various Axial Societies were markedly similar, the concepts that arose were the inspiration of different societal pressures and developed for different reasons. This reasoning is the basis for their conclusion that the Axial Age was not crucial for the development of human thinking, and the parallels that scholars and philosophers such as Karl Jaspers have identified between different civilizations are mostly coincidental (Plott, 39). The Axial Age in India: Buddhism However, the arguments of opposers of the importance of the Axial Age lack justification because analysis of the various ideas and teachings of key philosophers and religious leaders who spearheaded the paradigm shift of the period bear remarkable similarities suggesting parallels in their way of thinking. The teachings of Siddhartha Gautama ‘The Buddha’ set the foundation for the birth of Buddhism. Siddhartha was born to a king, and wealth and splendor characterized his early life. His father shielded him from experiencing and acquiring knowledge of the harsh life that the common man lived. Thus, suffering and poverty were altogether foreign to him. However, when he became a young man and was about to inherit his father’s throne, he became exposed to his subjects and for the first time, got the opportunity to interact with the poor, the sick, and the elderly. He observed widespread suffering that depressed him and pushed him to begin questioning the meaning of life. He then made the decision to leave the palace and the royalty and lead the life of an ascetic. He began to meditate on the meaning of life which eventually led him to what Buddhists refer to as ‘the awakening’ (The Human Journey, humanjourney.us/Buddhism). His conceived ideas and belief were completely different from the extreme asceticism of the time, which he believed did not work. His ideologies began to move away from the extreme self-mortification and self-indulgence of the time. Siddhartha’s intensive meditation on the cause of suffering enabled him to become ‘enlightened’ and gain insight into the cause of suffering as well as the means of eliminating it. These discoveries eventually came to be known as “the Four Noble Truths”. He discovered that suffering is part and parcel of existence and originates from the consequences of people’s decisions and actions. The Buddha also came to the conclusion that suffering is a creation of the mind. Thus, by carefully controlling and moderating the path and direction of their thoughts, people can avoid suffering. He also urged his followers not to accept teachings or knowledge unless it has justification. Justification can be achieved through experience or backing by the wise. In addition, the Buddha asserted that everything has an end since they all have a beginning, and nothing on Earth can fully satisfy the needs of human beings. The key concept that comes out in Siddhartha’s teachings is that people determine their own destinies through their thoughts and their actions. This is in contrast to the previously held archaic belief that the gods control each and every aspect and event of human life; that they determine the consequences of human actions. Siddhartha disapproved this belief, and taught his followers that suffering is mostly the consequence of human action that lacks proper judgment and understanding. Therefore, by ensuring that rational thought and judgment precedes their actions, people can avoid suffering. The Axial Age in Ancient Greece Many Greek Axial thinkers echoed sentiments and ideologies are very similar to those put forward by Siddhartha Gautama, although they had never had contact with him or gained knowledge of his teachings. Solon is the earliest known Greek Axial thinker. He lived from 638 to 558 BCE, and was crucial in changing Athenian ideology from the belief that the unstable political situation of the time had a divine cause. He taught the people of Athens that the problems they were facing were the product of human selfishness and greed. Solon devised a societal structure which laid the foundation for the future emergence of democracy in Greece. He influenced Athens to dispose of the traditional mechanism of acquiring leadership by virtue of one’s birth. Instead, he devised a system whereby every citizen could acquire leadership positions in the society by virtue of their economic status. His reforms strengthened the rule of law and gave people the power to determine the destiny of the society in contrast to letting events run their due course in the belief that it is the will of the gods (The Human Journey, humanjourney.us/Greece). The period following the lifetime of Solon (500 – 300 BCE), known to as the classical period in Greek history because it involved increased acquisition of knowledge and discovery of numerous universal truths. This period saw the growth and development of philosophy, art, architecture, literature, and democracy, laying the foundation for modern Western Civilization. Athenian democracy became the model of political leadership throughout the Greek world. The middle class was now able to participate in council debates together with the Greek intelligentsia and the nobles. The Greeks called the new system isonomia, and it thoroughly energized them and encouraged other neighboring peoples to adopt it. During the latter half of the fifth century, Sparta and Athens went to war against each other, with most of the other Greek city states supporting either of the two. Thucydides (465 – 395 BCE), a member of the educated Athenian elite, witnessed the entire war. His careful analysis established that the cause of the war was not the gods, but human behavior. He tried to enlighten his fellow Athenians and show them that the war did not break out because the people had lost favor with the gods, but due to the actions of the people. Human desires, passion, and appetites were mostly the motivating factors behind these actions. Sparta felt threatened by Athens’ increasing power and acted to prevent Athens from becoming too powerful. Thus, it was pride, fear, indecision, and ineffectual calculations which moved Sparta to declare war against Athens. Although, the Spartans gained victory over Athens, the most crucial outcome of the war was the pointless loss of human life, including Spartan life, for an unjustified course. This outcome, along with Thucydides’ teachings persuaded people to view the meaning of their existence from a new perspective. They realized that they had the power to influence the course of events which affected them, and not just to attest divine cause as the driving factor behind everything that happens (The Human Journey, humanjourney.us/Greece). The Axial Age in Ancient Israel and Judah Hebrew prophets are another group of leaders who inspired the Axial Age in the Middle East. The Jewish people were living in two separate kingdoms during this period, Israel and Judah, which enjoyed a prolonged period of peace, and trade was thriving between the two kingdoms. During the previous few centuries, the practice of religion among the Jews had transformed into superficial divine worship. Scribes and Pharisees taught the people that the only requirement they had to fulfill to gain God’s favor was the performance of routine rituals and sacrifices. Widening of the schism between the poor and the rich was a characteristic feature of this period. This made people conclude that their God rewarded in material terms those who regularly performed the rituals prescribed. Thus, the poor had brought poverty onto themselves by failing to perform the religious rituals and sacrifices as required. However, in reality it was a corrupt legal and political system, and exploitation by the rich, that prevented the poor from prospering (The Human Journey, humanjourney.us/Israel). Into the scene came prophets Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah who preached against the disparity between the rich and the poor and the way the rich and the religious leaders justified it. They encouraged people to participate in a form of worship more spiritual than rituals and sacrifices, and predicted the imminent destruction of Israel by its enemies. Assyria invaded Israel in 722 BCE and took its people into exile. The same fate befell Judah in 597 BCE, when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded the kingdom and took the people into exile. In Babylon, the Jews enjoyed favourable treatment, and they acquired the opportunity of worshiping God away from the Temple of Jerusalem for the first time. Under the guidance and teachings of prophets of the time such as Jeremiah, they realized that God could be worshipped anywhere, resulting in a remarkable Axial transformation. The important thing was for them to observe morality and justice, and to establish personal relationships with God. Through this enlightenment, they realized that their actions have a profound bearing on their lives, and not a divine cause on its own (The Human Journey, humanjourney.us/Israel). Conclusion Evidently, the revolutionary ideologies that emerged in India, Greece, and Israel have striking similarities, which justify the propositions made by various scholars such as Karl Jaspers that this period comprised a crucial Axial Age in the history of human beings. Ultimately, this new, enlightened ideologies spread to the rest of the world’s people in the form of Western civilization. The cases of Siddhartha Gautama in India, Greek philosophers, and Jewish prophets provide proof to the fact that man is always seeking meaning of the various events that happen in the world, and of human existence. In the pursuit of this meaning, the people of these three different regions ultimately realized that they have the power of controlling the direction of their existence instead of vice versa. Works Cited Plott, John. Global History of Philosophy: the Axial Age, Volume 1. Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 2000. The Human Journey. Axial Age Thought: Buddhism. 2011. Retrieved 10 Oct 2012, from http://www.humanjourney.us/buddhism2.html The Human Journey. The Axial Age: Greece. 2011. Retrieved 10 Oct 2012, from http://www.humanjourney.us/greece.html The Human Journey. Axial Age Thought: Judaism. 2011. 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