Axial civilizations and world history PDF
Preview Axial civilizations and world history
Axial Civilizations and World History Jerusalem Studies in Religion and Culture Editors Guy Stroumsa David Shulman Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Comparative Religion VOLUME 4 Axial Civilizations and World History Edited by Johann P. Arnason, S.N. Eisenstadt, and Björn Wittrock BRILL LEIDEN BOSTON • 2005 The JSRC book series aims to publish the best of scholarship on religion, on the highest international level. Jerusalem is a major center for the study of monotheistic religions, or “religions of the book”. The creation of a Center for the Study of Christianity has added a significant emphasis on Christianity. Other religions, like Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Chinese religion, are studied here, too, as well as anthropological studies of religious phenomena. This book series will publish dissertations, re-written and translated into English, various monographs and books emerging from conferences. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Axial civilization and world history / edited by Johann P. Arnason, S.N. Eisenstadt, and Björn Wittrock. p. cm. — (Jersusalem studies in religion and culture, ISSN 1570-078X ; v. 4) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 90-04-13955-9 (alk. paper) 1. Civilization, Ancient—Congresses. 2. Social change—Congresses. 3. Historical sociology—Congresses. I. Title: Axial civilizations and world history. II Árnason, Jóhann Páll, 1940- III. Eisenstadt, S. N. (Shmuel Noah), 1923- IV. Wittrock, Björn. V. Series. CB311.A89 2004 930.1’6—dc22 2004057061 ISSN 1570–078X ISBN 90 04 13955 9 © Copyright 2005 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910 Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed on acid-free paper in the netherlands contents v CONTENTS Acknowledgements........................................................................ ix General Introduction Johann P. Arnason, S.N. Eisenstadt and Björn Wittrock..................................................................... 1 PART ONE THEORETICAL APPROACHES Introduction: History, Theory and Interpretation Johann P. Arnason, S.N. Eisenstadt and Björn Wittrock..................................................................... 15 The Axial Age and its Interpreters: Reopening a Debate Johann P. Arnason................................................................. 19 The Meaning of the Axial Age Björn Wittrock..................................................................... 51 Palomar’s Questions. The Axial Age Hypothesis, European Modernity and Historical Contingency Peter Wagner ........................................................................ 87 Between Tradition and Christianity: The Axial Age in the Perspective of Béla Hamvas Arpad Szakolczai.................................................................. 107 PART TWO THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND ITS AXIAL PERIPHERIES Introduction: Archaic Backgrounds and Axial Breakthroughs Johann P. Arnason, S.N. Eisenstadt and Björn Wittrock..................................................................... 125 vi contents Axial “Breakthroughs” and Semantic “Relocations” in Ancient Egypt and Israel Jan Assmann............................................................................. 133 Mesopotamian Vistas on Axial Transformations Piotr Michalowski................................................................ 157 Zoroastrian Origins: Indian and Iranian Connections Shaul Shaked ......................................................................... 183 Axial Transformations within Ancient Israelite Priesthood Israel Knohl .......................................................................... 201 The Jewish Historical Experience: Heterodox Tendencies and Political Dynamics in a De-territorialized Axial Civilization S.N. Eisenstadt....................................................................... 225 Polis, “the Political”, and Political Thought: New Departures in Ancient Greece, c. 800-500 bce Kurt A. Raaflaub ................................................................. 253 PART THREE LATE ANTIQUITY AND BEYOND Introduction: Late Antiquity as a Sequel and Counterpoint to the Axial Age Johann P. Arnason, S.N. Eisenstadt and Björn Wittrock..................................................................... 287 Cultural Memory in Early Christianity: Clement of Alexandria and the History of Religions Guy G. Stroumsa ................................................................... 295 “The Religion of Light”: On Mani and Manichaeism David J. Levy.......................................................................... 319 Arabia and The Heritage of the Axial Age Jan Retsö................................................................................. 337 contents vii PART FOUR INDIAN AND CHINESE PERSPECTIVES Introduction: Extending the Axial Model to South and East Asia Johann P. Arnason, S.N. Eisenstadt and Björn Wittrock..................................................................... 361 Axial Grammar David Shulman....................................................................... 369 Axialism and Empire Sheldon Pollock................................................................... 397 Rethinking the Axial Age—The Case of Chinese Culture Hsu Cho-yun........................................................................... 451 The Axial Millennium in China: A Brief Survey Christoph Harbsmeier.......................................................... 469 The Ming-Qing Transition: Seventeenth-Century Crisis or Axial Breakthrough? Frederic Wakeman Jr. .......................................................... 509 PART FIVE CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS Axial Civilizations and the Axial Age Reconsidered S. N. Eisenstadt ..................................................................... 531 List of contributors....................................................................... 565 Index ............................................................................................. 569 This page intentionally left blank contents ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks are due, first and foremost, to the institutions whose finan- cial support made the Firenze conference possible: the European University Institute in Firenze; the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities; the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study in the Social Sciences, Uppsala; the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation; and the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Exchange, Taiwan. The editors wish to thank Bo Stråth and Peter Wagner for their participation in all stages of the project, from organization to pub- lication; David Shulman and Guy Stroumsa for helping to arrange publication in the Jerusalem Series in Religion and Culture; Julia Chrysostalis and James Kaye for copy-editing the papers; and Liz Webb for help with the production of the manuscript. David J. Levy’s text on Manichaeism is reprinted from The Measure of Man: Incursions in Philosophical and Political Anthropology by David J. Levy, by permission of the University of Missouri Press. Copyright © 1993 by the Curators of the University of Missouri.
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