The idea of three Axial Ages
The term "Axial Age" was coined in 1949 by Karl Jaspers to describe the changes in religious and philosophical thought that occurred simultaneously and independently in China, India, the Middle East, and Greece around 800–200 BCE. The philosopher argued that the spiritual foundations of humanity were laid during this period.
Various modern scholars suggest that there have, in fact, been three Axial Ages in human history, and each had its own distinctive character. The first is known as "moral." The second, which is said to have begun around 1750, is named “material.” In Western historiography, this period is also known as "Sattelzeit" (saddle time), a concept coined by a German historian, Reinhart Koselleck. This "material" Axial Age is characterized by new technologies, which in combination with access to certain types of fuel, ushered in astonishing and historically unparalleled advances in population growth, economic development, human wealth, and life expectancy. However, it also created global economic inequality on a scale previously unknown in human history. Furthermore, it did so at the price of cannibalization of the environment.
The third Axial Age, which is said to be taking place nowadays, is defined as "mental" due to the extraordinary breakthroughs in information, communications, artificial intelligence, robotics, and other technologies that are currently transforming everyday life.
Professor Schmidt-Glintzer will illustrate how Chinese intellectual tradition could contribute to activating the moral and intellectual sensibilities cultivated in the first Axial Age — because this is what humanity may need to cope with the costs generated by the extraordinary productivity gains of the second Axial Age.
The lecture will be held in English.