Comments on: Week 2 // through 9/4 — Axial Age

By: jerry

jerry — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 03:40:00 +0000

All: this site doesn’t allow the threading of the university site, but let me leave a few comments. I think the key to better comments is to make sure you present a reasonably thorough argument for each point you’re trying to make — that is, give it enough discussion to be sure it makes sense. Otherwise, you end up with a few generalities that may not add much understanding. I have read some good starting statements here. // Let me know if you are having trouble getting on to the student toolbox discussion; perhaps we can fix that and have everyone “on the same page.” Thanks.

By: Courtney Dorsey

Courtney Dorsey — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:13:18 +0000

The world in which these four major civilizations lived was changing fast. They had high literacy rates and technology was getting more and more sophisticated. Society in these four main areas was changing. The old was disintegrating and needed to be replaced with new schools of thought. Because of this Chinese philosophy in china, Indian religion, Hebrew Monotheism and Greek philosophy arose. In China the old way of the Zhou had all but disappeared. The small city-states that were around before had been combined to make larger, territorial states. The peasants rose against the old nobility, throwing the old rules and rituals out of the window, creating a need for new rules and new principles to govern the people. In India, change started to come about when the lower class got sick of having their livestock provide for the sacrifices of the upper class Aryan rulers.
People just wanted an explanation for the world around them. The Hebrews had their God, the creator and sustainer of the Universe, to which they turned to which they attributed the happenings of the things around them. The Greeks tended to question the world itself not necessarily who created it but how it works, what makes it tick and how we as humans fit into this picture.

By: Chloe Roberts

Chloe Roberts — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:53:53 +0000

When I was reading this chapter, many different concepts became quite clear to me. However, there
did seem to be one major theme throughout the entire axial period of civilization. All four civilizations really seemed to focus on some sort of relgion or divine experiences. China relied heavily on the face that their rulers were in power because the gods wanted them to be. They also concentrated their thoughts on nature. In the Indian civilization they believed that Karma decided their fate of reincarnation for their future lives. If they were good, then they recieved a good place in their next life. Also, their religion before this time period was shone through their sacrifices to their gods, but with this philosophical transformation, religion began to be more of a state of mind then actual rituals and sacrifices. The Greeks had gods for everything, from the sun to the god of the underworld, and they believed the gods had power in every aspect of their lives. They did every thing in their power not to offend the gods. However, they also began to gain more knowledge in this time period, which caused a transformation from relying only on the gods to trying to solve problems with your own intellect and knowledge. The Hebrews believed in one God, the true God. Each of these civilizations were all striving to gain knowledge and understanding of their physical and spiritual lives.

By: justin adaway

justin adaway — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:23:07 +0000

It is crazy that these four civilizations all had religions and philisophical revolutions all around the same time period. These religions are still being used today by different people all over the world and they are from the same time period. I think during this time period, the educarous [?] of that time were thinking about what every generation seems to think about, and that is what is the right way to heaven. What do i need to do to be right with god (or god’s in some religions), to be safe and secure in heaven, or what do i need to do for the god’s to be pleased with me. Different leaders like confucious [Confucius] thought their way was the best and wanted it to be practiced by other’s.

By: Jared Jaggers

Jared Jaggers — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:03:18 +0000

Perhaps one possibility for these philosophical revolutions occurring so near in time to each other is because of the technological developments of the time. Humans discovered more and more ways to make their labor easier with the help of animals, metal tools, and similar simple progressions. With the opportunity to produce more goods and crops by fewer people, it gave people in general more free time than they had previously. Perhaps it was causes like this that sparked a curiosity in people about where life came from, about how life would end, and about how to achieve the best life on earth that would ensure a good position in the afterlife. The common thread of all these developments is that they were skeptical of the general polytheistic view of the world around them. They sought a deeper understanding of life, of nature, and of how to live. Having said some practical possibilities for the changes in philosophy, I also believe that sin played a role in it. Sin had taken an increasingly firm hold on mankind by this point, and mankind saw their need for something beyond themselves. Being made in the image of Yahweh, man’s search for truth was not satisfied by their previous religions. Although their new ways of thinking did not lead them to the true God, it was their need for Him that drove them to search out new philosophies.

By: Jacob Cowling

Jacob Cowling — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:12:18 +0000

On reading about these four major civilizations that are within the same relative time period. I have learned that they all are based on their religious beliefs. All their religious beliefs where based and some still are based on differnt Gods and Emperors. They all have a bunch of books on ther beliefs that they strictly go by. I think they were starting there own types of government to rule they emperors and lands. They all had issues they had to face some more than others.