The Origins and Diversity of Axial Age Civilizations , livre ebook

EDITED BY
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£5! £5! lrll'l §] 2J The Origins and Diversity of
Axial Age Civilizations
9781438401942.pdf 2 2/17/2011 1:16:23 AMSUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies
SAID AMIR ARJOMAND, Editor
9781438401942.pdf 3 2/17/2011 1:16:25 AMEDITED BY
S.N. EISENSTADT
The Origins and
Diversity of Axial
Age Civilizations
State University of New York Press
9781438401942.pdf 4 2/17/2011 1:16:28 AMPublished by
State University of New York Press, Albany
C> 1986 State University of New York
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
The Origins and diversity of axial age civilizations.
(SUNY series in Near Eastern studies)
"Papers presented .. . in a conference on the origins
and diversity of axial age civilizations- the first of
three conferences ... sponsored by the Werner-Rei mer
Stiftung at Bad Homburg, the Truman Research Institute,
and the Van Leer Jerusalem Foundation .. . January 4-8,
1983, at the seat of the Werner-Reimer Stiftung [sic)
at Bad Homburg"- Pref.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Civilization, Ancient. 2. Comparative civilization.
I. Eisenstadt, S. N. (Shmuel Noah),
192311. Werner-Reimers-Stiftung. Ill. Makhon le-mehkar
'al shem Heri S. Truman. IV. Mosad Van Lir
bi-Yerusha layim. V. Series.
CB311.0735 1986 930 86-14515
ISBN 0-88706-094-3 0-88706-096-X (pbk.)
9781438401942.pdf 5 2/17/2011 1:16:30 AM­
Contents
Contributors ix
Preface XI
Introduction: The Axial Age Breakthroughs-Their
Characteristics and Origins S.N. Eisenstadt
Part I
The Origins of the Axial Age in Ancient Greece
Introduction: The Axial Age Breakthrough in Ancient
Greece S.N. Eisenstadt 29
I. The Emergence of Second-order Thinking in Classical
Greece Y ehuda Elkana 40
2. The of an Autonomous Intelligence among
the Greeks Christian Meier 65
3. Dynamics of the Greek Breakthrough: The Dialogue
between Philosophy and Religion S.C. Humphreys 92
4. The Meaning of the Word cr&~a. (Body) in the Axial
Age: An Interpretation of Plato's Cratylus 400C
R. Ferwerda Ill
Part II
The Origins of the Axial Age in Ancient Israel
with a Comparative Look at Assyria
Introduction: The Axial Age Breakthrough in Ancient
Israel S.N. Eisenstadt 127
5. Myth and Reality in Ancient Israel Benjamin
Uffenheimer 135
v
9781438401942.pdf 6 2/17/2011 1:16:33 AMVI CONTENTS
6. The Protest against Imperialism in Ancient Israelite
Prophecy Moshe Weinfeld 169
7. On Self-Consciousness in Mesopotamia Peter Machinist 183
8. Monarchy and the Elite in Assyria and Babylonia: The
Question of Royal Accountability Hayim Tadmor 203
Part III
The Secondary Breakthroughs in Late Antiquity­
Second Temple Judaism and Christianity
Introduction: The Secondary Breakthrough in Ancient
Israelite Civilization-The Second Commonwealth and
Christianity S.N. Eisenstadt 227
9. Eschatology, Remythologization, and Cosmic
Aporia Michael E. Stone 241
10. Old Wine and New Bottles: On Patristic Soteriology and
Rabbinic Judaism Gedaliahu G. Stroumsa 252
11. The Role of Christianity in the Depolitization of the
Roman Empire Hans G. Kippenberg 26 1
12. Architects of Competing Transcendental Visions in Late
Antiquity G. W. Bowersock 280
Part IV
The Origins of the Axial Age in China and India
Introduction: The Axial Age Breakthrough in China and
India S.N. Eisenstadt 291
13. Historical Conditions of the Emergence and
Crystallization of the Confucian System Cho- Yun Hsu 306
14. Was There a Transcendental Breakthrough in
China? Mark Elvin 325
15. The Structure and Function of the Confucian Intellectual
in Ancient China Tu Wei-Ming 360
16. T he Historical Background of India's Axial Age
Hermann Kulke 374
17. Ritual, Revelation, and Axial Age J.C. Heesterman 393
18. Asvatthaman and B~hanna9a: Brahmin and Kingly
Paradigms in the Sanskrit Epic David Shulman 407
19. Some Observations on the Place of Intellectuals in Max
Weber's Sociology, with Special Reference to
Hinduism Edward Shils 427
20. The Reflexive and Institutional Achievements of Early
Buddhism Stanley J. Tambiah 453
9781438401942.pdf 7 2/17/2011 1:16:37 AMVII Contents
Part V
Islam
Introductory Remarks: Islam S.N. Eisenstadt 4 75
21. The Emergence of Islamic Civilisation Michael Cook 476
Notes 485
9781438401942.pdf 8 2/17/2011 1:16:39 AM9781438401942.pdf 9 2/17/2011 1:16:42 AMContributors
G.W. BOWERSOCK, Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton.
MICHAEL CooK, School of Oriental and African Studies, University
of London.
S.N. EISENSTADT, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
YEHUDA ELKANA, Tel-Aviv and The Van Leer Jerusalem
Foundation.
MARK ELVIN, St. Antony's College, University of Oxford.
R. FERWERDA, Manix College.
J.C. HEESTERMAN, University of Leiden.
CHO-YUN Hsu, of Pittsburgh.
S.C. HUMPHREYS, College, University of London.
HANS G. KIPPENBERG, University of Groningen.
HERMANN KULKE, of Heidelberg.
PETER MACHINIST, University of Arizona.
CHRISTIAN MEIER, of Miinchen.
EDWARD SHILS, University of Chicago.
DAVID SHULMAN, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
MICHAEL E. STONE, The of
GEDALIAHU G. STROUMSA, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
HAYIM TADMOR, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
STANLEY J. TAMBIAH, Harvard University.
BENJAMIN UFFENHEIMER, Harvard
Tu WEI-MING, Tel-Aviv University.
MOSHE WEINFELD, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
ix
9781438401942.pdf 10 2/17/2011 1:16:44 AM9781438401942.pdf 11 2/17/2011 1:16:47 AMPreface
The papers presented in this volume were presented in a conference
on the Origins and Diversity of Axial Age Civilizations-the first
of three conferences on the Origins and Dynamics of Axial Age
Civilizations, sponsored by the Wemer-Reimer Stiftung at Bad Hom­
burg, The Truman Research Institute, and The Van Leer Jerusalem
Foundation. This conference took place January 4-8, 1983, at the
seat of the Wemer-Reimer Stiftung at Bad Homburg.
The purpose of this conference was to explore in a systematic way
the origins of Axial Age civilizations and their diversity, and espe­
cially the general conditions under which these breakthroughs de­
veloped or which have facilitated such developments, as well as the
different constellations of conditions which account for the specific
characteristics of each of these civilizations.
The papers and discussions dealt with five closely connected prob­
lems, which shared a common denominator. This denominator was
the search for the condition of the institutionalization of the tran­
scendental visions which characterize the Axial Age civilizations,
and for the specification of the nature and direction and institutional
implications of these visions.
Thus, first of all, the conference dealt with the structural-historical
conditions of the emergence of these civilizations.
Second, the conference dealt with the analysis of the diversity of
the major Axial Age civilizations, of how the differences in the major
characteristics of these civilizations-above all the differences in the
basic cultural orientations of these civilizations and in the structure
of their elites-can be explained or related to the in the
constellation of these conditions.
These problems were discussed on the basis of analysis of specific
patterns of such breakthroughs and their institutionalization in
AnXI
9781438401942.pdf 12 2/17/2011 1:16:49 AMxu PREFACE
cient Greece, Ancient Israel, China, and Brahmin India and of the
later developments in Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam.
For comparative purposes, one civilization, Assyria, was analyzed
in which-despite seemingly favorable conditions-such break­
through to transcendence did not take place.
Third, attention was given to the nature of the transformation of
modes of thought and symbolism attendant on the development and
institutionalization of the basic conceptions of tension between tran­
scendental and mundane orders-both in primary and secondary
breakthroughs-especially on the transformation of mythical thought,
symbolism, and ritual and of second-order thought.
Fourth, emphasis was laid on some of the major institutional
repercussions of the institutionalization of the perception of tension
between transcendental and mundane orders-especially on the ten­
sion between rulers and other elites, the development of heterodoxies,
and the importance of all these for the dynamics of these civilizations.
Fifth, emphasis was laid on the problem or question of what may
be called the "secondary b