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The Axial Age has all the characteristics of a step in a series of similar creative periods. As we zoom out and consider the logic of world history the solution becomes obvious: it is the middle step in a progression of periods. The birth of higher civilization, and the rise of the modern are the obvious candidates to complete the pattern. We tend to look at the Axial Age in terms of a series of prophets or sages, but this tends to deflect attention from the deeper reality of the cultural transformation involved. This becomes clear if we examine the case of Greek history, especially as this generates the Greek Axial interval starting with the Archaic period. This is far more than just a sprinkling of philosophers. We can see a unified transformation at the level of an entire culture. A close comparison then shows us the remarkable similarity of the Greek to the modern transition, in each case showing the birth/rebirth of democracy. This spectacular discovery of the non-random timing of freedom emergence is the master clue to unlocking the structure and meaning of the Axial riddle, and of the eonic effect itself.
Mysterious Drumbeat: The Eonic Effect
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