Den axiella ålderns innebörd : En studie av Karl Jaspers idé om människans kulturella ursprung och existentiella liv i moderniteten

Sammanfattning: This thesis examines Karl Jaspers' theory of the origin of man in a historical period 2500 years ago.Jaspers believes that it was then that man's current mental and spiritual consciousness was formed and developed. Jaspers was convinced that man should use the abilities of his origin as a counterforce in the struggle in modern reality, a development which in many respects was based on myths, dogmas and irrationality, and which characterized man's living conditions. After suffering the trauma of World War II until 1945, Jaspers decided to identify the good qualities that he believed all people should have in common, thereby creating new existential conditions. Jaspers started from the archaic and classical times in history and then found a period where man had obviously been endowed with specific soul gifts and cognitive qualities. He called the period "the axial age" in the book published in 1949, Vom Ursprung und Ziel der Geschichte, which was then translated into English in 1953 with the title The Origin and Goal of History. The English edition is the primary source in this study. In his book, Jaspers uses a philosophical-historical perspective on the origins and events that he associates with human development during the axial age, in order to draw attention to the normative image we have of our selves and others as human beings in the world. Jaspers pedagogically describes the life man lives in modernity in the same way as when Plato explains the world of ideas. As it is demonstrated in the thesis, Jasper's idea is based on a speculative reflection on the origin and properties of man and regards it as a "tabula rasa" with new existential conditions intended for man in the modern world, facing a charge and a prelude to the future. Furthermore, the thesis explores comments on and critique of this theory expressed by other scholars.