Ep. 3 - Awakening from the Meaning Crisis - Continuous Cosmos and Modern World Grammar

In this episode of "Awakening from the Meaning Crisis," John Vervaeke delves into the Axial Revolution, a transformative period following the Bronze Age collapse, marked by experimentation in smaller societies and the emergence of new psychotechnologies like alphabetic literacy and coinage. He contrasts the pre-axial "continuous cosmos," where reality was experienced through power and cyclical time, with the axial age's "two-world" mythology, emphasizing self-transcendence and a shift in understanding meaning, wisdom, and the self. Vervaeke highlights the Axial Revolution's impact on ancient Israel, Greece, and India, focusing on how each developed unique psychotechnologies that have become internalized aspects of our cognition. He discusses ancient Israel's concept of time as a cosmic narrative and the role of prophets in guiding people back on course, and the Greek's emphasis on rational argumentation, setting the stage for exploring the contributions of Pythagoras and Socrates. The episode concludes by foreshadowing the challenges of maintaining these axial-age concepts in the face of a re-embedding scientific worldview.