Jaspers, Stuart-Glennie, and the Origins of the Theory

Abstract

Karl Jaspers published his theory of an “Axial Age” 1949, which was translated into English in 1953. He claimed credit for elaborating the first full theory of the axial age. Yet 75 years earlier, in 1873, unknown to Jaspers and to contemporary scholars today, folklorist John Stuart-Glennie elaborated a fully developed and nuanced theory of what the termed “the Moral Revolution” to characterize the historical shift around roughly 600 B.C.E. in a variety of civilizations. He continued to write and develop his theory, and also presented his ideas to the Sociological Society of London in 1905. This chapter provides evidence for Stuart-Glennie’s claim to be the first to develop a fully articulated theory of what later became known as the axial age, as well as his three stage “ultimate law of history.” It also considers Lewis Mumford’s original contributions to the theory.