Podcast episodes – The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP) Richard Seaford on the Origins of the Soul
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Sep 13, 2017 AI Snips
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Pre-Axial Age Human Constitution
- Before the Axial Age, humans lacked a concept of a soul.
- Scholars explore pre-Axial Age human constitution through texts like Homer and the Rigveda.
Axial Age: Soul's Emergence
- The Axial Age (800-300 BCE) saw similar intellectual shifts in Greece and India regarding the soul.
- This is evident in the transition from Homer to Pre-Socratics in Greece and the Rigveda to Upanishads in India.
Homer's Lack of "Inner Self"
- In Homer, various words describe consciousness aspects, but none represent a unified "inner self."
- Later, "psuche" evolved to embody this comprehensive, bounded entity.