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I’d like to add on this: 1. Anyone who read a bit of the ancient Egyptian concept of Maat, that…
For me, the worry about anachronism still basically holds. But (as Hans Joas[1] might put it, and as Evan Thompson…
I’ve read part 1 of this series (the one in which the axial age is covered); I would certainly not…
In general terms, Habermas takes the Axial Age to have introduced new theoretical attitudes that include second-order thinking (thinking about…
You have Egyptian texts describing the equality of men as early as 2000BC. Henri Frankfurt has some tomb writings describing…
I’m neither a scholar of the period nor a Habermasian. Yet it bears emphasis that Habermas (and the Frankfurt School,…
The idea of the “Axial Age” was introduced by Karl Jaspers. It’s been used by some anthropologists, intellectual historians, and…
Professor Spelman, who was emerita at Smith College, where she taught for many years, died at the end of 2025. She was an early, and influential, figure in feminist philosophy, where she wrote widely. There is an obituary here. Comments are open for remembrances from those who knew Professor Spelman or for those who wish to comment on the significance of her work.
(Thanks to Steven Gross for the pointer.)
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