--- #TODO Colossus of Rhodes - **Pre-Axial ripple:** The Chinese–Hun wars of the 2nd/1st century BCE sent shockwaves westward, foreshadowing later conflicts between Rome and stepnomads—an early “scapegoat vs. savior” mimesis that would crystallize in axial religions. - **Desert-steppe crucible of prophets:** The same arid, mobile margins that produced steppe shamans later incubated Axial-age sages and prophets (Confucius, Zarathustra, Israelite seers)—a geography that prizes spiritual intermediaries when material institutions falter. - **Mimetic scapegoating vs. redemption:** Frontier violence sharpened the dichotomy between sacrificial expiation (scapegoat ritual) and the promise of universal salvation; each emerges from societies stretched between coercive priest-castes and charisma-driven leaders. - **Scapegoat ritual meets messianic promise** (Eliade; Ansary) Eliade traces the scapegoat rite back to steppe sacrifice of captured animals; Ansary shows how Near Eastern prophets transformed that imagery into human atonement—“scapegoat” as proto-savior figure, prefiguring Christ and the Buddha. - **Steppe prophecies** (Christian) David Christian uncovers rock-art oracles on the Altai that resemble later “sage” traditions—mobility-driven charismatic figures whose messages spread along steppe corridors into agrarian literate cultures. - **Endogamous communitarian and scapegoat/savior mimesis:**  As Israelite prophets preached exclusive devotion, and Confucius and Laozi taught social duty, clan-based marriage norms shaped both savior vs. scapegoat dynamics and “sage” ethics.  The transcript’s link between **in-clan solidarity** and religious legalism prefigures how axial moral worldviews leveraged endogamy to forge universal codes. - Ancient Athens, with its small homogeneous citizen population, achieved extraordinary cultural, philosophical, and political developments despite (or perhaps because of) its homogeneity. (Reference: _The Rise of the West_ by McNeil) - The formation of the Islamic Caliphate demonstrated how diversity could work successfully when there was a hegemonic culture (Arabic) that immigrants were expected to assimilate to, creating a framework for cultural exchange. (Reference: _The Rise of the West_ by McNeil) - Roman Empire decline was partially attributable to changing demographics - declining birth rates among the Roman citizen class combined with Germanic immigration altered the empire's ethnic composition. (Reference: _War, Peace and War_ by Peter Turchin) - Ibn Khaldun's theory of generational decline (first generation builds empire, second maintains it, third loses it) exemplifies the cyclical nature of civilizational strength and weakness. (Reference: _War, Peace and War_ by Peter Turchin) The fundamenal reason you saw the buttoning up about sex during the Axial Age, or around 500 BC was since you saw the introduction of financial markets, which resulted in mass slavery. One of the first reactions to this was monetizing sex, either with fathers trading daughters' sexual privileges to pay off debts or sex slaves being routinely raped. This was so disgusting to human decency that all the religions that developed put very big protections for sex. The prudery wasn't oppressing women, it was protecting them from male sexual predation. Demetrius empire (200bc) - The Milesian school of philosophy (modern western Turkey) made significant discoveries: heliocentrism, the spherical nature of the Earth, atom theory, and concepts of evolution. - Thales, in particular, is proposed as more deserving of the title "founder of Western philosophy." (as opposed to plato) ###  Authority: Qin Dynasty China - **Relevant Era:** c. 221-206 BC (Contemporaneous with Punic Wars and rise of Roman Republic). - **Definition of Authority:** A belief in profound respect for status. - **Necessity:** All societies need some authority for hierarchies to solve complex problems, as humans are "naturally hierarchical creatures." - **Example of Authority Belief:** Feeling that burning a nation's flag or addressing a boss informally ("my homie") is degrading. - **Claim:** The Legalist Qin Dynasty was the most authority-based society in history. - **Historical Context:** - A "frontier kingdom in northwestern China." - Organized a "hyper-militaristic authoritarian state" that smashed pre-existing aristocratic states and the figurehead emperor, unifying China and ending the Warring States period. - Flower of the Iron Age: Iron democratized warfare; armies that could mobilize the most "spearmen and swordsmen" won. - Qin's Advantage: Super organized, authority-based, unhindered by traditional customs like aristocracy, enabling creation of massive, well-armed armies. - **Characteristics of the Qin State and its Ideology (Legalism):** - **Social Structure:** Created a large population of "land-holding warrior farmers directly loyal to the emperor and bureaucracy." - **Economic Policy:** "Economically socialist," with merchants regulated to the point of being exceptionally weak. - **Dominant Ideology (Legalism):** - Ultimate goal of the individual: Unquestionably serve the state and ruler. - Ruler's Role: Use individual people as "chess pieces in their world conquest." - Attitude towards Populace: Legalism aimed to keep the population "docile, silent, and dumb" (e.g., attempted burning of all non-agricultural/medicinal books). - View of Human Nature: Humans are "inherently chaotic and evil" and can only be held together through "brutal laws." - Social Control: People divided into villages/small groups; if one person committed a crime, the whole group suffered. - Example of Legalist Advice: A text told rulers not to spend too much time with wives, lest wives control and weaken them. - **Reign of Qin Shi Huangdi:** - Ruled with a "brutal fist," killing millions in his desire to reform China. Described by the speaker as a "megalomaniacal... possible future reincarnation of Stalin." - **Downfall of the Qin Empire:** - Fell apart a couple of decades after Qin Shi Huangdi's death. - **Indicative Example:** The leader who formed the next dynasty (Han) rebelled because he couldn't reach an army muster on time due to flooding; the penalty for lateness was death, so he rebelled as a "dead man anyway." - **Weakness of Pure Authority:** - "Provokes no loyalty since the people have no reason to love you." - People will turn on the ruler once the ruler is perceived as weak. - **Legacy of Qin Authority:** - The Legalist bureaucratic structure survived and became the basis of Chinese government. - Legalism itself became a "dirty word." - **Enduring Impact:** Legalism, when mixed with the "more humane Confucianism," provided China with "more than two thousand years of effective governance."