Meshkov V. Axial Meaning of Mental Revolutions: Thematic Analysis

The object of the research - an axial period of world history as a transition from the archaic mentality to the mentally-virtuous thinking. The purpose of research: to examine the axial period of time as the parallel development of mental revolutions in ancient Persia, Greece, Rome, India and China; to discover their periodization; to find a coordination systems of values-mental spaces of cultures of axial peoples in general; to follow the logic of becoming European, Indian and Chinese civilizations. Methodological basis of studies is representation on the laws of the multidimensional world cultural-historical process and its thematic analysis, culture and civilization, historical, logical, empirical and theoretical understanding, structure and development of theoretical knowledge, research programs and changing scientific theories. Scientific novelty of the results of the study is that for the first time the analysis of the axial age as the parallel development of the mental revolutions in ancient Persia, India, China, Greece and Rome was made. The thematic approach has allowed significant progress in understanding this crucial period in world history, opening new promising line of research of the philosophy of history and social philosophy. The theoretical value of the research is to identify with the help of a thematic analysis a new promising direction of study of one of the most important periods of world history, which allows considerable progress in understanding the era of the axial age as a great mental revolution in the middle of the first millennium BC. The practical significance of the work lies in the possibility of applying the results to development of standard courses and special courses in philosophy of history, social philosophy, world history, philosophy and cultural studies.