The Post-Axial Reconstruction of Meaning: Cognitive Architecture, Metaphysical Crisis, and Emergent Ecologies of the Sacred
Gemini Deep Research
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) October 27, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23712981 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that a "Second Axial" transition is underway, driven by the exhaustion of post-Axial institutions and a crisis of meaning, attention, and ecological coherence. Proposes that cognitive mechanisms of enchantment are captured under neoliberalism through "McMindfulness" and algorithmic oracles, and derives four design principles from a comparative analysis of horizontal civic ritual design, neo-monastic crucibles, and intergenerational land rematriation. |
Abstract
Contemporary civilization is navigating a structural phase transition comparable in scale and ontological depth to Karl Jaspers's first Axial Age (Achsenzeit, c. 800–200 BCE). Spanning the long modern arc from 1500 to 2100 CE, this "Second Axial" hinge is defined by the terminal exhaustion of inherited post-Axial institutions alongside an acute crisis of meaning, attention, and ecological coherence. This monograph synthesizes four convergent domains of inquiry to diagnose this crisis and evaluate the emergent cultural architectures attempting to resolve it: Macro-Historical and Continental Diagnostics: Drawing on evolutionary institutionalism (Eisenstadt, Abrutyn) and continental social theory, we examine how Federico Campagna's cosmogonic regime of Technic, Byung-Chul Han's neoliberal psychopolitics of consensual auto-exploitation, and Hartmut Rosa's catastrophe of resonance converge to collapse the crucial ontological distance between the ineffable ground of existence and its instrumental representation. Cognitive Architecture of Enchantment: We ground these sociological diagnostics in contemporary cognitive science, uniting John Vervaeke, Mark Miller, and Brett Andersen's theory of Relevance Realization (RR) with Karl Friston's Predictive Processing Framework (PPF), 4E Cognition (Embodied, Embedded, Enacted, Extended), and Patrick McNamara's four-stage neurobiology of ritual decentering and REM-homologous counterfactual self-transformation. Neoliberal Capture and Technological Projection: We analyze the pathological capture of these cognitive mechanisms under late capitalism: the depoliticization of contemplative practice into corporate "McMindfulness" (Purser) and the projection of Cartesian functionalism onto artificial intelligence as an algorithmic oracle (O'Gieblyn, Barsalou). Emergent Post-Secular Architectures: We conduct a comparative institutional analysis of three emergent post-secular archetypes—horizontal civic ritual design (Sacred Design Lab, The Nearness), vertical neo-monastic crucibles (Monastic Academy / MAPLE), and intergenerational land rematriation (Nuns & Nones)—deriving four foundational design principles for a durable Second Axial ecology of wisdom.