In a fascinating TED talk, Dr. Mariano Sigman shows that human introspection did not begin until approximately 400 BC. He came to this conclusion through semantic analysis of Ancient Greek and Judeo-Christian texts. Considering that the world timeline includes:
Lord Buddha (563-483 BC)
Confucius (551-479 BC)
Socrates (469-399 BC)
Plato (424-348 BC)
…
We might move that timeline back to suggest that introspective thought came about in roughly 500 BC in Asia, 400 BC in Greece, and a bit later in the Judeo-Christian world.
But we should be careful not to conclude that humanity was incapable of introspective thought prior to that time. First you must have the capability, then you must have the opportunity, and last you must have the desire. The writings used in the analysis, and the philosophers listed above had the capability, the opportunity, and the desire to not only think introspectively, but to write it down and share it.
So it is more accurate to say that humanity at large took until 500 BC to have the capability, opportunity and desire to think introspectively and to share those thoughts with a larger audience. The human capability for introspection, therefore, came much earlier than that. This time period coincides with the end of the Iron Age. Wide spread farming and developed cultures brought humanity at large to the point that some people had the luxury of time to think.
Introspection – thinking about your own feelings and thoughts, is critical for stage seven and beyond. But even today, one must choose to look inside. You must desire to examine your own thoughts and feelings. You have the capability, and the time, but you must choose to look.
Are you ready to turn the spotlight on your truth?
