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Work #416

The Avesta

Zarathustra (the Gathas, the oldest stratum); subsequent priestly tradition (the remainder, composed across c. 1500 BCE – 600 CE)
Gathas: c. 1500–1000 BCE; remainder accreted through the Sassanid period and codified c. 4th–6th century CE · Avestan (Old: Gathas; Young: remainder); Pahlavi (Middle Persian) commentaries (Denkard, Bundahishn)
Liturgical and didactic corpus: hymns, prayers, ritual instructions, cosmological treatises · Zoroastrianism / ancient Iranian religion

Asha (truth-cosmic-order) vs Druj (lie-chaos) — the cosmic moral dualism that founds Western ethical monotheism

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute The Avesta
Time · Extent Finite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Finite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Finite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Immediate
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Both
Observer · Agency Active
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Personal
Observer · Moral Authority Revelation
Observer · Theological Method Confessional
Energy · Extent Finite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

The Avesta

Linear-eschatological time bracketed by creation and the final restoration (frashokereti).

Space

The Avesta

Created substantival space.

Matter

The Avesta

Substantival created matter; good creation contaminated by Druj.

Observer

The Avesta

Plural moral agents; personal metaphysical agency (Ahura Mazda).

Energy

The Avesta

Standard physics within a cosmic moral framework.

Information

The Avesta

Personal soul conserved; judgment and resurrection at the end of time.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

The Avesta

The relationship between Zarathustra's original Gathic monotheism (with Angra Mainyu subordinated to Ahura Mazda) and the later cosmic dualism (with Angra Mainyu as a co-eternal evil principle) has been disputed since antiquity. The Sassanid period codified the dualist position; the 19th-20th century Parsi reform movement returned in some respects to the Gathic monotheism.