Oswald spengler and the crisis of western civilisation. In the decline of the west, german philosopher and mat. Since its publication in 1918, oswald spengler s the decline of the west has been the object of academic controversy and opprobrium. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Culture vs civilization in spenglers decline of the west. Mar 19, 2015 for the sake of those who may need to reference spengler s decline of the west, i thought i should start what i hope to be me final post on spengler by briefly describing his idiosyncratic distinction between culture and civilization. I ended part 1 asking who are these characters with proud aristocratic souls so different from the rather submissive, slavish souls of the asiatic races. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. How does the current intelligentsia react to oswald spengler.
The decline of the west work by spengler britannica. Oswald spengler 18801936, who built his theories on the basis of gumplowicz and some others, was a high school teacher who was able to avoid serving in the trenches of world war i because of a medical draft deferment, and spent the war years writing his main work, the decline of the west 1918, with the second volume in 1922. Oswald spengler was born in blankenburg harz in central germany in 1880, the eldest of four children, and the only boy. Vesterlandets undergang omrids af en af oswald spengler. The definitive edition of both volumes was published in 1923. The press today is an army with carefully organized weapons, the journalists its officers, the readers its soldiers. The decline of the west mid1920s translation, but only pre1923 notices, ed. I read spenglers the decline of the west more than two decades ago.
Have you read the decline of the west, and what is it about. Oswald spenglers 191822 bestseller the decline of the west mourned the engulfing of kultur by the cosmopolitan anthill of zivilisation and argued that only a dictatorship could arrest the decline. Spenglers personal outlook and tasks for the future. Volumes 1 and 2 kindle edition by spengler, oswald, payne, david. Spengler s philosophy, and its implication that europe has lost its way david l.
If few can stand a long war without deterioration of soul, none can stand a long peace. Spengler continues to pose a challenge, and his great questions of our epoch have yet to be fully answered. The reader neither knows nor is supposed to know the purposes for which he is used and the role he is to play. Lego exclusives, 21108 ghostbusters ecto1, lego ideas cuusoo. Oswald spengler the decline of the west oswald spengler may 29, 1880 may 8, 1936 was a german philosopher and mathematician. Oswald spengler spengler, oswald, 18801936 an online book about this author is available, as is a wikipedia article spengler, oswald, 18801936. Oswald spengler spengler, oswald, 18801936 the online. His most important work was his two volume 191823 book the decline of the west.
May 19, 2016 i discuss oswald spengler s theory of history, as presented in his book the decline of the west, and i suggest how social movements in the middle east, notably islamic state, may represent the. English abridged edition prepared by arthur helps from the translation by charles francis atkinson. Fa vesterlandets undergang omrids af en verdenshistoriens morfologi af oswald spengler som ebog pa dansk 9788711784945 boger rummer alle sider af livet. Oswald spengler 18801936 was a philosopher of history who is regarded as one of the principal conservative revolutionary figures of the weimar period in germany.
Yet generations of readers have refused to be warned off, finding in spengler a. I read spengler s the decline of the west more than two decades ago. The massman would never have accepted authority external to himself had not his surroundings violently forced him to do so. A good way to start answering this question is to compare spengler s faustian man with what immanuel kant says about the unsocial sociability of humans. Om oswald spenglers vesterlandets undergang en dyster og. Vesterlandets undergang, omrids af en verdens historian morfologi abridged, copenhagen. For the sake of those who may need to reference spengler s decline of the west, i thought i should start what i hope to be me final post on spengler by briefly describing his idiosyncratic distinction between culture and civilization. Vesterlandets undergang en dyster og aktuel forudsigelse. But it is of course primarily an economic union, and spengler would have cautioned that this was quite inadequate and fraught with potential problems because he did insist that the political functions of government must take precedence over economic considerations 35. Oswald spengler 18801936, german universal historian, was born in blankenburg, in the harz mountains. In all its various editions, it has sold nearly 100,000 copies. His work the decline of the west argues that the development of civilizations follows a recognizable series of repetitive rises and falls.
Since its first publication in two volumes between 19181923, the decline of the west has ranked as one of the most widely read and most talked about books of our time. In their efforts to dispose of it, scholars have resorted to a variety of tactics. Udvalgte temaer fra oswald spenglers vesterlandets undergang. The second volume, subtitled perspectives of world history, was published in 1922. After all, he did write the decline of the west, didnt he. May 30, 2016 1,807 words there has long been a commonplace notion in journalism now often repeated in blogs and social media, that oswald spengler declared us to be at the end of civilization. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading decline of the west.
Oswald spengler 18801936 was born in blankenburg, germany, on may 29, and attended the universities of munich, berlin, and halle, where he studied mathematics and the natural sciences, which led to his becoming a secondary school teacher of mathematics in hamburg. Vesterlandets undergang omrids af en verdenshistoriens morfologi forfatter. Have you read the decline of the west, and what is it. Sociologist max weber hoped for charismatic leadership to overcome bureaucracy. Oswald spengler believed that race is the defining factor of humanity. Read in this country chiefly in the brilliantly faithful translation by charles francis atkinson, the decline of the west new york, two volumes, 192628, spengler s morphology of history was the great intellectual achievement of our century. Oswald spengler, the decline of the west and islamic state. Of course, for the left and orthodox academia, the simplistic option is to ignore him. There is hardly a book written in the past 150 years that can surpass spengler s decline of the west in the depth of understanding, interpreting and explaining the logic behind cultural phenomena and its relationship to the historical development of civilizations in general. I wouldnt bother, but spengler s book is filled covertocover with this notveryhelpful distinction. Om oswald spenglers vesterlandets undergang en dyster og aktuel forudsigelse. Oswald spengler and julius evolaand his passing mention of the latter in a 2014 speech has caused some controversy in recent weeks. The decline of the west by oswald spengler, paperback.
Oswald spengler 1880 1936 i maintain that many an inventor, many a diplomat, many a financier is a sounder philosopher than all those who practice the dull craft of experimental psychology. Oswald spengler quotes author of the decline of the west. Furthermore, spengler s endphase of civilization is caesarism, and we passed that many. Works by spengler institute for oswald spengler studies. Of protestant parentage, he was descended on his fathers side from a line. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. Either the author doesnt have a grasp of spengler or hes purposely trying to mislead the ignorant.
I discuss oswald spengler s theory of history, as presented in his book the decline of the west, and i suggest how social movements in the middle east, notably islamic state, may represent the. For the multitude, that which it continually reads and hears. Vesterlandets undergang omrids af en verdenshistoriens. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Oswald arnold gottfried spengler 18801936 german philosopher of history, whose famous work, the decline of the west 19181922 combined nietzschean poetic argument with a pessimistic view of the permanence of humankinds achievements. It is dedicated to the comparative study of cultures and civilizations, including prehistory, the evolution of humanity as a whole and extrapolations regarding the possible future of man. According to spengler, western culture is doomed, as other cultures have been before it, and has already.
The oswald spengler society engages in the understanding of the principles underlying human evolution and world history and its perspectives. Spengler var med sin pessimistiske historiefilosofi allerede i samtiden en omstridt skikkelse. Oswald spengler frases celebres y citas aki frases. Ricardo duchesne, oswald spengler and the faustian soul.
Oswald arnold gottfried spengler was a german historian and philosopher whose interests also included mathematics, science, and art. For people notintheknow, he was a german philosopher of history 18801936, who theorised that there exist distinct civilisations indian, classical, arabian, western etc. The first volume, subtitled form and actuality, was published in the summer of 1918. Furthermore, spenglers endphase of civilization is caesarism, and we passed that many. Oswald spengler quotes this, then, is the conclusion of the citys history.
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