By What did Oswald Spengler believe?
Spengler contended that because most civilizations must pass through a life cycle, not only can the historian reconstruct the past but he can predict “the spiritual forms, duration, rhythm, meaning and product of the still unaccomplished stages of our Western history.” Unlike Arnold Toynbee, who later held that …
What are the two different types of society described by Spengler in his book The Decline of the West?
Spengler divides the concepts of Culture and Civilization, the former focused inward and growing, the latter outward and merely expanding. However, he sees Civilization as the destiny of every Culture.
What is the theme of the story Decline of the West?
The “decline of the West” is a theme exploited by those who use it to express resentment, longing for revenge or blatant hostility.
What is civilization according to Spengler?
Each has its childhood, youth, manhood and old age.” When a Culture enters its late stage, Spengler argues, it becomes a ‘Civilization’ (Zivilisation), a petrified body characterized in the modern age by technology, imperialism, and mass society, which he expected to fossilize and decline from the 2000s onward.
Why is Oswald Spengler important?
The German philosopher Oswald Spengler (1880-1936) is famous for his Decline of the West. He held that civilizations, like biological organisms, pass through a determinable life cycle and that the modern West was approaching the end of such a cycle.
Who wrote Decline of the West?
Oswald Spengler
The Decline of the West…: Perspectives of world-history/Authors
Who propounded cyclical theory of social change?
In recent times Arnold J. Toynbee, the noted English historian, has also propounded a cyclical theory of the history of world civilization. He maintained that civilizations pass through three stages, corresponding to youth, maturity and decline.
What is the meaning of Spengler?
Spengler is a German-language occupational surname, literally meaning “metal worker” or “tin knocker”. It may refer to: Alexander Spengler (1827–1901), the first Davos doctor specializing in tuberculosis.
Who is the author of the book The Decline of the West?
The Decline of the West…: Perspectives of world-history/Authors
About the Author: Oswald Spengler, one of the most controversial historians of this century, was born in Blankenburg, Germany in 1880 and died in Munich in 1936.
Who is the author of the book Man and his works?
Herskovits, M. J. (1949). Man and his works; the science of cultural anthropology.
What is the western civilization considered to be?
The term Western civilization is a catchall to refer to the many cultures of European heritage that share common cultural ideas, philosophical foundations, and ancestral beliefs.
Is human history cyclical?
The Cyclical theory (United States history) is a theory of US history developed by Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. It states that US history alternates between two kinds of phases: Liberal, increasing democracy, public purpose, human rights, concern with the wrongs of the many.
Why was Oswald Spengler exempt from military service?
Due to a severe heart problem, Spengler was exempted military service. During the war, however, his inheritance was largely useless because it was invested overseas; thus he lived in genuine poverty for this period. When The Decline of the West was published in the summer of 1918, it was a wild success.
When did Spengler write the decline of the west?
TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE Itmust be left to critics to say whether it was Destiny or Incident — using these words in the author’s sense — that Spengler’s “Untergang des Abend- landes” appeared in July, 1918, that is, at the very turning-point of the four years’ World-War. It was conceived, the author tells us, before 1914 and fully worked out by 1917.
What did Oswald Spengler say about German socialism?
Spenglerism spurted from the pens of countless disciples. It was imperative to read Spengler, to sympathize or revolt. It still remains so”. In the second volume, published in 1922, Spengler argued that German socialism differed from Marxism, and was in fact compatible with traditional German conservatism.
What did Oswald Spengler predict for Western civilization?
Spengler predicted that about the year 2000, Western civilization would enter the period of pre‑death emergency whose countering would lead to roughly 200 years of Caesarism ( extraconstitutional omnipotence of the executive branch of the central government) before Western Civilization’s final collapse.