For those who dont know about spengler, that yt video is a terrible intro to the man and his works. A twentiethcentury cassandra, oswald spengler thoroughly probed the origin and fate of our civilization, and the result can be and has. Now what, very briefly, does spengler assert in the decline. The decline of the west oswald spengler download free. Complete summary of oswald spengler s the decline of the west. Oswald arnold gottfried spengler 29 may 1880 8 may 1936 was a german historian and philosopher of history whose interests included mathematics, science, and art. His father was a bureaucrat who worked for the duchy of brunswick in the german empire. Spengler revised this volume in 1922 and published the second volume, subtitled perspectives of world history, in 1923. Despite spenglers reputation today as an extreme pessimist, the decline of the west remains essential reading for anyone interested in the history of. And what a contribution it was first of all, the work, which this edition is an abridged version, is tainted by accusations of being pro nazi and amiable to fascism in general and to mussolini in particular. The work became wellknown in the wake of german military defeat and especially after the treaty of versailles was signed in 1919. In all its various editions, it has sold nearly 100,000 copies. Other articles where the decline of the west is discussed.
The decline of the west npr coverage of the decline of the west by oswald spengler, helmut werner, arthur, sir helps, and charles francis atkinson. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. A twentiethcentury cassandra, oswald spengler thoroughly probed the origin. The decline of the west, first published in 1917, is the major contribution of the german oswald spengler to western thought. Since its first publication more than eighty years ago, the decline of the west has ranked as one of the most widely read and talked about books of our time. Spenglers aim in the decline of the west was to locate the west of the epoch 1800 ad2000 ad in the broader chronology of western cultural history, viewed as.
On may 29, 1880, german historian and philosopher oswald arnold gottfried spengler was born. Analysis of oswald spengler s the decline of the west. Apr 11, 2006 the decline of the west, first published in 1917, is the major contribution of the german oswald spengler to western thought. The results of the study supported the views of spengler on the collapse of western. His work the decline of the west argues that the development of civilizations follows a recognizable series of repetitive rises and falls. 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.
The definitive edition of both volumes was published in 1923. Oswald spengler the decline of the west, volume one. I have yet to read but know well received and forecasted what is likely like 1984 which came later. Where can i find an unabridged, original the decline of. Topics decline of the west, death of the west, oswald spengler, worldhistory. I am the typical 23m working part time job studying etc. English abridged edition prepared by arthur helps from the translation by charles francis atkinson.
I surfed it a bit, considered it pretty heavy and indigestible cake, but made a mental note to look at it more carefully when i had the leisure. I was never really into books, just recently during quarantine i picked a book from the shelf i never finished, the books name is hippie written by paulo coelho, after finishing the book in about a week i went and bought 2 other books of paulo coelho zahiri and the alchemist, i am amazed by how books work, hippie gave me the. The decline of the west abridged edition by oswald spengler. Oswald manuel arnold gottfried spengler 18801936 was a german historian and philosopher.
He was a high school teacher who took early retirement. 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. He studied history at the universities of munich, berlin, and halle. In it, spengler rejects the idea that the future of the west or indeed of any culture is an openended advance from the primitive past to an ever more glorious and expansive future. Spengler the decline of the west pdf by oswald arnold gottfried spengler. He wrote in the preface to the first 1918 edition, the complete manuscript of this book. Read in this country chiefly in the brilliantly faithful translation by charles francis atkinson, the decline of the west new york, two volumes, 192628, spenglers morphology of history was the great intellectual achievement of our century. 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. His masterpiece was published in 1918 as well as 1922 and spengler face a wide ranged criticism. Spenglers magnum opus appeared in english a year after yeats published his own work privately among a few friends. Oswald spengler the decline of the west oswald spengler may 29, 1880 may 8, 1936 was a german philosopher and mathematician. The theme is very muted in the decline of the west, spengler seems to. Oswald spengler, the decline of the west, and the potential for the german people. The second volume, subtitled perspectives of world history, was published in 1922.
Oswald spengler project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. The abridgment, prepared by the german scholar helmut werner, with the blessing of the spengler estate, consists of selections from the original translated into english by charles francis atkinson linked by explanatory. Decline of the west oswald spengler a wellformatted version based on the alfred a. Spengler was not a professor or professional historian. The first volume, subtitled form and actuality, was published in the summer of. If i had to choose one word to identify the uniqueness of the west it would be faustian. Oswald spengler, the decline of the west wikipedia. A sweeping account of western culture by a historian of legendary intellect, it is an astonishingly informed, forcefully eloquent, thrillingly controversial work that advances a world view based on the cyclical rise and fall of civilisations. The decline of the west, 1922 the future of the west is not a limitless tending upwards and onwards for all time towards our presents ideals, but a single phenomenon of history, strictly limited and defined as to form and duration, which covers a few centuries nd can be viewed and, in essentials, calculated from available. A twentiethcentury cassandra, oswald spengler thoroughly probed the origin and fate of our civilization, and the result can be and has been read as a prophesy. Pdf this comparative study aims at revealing the validity of the. Even though it has been virtually forgotten in modern times, its bold predictions for the western world have withstood the test of time and even been strengthened by its passage. The decline of the west or the downfall of the occident, is a twovolume work by oswald spengler.
The decline of the west abridged edition by oswald. Oswald spenglers the decline of the west was a huge international bestseller after the first world war for reasons that will become obvious, and for reasons that may be just as much so, spengler considered his theories prophetic and completely justified given that he started this book in 1911 before the shit totally hit the fan. Mar 27, 2017 the decline of the west by oswald spengler. Oswald spengler and the decline of the west scihi blog. Since its first publication in two volumes between 192628, this work has ranked as one of the most widely read and most talked about books of our time. An introduction to the philosophy of oswald spengler duration. Collapse of western civilization of the philosopher oswald spengler. The decline of the west by oswald spengler an abridged edition by helmut werner english abridged edition prepared by arthur helps from the translation by charles francis atkinson new york. The decline of the west by oswald spengler, 9780195066340, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook.
The decline of the west work by spengler britannica. Where can i find an unabridged, original the decline of the. As the face of germany and europe as a whole continues to change each day, the decline of the west cannot be ignored. Sociologist max weber hoped for charismatic leadership to. Oswald spengler and the decline of the west november 12, 2015 by daniel halverson 4 comments one day the last portrait of rembrandt and the last bar of mozart will have ceased to bethough possibly a colored canvas and a sheet of notes will remainbecause the last eye and the last ear accessible to their.
Stockton shortly before the end of the first world war, in the summer of 1918, a sizable volume appeared in bookstores throughout germany. He proposed a new theory, according to which the lifespan of civilizations is limited and ultimately they decay oswald spengler early years. Analysis of oswald spenglers the decline of the west. First, oswald spengler authored several articles in magazines and newspapers culture sections and started working on the decline of the west in 1911. The decline of the west by oswald spengler librarything. Oswald spenglers the decline of the west was and still is a controversial book.
Yet his book was profoundly popular and influential for decades. Oswald spengler 18801936 was a german historian and philosopher who is perhaps best known as the author of the decline of the west, which was written before wwi but was not published until 1917. Internet archive bookreader the decline of the west. Spengler wrote prolifically, but his best known work was variously translated as decline of the west, or as my pdf copy says, decline of the occident, which gives some insight into his specific worldviews at a time when he and much of europe was preoccupied with the fate of european dominance. Complete summary of oswald spenglers the decline of the west. Conceived just before 1911 and written during world war i, it was published a few months before germany signed the armistice in 1918 that would lead to its eventual calamities within the weimar republic and. The decline of the west abridged spengler, oswald on. 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. But i did notice at the time that spengler had a chapter on mathematics quite at the beginning of vol. Spenglers ideas on the relation between capitalism and chris tianity stand. The decline of the west is the magnum opus of oswald spengler 18801936, a german historian and philosopher.
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