The Decline of the West

57 hrs. 6 min.

History & Cultural Studies

Language Russian

Author Oswald Spengler

Narrators Max Radman, Ilya Akintyev

Narrator Max Radman

Narrator Ilya Akintyev

Description

Oswald Spengler [1880-1936] — a German philosopher and historian, one of the founders of modern philosophy of culture. In his major work, “The Decline of the West,” within the framework of his concept of a defined life cycle for every culture, the author speaks of the inevitable—in his view—dehumanization of European culture, of the growing dominance of technicism, transforming it into a civilization by replacing creativity and development with barrenness and fossilization.

In the world, there are a number of independent cultures, each separate from the others. Among the main ones, Spengler names the Egyptian, Indian, and Chinese cultures, and he also predicts the imminent decline of Europe as a result of industrialization and urbanization of society. Other outstanding works by the author include “The Years of Decision” and “Man and Technics.” Disregarding the classical periodization of the ancient world, Oswald Spengler notes the originality of many historical currents.