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The Decline of the West (German: Der Untergang des Abendlandes), or more literally, The Downfall of the Occident, is a two-volume work by Oswald Spengler. The first volume, subtitled Form and Actuality, was published in the summer of 1918. The second volume, subtitled Perspectives of World History, was published in 1922.
In all its various editions, it has sold nearly 100,000 copies.
According to Spengler, the Western world is ending and we are witnessing the final season, the "winter" of Faustian Civilization. In Spengler's depiction, Western Man is a proud but tragic figure because, while he strives and creates, he secretly knows the actual goal will never be reached. The author describes how we have entered into a centuries-long "world-historical" phase comparable to late antiquity. Guided by the philosophies of Goethe and Nietzsche, he rejects linear progression, and instead presents a world view based on the cyclical rise and decline of civilizations.
Spengler lists eight high cultures that have existed:
Babylonian
Egyptiac
Indic
Sinic
Mesoamerican (Mayan/Aztec)
Apollonian or Classical (Greek/Roman)
Magian or Arabian
Faustian or Western (European)
Conclusion: It is well written most of the time, but Spengler keeps repeating himself; he always uses the same empty phrases. Despite this it is a very important book (even if I don´t agree with everything he wrote).
One should read this book.
9/10
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