Spengler, Oswald

Spengler, Oswald
(1880–1936)
German historian and philosopher of history. Spengler was educated at various universities, and gained his doctorate with a thesis on Heraclitus . His fame depends entirely on Der Untergang des Abendlandes (1918, trs. as The Decline of the West, 1932), whose oracular pessimism captured the mood of Germany after the First World War. Spengler saw history not as a linear progression, but as the flowering of a number (either nine or ten) of self-contained cultures, each with a characteristic spiritual tone, or conception of the space within which they are to act. The work was important in making a decisive break with the Hegelian concept of history as a process governed by reason. Instead Spengler's metaphors are biological: cultures go through a self-contained process of growing, going through their seasons, and perishing. There are no historically intelligible laws to this process. His speculations have been extensively criticized as insensitive to the interactions of cultures and to the thoughts and intentions of agents involved in the process.

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  • Spengler, Oswald — born May 29, 1880, Blankenburg, Ger. died May 8, 1936, Munich German philosopher. A schoolmaster before he turned to writing, Spengler is remembered for his influential The Decline of the West, 2 vol. (1918–22), a study in the philosophy of… …   Universalium

  • Spengler, Oswald — (1880 1936)    cultural philosopher; famous for the portentous metaphysical essay Der Untergang des Abendlandes (The Decline of the West), he was deemed the philosopher of pessimism (he rejected the label). Born to a middle class home (his father …   Historical dictionary of Weimar Republik

  • Spengler, Oswald — ► (1880 1936) Escritor y filósofo alemán. Autor de La decadencia de Occidente. * * * (29 may. 1880, Blankenburg, Alemania 8 may. 1936, Munich). Filósofo alemán. Fue profesor antes de dedicarse a escribir. Spengler es recordado por su influyente… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Spengler,Oswald — Speng·ler (spĕngʹlər, glər, shpĕngʹ ), Oswald. 1880 1936. German philosopher who argued that civilizations and cultures are subject to the same cycle of growth and decay as humans. His major work is The Decline of the West (1918 1922). * * * …   Universalium

  • SPENGLER, Oswald — (1880 1936)    German historian and philosopher whose influential work The Decline of the West (1914 1922) helped set the tone for modern intellectual pessimism and EXISTENTIALIST PHILOSOPHY …   Concise dictionary of Religion

  • Spengler's — Spengler, Oswald …   Philosophy dictionary

  • Spengler — Spengler, Oswald …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Oswald Spengler — Oswald Arnold Gottfried Spengler (* 29. Mai 1880 in Blankenburg, Harz; † 8. Mai 1936 in München) war ein deutscher Geschichtsphilosoph, Kulturhistoriker und antidem …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Oswald Spengler — Oswald Manuel Arnold Gottfried Spengler (29 May 1880 – 8 May 1936) was a German historian and philosopher whose interests also included mathematics, science, and art. He is best known for his book The Decline of the West (Der Untergang de …   Wikipedia

  • Oswald Spengler — Oswald Spengler. Oswald Spengler (* Blankenburg, 29 de mayo de 1880 † Múnich, 8 de mayo de 1936) fue un filósofo y matemático alemán …   Wikipedia Español

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