Life of German Historain and Philosopher Oswald Spengler
Life of German Historain and Philosopher Oswald Spengler
Oswald Spengler was a German historian and philosopher. He was born on May 29, 1880 in Blankenburg (Harz) in central Germany. He was the eldest of four children, and the only boy. At the age of ten, his family moved to the city of Halle. Here Spengler received a classical education in the areas of Greek, Latin, mathematics, and natural science. He also enjoyed the arts, in particular, poetry, drama, and music. Two figures whom he greatly admired were Goethe and Nietzche. At the age of twenty-one, he entered the University of Munich. After a year, he transferred to the University of Berlin and then to Halle. His studies covered many fields, such as classical cultures, mathematics, and physical sciences. In 1904, Spengler received his teaching certificate. After a few years though, he realized this wasn’t the way for him. He left to go his own way, never to return to the teaching profession again. He settled in Munich where he began the writing of his first book.
Spengler encountered a few problems before completing his first book. He had difficulty finding a publisher mostly because of the chaotic conditions at the time (WW1). Nevertheless he kept at his work. Finally in 1918, the first volume of the Decline of the West, subtitled Form and Actuality appeared on the shelf. With no surprise to Spengler and his publisher his book was an immediate success. Soon, due to its popularity throughout Europe the book was quickly translated into other languages. Because Spengler was not a trained historian, professional historians took great offense to his work. They were quick to criticize and find errors. In 1922 Spengler issued a revised version of the first book that held minor corrections and new revisions. The next year, the second volume, subtitled Perspectives of World History was put on the shelves. He was satisfied with his work and all other writings were only enlargements on the theme he laid out in Decline. In 1931 he published Man and Technics a book that reflected his fascination with the development and usage, past and future, of the technical. This was a racial book though, but not in a narrow “Germanic” sense. It warns the European or white of the pressing danger from the outer colored races. Another piece of work, Fundamental Questions was published in 1965. Spengler did occasionally give...