
The Decline of the West
Vol 1: Form and Actuality. Vol 2: Perspectives of World History
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Narrated by:
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Peter Wickham
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By:
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Oswald Spengler
About this listen
The Decline of the West - Volume 1 published in 1917, Volume 2 in 1922 - has exercised and challenged opinion ever since. It was a huge undertaking by Oswald Spengler (1880-1936), formerly an unpublished historian and philosopher who set out to radically reconsider history - the rise and fall of world civilisations and their cultures.
His primary view was to reject the established Eurocentric paradigm (ancient/classical, Medieval - and, following the Renaissance - modern) and to take a totally new perspective. First and foremost, his intention was to offer a world overview; and on that basis to present and discuss the premise that the story of the history of man followed a fundamental pattern wherever on the globe it arose. Of particular interest to him were the characteristics of the separate and distinct cultures (established through developments in science, mathematics and the arts). The major cultures he identifies are Babylonian, Egyptian, Chinese, Indian, Mesoamerican (Mayan-Aztec), classical (Greek/Roman), Arabian and Western (European and American). Spengler offered another division - three distinct phases: Magian (societies dominated by monotheism - Persian as well as Semitic religions), Apollonian (ancient Greece and Rome) and Faustian (the ‘modern Western societies’ of his time). All these civilisations can be seen to emerge and decline in seasonal form depicted in terms of spring, summer, autumn, winter. Within the context of this map comes the detail.
Spengler drew on his broad reading to tell the story, to make the links, to ink in the patterns. His breadth of sources and insights of observations and (strongly defined) opinions is fascinating and often persuasive but sometimes contentious. Inevitably, for such an ambitious work, it has garnered controversy since it first appeared. Certainly for a generation it was required reading.
First appearing in Germany (it was finally released in one volume in 1923 and translated into other languages) its reception was coloured by the timing. Both admired and criticised, it had its base in a Germany undergoing severe economic and psychological difficulties, only to be swept aside by the rise of Nazism. Spengler rejected the racism of Nazism, but his strong attitudes (acknowledging, unapologetically, the effect of ‘imperial' individuals on history, whether through military, political or commercial activities) were often characterised as unfailingly right-wing. Not surprisingly, The Decline of the West has been in and out of fashion in the academic world, but also in its more popular appeal. However, in the dramatically changing world of the 21st century, there are resonances which are impossible to ignore.
‘The man of action is always conscienceless,’ said Goethe, one of Spengler’s two main mentors (the other is Nietzsche). But Spengler is unequivocal in his conclusion - as one commentator wrote, ‘Spengler’s prophecy that Western Europe would lose its world hegemony has been fulfilled. Must Western culture also go under?’ Spengler has been accused of pessimism, and The Decline of the West is certainly an uncompromising book to read. But in the preface he is essentially circumspect about his purpose: ‘Is there a logic of history? Is there, beyond all the casual and incalculable elements of the separate event, something that we may call a metaphysical structure of historic humanity, something that is essentially independent of outward forms - social, spiritual and political - which we see so clearly?’
Peter Wickham brings his extensive background in the recording of major classical texts to make this immense work an absorbing listening experience. Translation: Charles Francis Atkinson.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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Story
Francis Bacon (1561-1626), 1st Viscount St Albans, Attorney General and then Lord Chancellor of England, was an immensely learned, clever and ambitious man, with considerable political influence. However, he was also a philosopher with a wide interest in science, medicine and the classification of knowledge. Throughout his life he wrote a series of essays - following the manner set particularly by Montaigne, though extending back to Aristotle and others - the first 10 of which appeared in 1597.
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Instant classic.
- By A.J. on 12-15-19
By: Francis Bacon
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Critique of Practical Reason
- By: Immanuel Kant, Thomas Kingsmill Abbott - translator
- Narrated by: Michael Lunts
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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The Critique of Practical Reason was published in 1788, seven years after Immanuel Kant's major work, Critique of Pure Reason. In it, Kant sets out his moral philosophy - and it proved a seminal text in the history of the subject. He argues that the summum bonum (the highest good) of life is that rather than just pursuing happiness, people should inhabit a moral dimension that enables them to deserve the happiness that God can give. Though much shorter than Critique of Pure Reason, this is the sourcebook for Kant’s ethical doctrines.
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Worldly wisdom by sacred philosophy
- By jeon dong on 07-14-20
By: Immanuel Kant, and others
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The Anatomy of Melancholy
- By: Robert Burton
- Narrated by: Peter Wickham
- Length: 56 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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First published in 1621, and hardly ever out of print since, it is a huge, varied, idiosyncratic, entertaining and learned survey of the experience of melancholy, seen from just about every possible angle that could be imagined. The Anatomy of Melancholy, presented here with all the original quotations in English, is, at last, available on audiobook in its entirety.
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Nam Et Doctis Hisce Erroribus Versatus Sum
- By Darwin8u on 05-26-20
By: Robert Burton
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The World as Will And Idea, Volume 1
- By: Arthur Schopenhauer
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 20 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Schopenhauer was just 30 when his magnum opus, Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung, a work of considerable learning and innovation of thought, first appeared in 1818.
Much to his chagrin and puzzlement (so convinced was he of its merits), it didn't have an immediate effect on European philosophy, views and culture. It was only decades later that it was recognised as one of the major intellectual landmarks of the 19th century.
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Easy to follow, better than today's fluff
- By Gary on 04-04-17
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On the Shortness of Life, On the Happy Life, and Other Essays
- Essays, Volume 1
- By: Seneca
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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As former tutor and adviser to Emperor Nero, philosopher and statesman Seneca was acutely aware of how short life can be - his own life was cut short when the emperor ordered him to commit suicide (for alleged involvement in a conspiracy). And Seneca proved true to his words - his lifelong avowal to Stoicism enabled him to conduct himself with dignity to the end. During his rich and busy life, Seneca wrote a series of essays that have advised and enriched the lives of generations down to the present day.
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Completely relevant, ageless wisdom
- By Tobias A. Matejovsky on 12-13-18
By: Seneca
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The Eclogues and Georgics
- By: Virgil
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott, Jamie Parker, Paul Panting, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Though it is for the sparkling epic, Aeneid, that the Roman poet Virgil is best known, it was these two poems, The Eclogues and Georgics, which first established his reputation.
By: Virgil
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Language, Truth and Logic
- By: A. J. Ayer
- Narrated by: Michael Lunts
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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The front cover of the second edition of Language, Truth and Logic carried this statement in capital letters: ‘THE CLASSIC TEXT WHICH FOUNDED LOGICAL POSITIVISM - AND MODERN BRITISH PHILOSOPHY.’ It was a bold statement, but the book, first published in 1936 when A. J. Ayer was just 25 and a lecturer on philosophy at Christ Church, Oxford, drew unstinting praise from leading figures in the field, including Bertrand Russell.
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Philosophically much less rigorous than expected
- By Christopher Allen Hansen on 06-13-24
By: A. J. Ayer
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The Principal Speeches of Demosthenes
- A Selection
- By: Demosthenes
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Demosthenes (384-322 BCE) is regarded as one of the greatest orators of Classical times. This view has persisted through the centuries even though his rousing speeches warning of the dangers of Macedonian expansion failed to stem the course of continued military success. Each of the orations in this collection is preceded with an introduction setting the scene, and outlining the context in which they were delivered. This also gives a concise picture of Athens at this difficult point in its history. All the speeches are prefaced by the historical setting.
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Narration is difficult
- By Ken Johnson on 06-04-23
By: Demosthenes
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Men Among the Ruins
- Post-War Reflections of a Radical Traditionalist
- By: Julius Evola
- Narrated by: Robin Douglas
- Length: 16 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Julius Evola's masterful overview of the political and social manifestations of our time, the "age of decline" known to the Hindus as the Kali Yuga.
By: Julius Evola
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Revolt Against the Modern World
- Politics, Religion, and Social Order in the Kali Yuga
- By: Julius Evola
- Narrated by: Michael Moynihan
- Length: 17 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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With unflinching gaze and uncompromising intensity Julius Evola analyzes the spiritual and cultural malaise at the heart of Western civilization and all that passes for progress in the modern world. As a gadfly, Evola spares no one and nothing in his survey of what we have lost and where we are headed. At turns prophetic and provocative, Revolt Against the Modern World outlines a profound metaphysics of history and demonstrates how and why we have lost contact with the transcendent dimension of being.
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More true now than ever
- By Jonathan Prince on 07-14-23
By: Julius Evola
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The Will to Power
- An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values
- By: Friedrich Nietzsche
- Narrated by: Michael Lunts
- Length: 23 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Nietzsche never recovered from his mental breakdown in 1889 and therefore was unable to further any plans he had for the ‘magnum opus’ he had once intended, bringing together in a coherent whole his mature philosophy. It was left to his close friend Heinrich Köselitz and his sister Elizabeth Förster-Nietzsche to go through the remaining notebooks and unpublished writings, choosing sections of particular interest to produce The Will to Power, giving it the subtitle An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values.
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Finally!
- By Daniel on 04-17-19
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The Prophets of Doom
- By: Neema Parvini
- Narrated by: Sebastian Abineri
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Linear and progressive views of history have dominated the popular imagination for the past seventy years in a worldview wedded to the inexorable rise of globalization and GDP growth at any cost. However, the end of the Cold War failed to produce the end of history as hoped, a fact brought home to many by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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Would rather have AA read it
- By Kindle Customer on 03-29-25
By: Neema Parvini
The Classical, Magian, and Faustian morphologies are good way to classify things. Although what I remember most (it is probably me) are the many shortcomings each has.
Is humanity’s march an ascent, descent or both?
Very much worth the time!
A worthwhile struggle to follow the torrent
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and yet we live in one
- Dr gangweed
this says a lot about our society
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Not a rigorous nor systematic philosophy. Instead, a novel in-depth proposal for a deep consideration of symbol and cadence. LONG and perhaps convoluted aphorisms. But the entire book is poetic.
Nietzchean, All Too Nietzschean.
The narration was really good. Neither the book nor the performance can be easily summarized or even explained in words.
100 out of 5.
Ambitious
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Incredible Work
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Stunningly deep work of philosophy
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Dr. Spengler was an intellectual giant.
A masterpiece
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Beautifully read but the text did not deserve such a fine reader.
Boring to infinity
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boo
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