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''The Decline of the West'' ((ドイツ語:Der Untergang des Abendlandes)), or ''The Downfall of the Occident'', is a two-volume work by Oswald Spengler, the first volume of which was published in the summer of 1918. Spengler revised this volume in 1922 and published the second volume, subtitled ''Perspectives of World History'', in 1923. The book introduces itself as a "Copernican overturning" operating as a paradigm shift involving the rejection of the Eurocentric view of history, especially the division of history into the linear "ancient-medieval-modern" rubric.〔Spengler O., ''Op.laud.'', vol.1, Intro. $6.〕 According to Spengler, the meaningful units for history are not epochs but whole cultures which evolve as organisms. He recognizes at least eight high cultures: Babylonian, Egyptian, Chinese, Indian, Mesoamerican (Mayan/Aztec), Classical (Greek/Roman), Arabian, Western or "European-American." Cultures have a lifespan of about a thousand years. The final stage of each culture is, in his word use, a "civilization". Spengler also presents the idea of Muslims, Jews and Christians, as well as their Persian and Semitic forebears, being Magian; Mediterranean cultures of the antiquity such as Ancient Greece and Rome being Apollonian; and the modern Westerners being Faustian. According to Spengler, the Western world is ending and we are witnessing the last season—"winter time"—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. ==General context== Spengler relates that he conceived the book sometime in 1911〔According to some it was the Agadir Crisis that prompted his writing; see the publisher's note on the first page of the 'First Vintage Books Edition' (2006).〕 and spent three years in writing the first draft. At the start of World War I, he began revising it and completed the first volume in 1917. It was published the following year when Spengler was 38 and was his first work, apart from his doctoral thesis on Heraclitus. The second volume was published in 1922. The first volume is subtitled ''Form and Actuality''; the second volume is ''Perspectives of World-history''. Spengler's own view of the aims and intentions of the work are sketched in the Prefaces and occasionally at other places. The book received unfavorable reviews from most interested scholars even before the release of the second volume.〔In 1921 Otto Neurath published the pamphlet ''Anti-Spengler'' and Leonard Nelson wrote a book-length parody ''Spuk: Einweihung in das Geheimnis der Wahrsagekunst Oswald Spenglers''.〕 Spengler's veering toward right-wing views in the second volume confirmed this reception, and the stream of criticisms continued for decades.〔Hughes S., (1952, reed 1995) ''Oswald Spengler, a critical estimate''〕 Nevertheless, in Germany the book enjoyed popular success: by 1926 some 100,000 copies were sold.〔Joll J., ''Two Prophets of the Twentieth Century: Spengler and Toynbee''. Rev. of Int. Studies, Vol. 11, No. 2 (April 1985), pp. 91–104 JSTOR〕 A 1928 ''Time'' review of the second volume of ''Decline'' described the immense influence and controversy Spengler's ideas enjoyed in the 1920s: "When the first volume of ''The Decline of the West'' appeared in Germany a few years ago, thousands of copies were sold. Cultivated European discourse quickly became Spengler-saturated. Spenglerism spurted from the pens of countless disciples. It was imperative to read Spengler, to sympathize or revolt. It still remains so." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Decline of the West」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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