Summary of The Decline of the West

The Decline of the West is a two-volume work by German historian and philosopher Oswald Spengler. The first volume was published in 1918 and the second in 1922. Spengler's thesis is that civilizations pass through a cycle of birth, maturity, decline, and death. He uses the term "Faustian" to describe the cycle of Western civilization, which he sees as reaching its peak in the early 20th century and then beginning its decline. He divides history into High Cultures, which he sees as having a unique, inward-directed spiritual essence, and Civilizations, which are outwardly focused and driven by materialism. He examines the major High Cultures of the world, including the Egyptian, Indian, Chinese, and Islamic, as well as Western Civilization. He argues that all civilizations follow the same general pattern of birth, growth, and decline, and that the decline of a civilization can be attributed to its own internal weaknesses and external forces. He suggests that Western civilization is in its decline due to its materialistic focus and lack of spiritual guidance. The Decline of the West is a sprawling, detailed work that has had a significant influence on both philosophy and historiography.