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Oswald Spengler

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Philosopher

The Resume

    (May 29, 1880-May 8, 1936)
    Born in Blankenburg am Harz, Germany
    Philosopher and historian
    Wrote 'The Decline of the West' (2 vols., 1918-20)
    Put forth a cyclic theory of the rise and fall of civilizations

Why he might be annoying:

    He had three middle names (Manuel, Arnold and Gottfried).
    He had a nervous breakdown (1905).
    He declared that Western civilization was already in an irreversible decline.
    He wrote, 'Optimism is cowardice.'
    Because of his support for authoritarianism and a German hegemony in Europe, several Nazis, such as Joseph Goebbels, considered him their intellectual predecessor.

Why he might not be annoying:

    'Time' wrote of his influence, 'When Oswald Spengler speaks, many a Western Worldling stops to listen.'
    He rejected the Nazi's anti-semitism.
    After a meeting with Hitler, he said that Germany did not need 'a heroic tenor, but a real hero.'
    Shortly before his death, he wrote to a friend, 'The German Reich in ten years will probably no longer exist.' (And the Third Reich would surrender exactly nine years after his death.)

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 196 Votes: 51.02% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 17 Votes: 52.94% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 16 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 20 Votes: 50.0% Annoying