Spengler's civilization model

      Oswald Spengler's civilization model appears as three tables, each in a three-page-long folded sheet, inserted between pages 68 and 69 of the first volume of his Der Untergang des Abendlandes, in the definitive edition published under the author's care by C. H. Beck in Munich, in 1931. Page numbers slightly changed from the previous German editions, yet were always placed immediately after the end of the Introduction. The English translation, published by Alfred A. Knopf in New York in 1936 as The Decline of the West, vol. 1, carries these tables at the end of the volume (after page 444). For their meaning and significance, see the main article.

      Spiritual epochs

      Phase Indian
      from 1500 BC      		 Classical
      from 1100 BC      		 Arabian
      from 0      		 Western
      from 900
      Spring
      Rural-intuitive. Great creations of the newly-awakened dream-heavy soul. Super-personal unity and fulness      		 Birth of a myth of the grand style expressing a new God-feeling. World-fear and world-longing
      1500–1200 BC 1100–800 BC 1–300 900–1200
      Earliest mystical-metaphysical shaping of the new world-outlook. Zenith of Scholasticism
      Preserved in the oldest parts of the Vedas
      Summer
      Ripening consciousness. Earliest urban and critical stirrings      		 Reformation: internal popular opposition to the great springtime forms
      10th–9th century BC 7th century BC
      Beginning of a purely philosophical form of the world-feeling. Opposition of idealistic and realistic systems
      Preserved in the Upanishads 6th–5th century BC 6–7th century
      • Byzantine, Jewish, Syrian, Coptic and Persian literature
      		 16–17th century
      Formation of a new mathematic conception of number as copy and content of world-form
      Missing

      Number as magnitude (measure)

      The indefinite number (algebra)

      • Development not yet investigated

      Number as function (analysis)
      Puritanism. Rationalistic-mystic impoverishment of religion
      Traces in the Upanishads
      Autumn
      Intelligence of the City. Zenith of strict intellectual creativeness      		 "Enlightenment". Belief in the almightiness of reason. Cult of "Nature". "Rational" religion

      Sutras; Sankhya; Buddha; later Upanishads
      Zenith of mathematical thought. Elucidation of the form-world of numbers
      Zero as a number
      The great conclusive systems

      Idealism: Yoga, Vedanta Epistemology: Vaisheshika Logic: Nyaya

      Goethe, Kant
      Winter
      Dawn of Megalopolitan Civilization. Extinction of spiritual creative force. Life itself becomes problematical. Ethical-practical tendencies of an irreligious and unmetaphysical cosmopolitanism      		 Materialistic world-outlook. Cult of science, utility and prosperity

      Sankhya, Cārvāka (Lokoyata)

      Cynics, Cyrenaics, Last Sophists (Pyrrhon)

      Bentham, Comte, Darwin, Spencer, Stirner, Marx, Feuerbach
      Ethical-social ideals of life. Epoch of "Unmathematical philosophy". "Skepsis"
      Tendencies in Buddha's time Movements in Islam
      Inner completion of the mathematical form-world. The concluding thought
      (lost)
      Degradation of abstract thinking into professional lecture-room philosophy. Compendium literature
      Schools of Baghdad and Basra
      Spread of a final world-sentiment
      Indian Buddhism since 500 Hellenistic-Roman Stoicism since 200 The practical Fatalism in Islam since 1000 The spread of ethical Socialism from 1900
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      Artistic epochs

      Phase Egyptian Classical Arabian Western
      Pre-Cultural Period
      Chaos of primitive expression forms. Mystical symbolism and naive imitation
      Culture
      Life-history of a style Formative of the entire inner-being. Form-language of deepest symbolic necessity      		 Early Period
      Ornamentation and architecture as elementary expression of the young world-feeling: "The Primitives"

      OLD KINGDOM (2900–2400 BC)

      DORIC (1100–500 BC)

      EARLY-ARABIAN FORM-WORLD (Sassanid, Byzantine, Armenian, Syrian, Sabæan, "Late-Classical" and "Early-Christian") (0–500)

      GOTHIC (900–1500)
      Birth and Rise. Forms sprung from the Land, unconsciously shaped

      Dynasties IV–V (2930–2625 BC)

      • Geometrical Temple style
      • Pyramid temples
      • Ranked plant-columns
      • Rows of flat relief
      • Tomb statues
      		 11th–9th centuries BC 1st–3rd centuries 11–13th centuries
      Completion of the early form-language. Exhaustion of possibilities. Contradiction
      2320–2200 BC
      • 6th dynasty
      • End of pyramid and epic relief styles
      • Bloom of archaic portraits.
      		 8th–7th centuries BC 4th–5th centuries 14–15th centuries
      Late Period
      Formation of a group of arts urban and conscious, in the hands of individuals: "Great Masters."      		 Formation of a mature artistry
      2130–1990 BC
      Perfection of an intellectualized form-language
      1990–1790 BC 480–350 BC 7–8th centuries
      • Umayyad dynasty
      • Complete victory of featureless arabesque over architecture also

      Rococo

      • Musical architecture ("rococo")
      • Reign of classical music from Bach to Mozart
      • End of classical oil painting from Watteau to Goya
      Exhaustion of strict creativeness. Dissolution of grand form. End of style. "Classicism" and "Romanticism"
      Confusion after about 1750
      Civilization
      Existence without inner form. Metropolitan city art as a commonplace: luxury, sport, nerve excitement. Rapidly-changing fashions in art (revivals, arbitrary discoveries, borrowings)      		 Modern art. "Art problems". Attempts to portray or to excite the metropolitan consciousness. Transformation of music, architecture and painting into mere craft-arts
      Hyksos Period (1675–1550 BC). Preserved only in Crete (Minoan art) Hellenism
      • Pergamene Art (theatrically)
      • Hellenistic painting modes (veristic, bizarre, subjective)
      • Archetictual display in the cities of the Diadochi
      		 Sultan dynasties of 9th–10th centuries
      • Prime of Spanish-Sicilian art
      • Samarra
      		 19th and 20th centuries
      End of form development. Meaningless, empty, artificial, pretentious architecture and ornament. Imitation of archaic and exotic motives
      18th dynasty (1550–1328 BC) Roman Period (100 BC–100 AD) Seljuks (since 1050)
      • "Oriental Art" of the Crusade period
      		 From 2000
      Finale. Formation of a fixed stock of forms. Imperial display by means of material and mass. Provincial craft-art
      19th dynasty (1328–1195 BC)
      • Gigantic buildings of Luxor, Karnak, and Abydos
      • Small-art (beast plastic, textiles, arms)
      		 Trajan to Aurelian Mongol Period (from 1250)
      • Gigantic buildings (e.g. in India)
      • Oriental craft-art (rugs, arms, implements)
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      Political epochs

      Phase Egyptian Classical Chinese Western
      Pre-Cultural Period
      Primitive folk. Tribes and their chiefs. As Yet No "Politics" and no "State"      		 Thinite Period (MENES) 3100–2600 Mycenaean Age
      (AGAMEMNON) 1600–1100      		 Shang Period
      1700–1300      		 Frankish period
      CHARLEMAGNE 500–900
      Culture
      National groups of definite style and particular world-feeling: "nations." Working of an immanent state-idea      		 Early Period
      Organic articulation of political existence. The two prime classes (noble and priest).
      Feudal economics; purely agrarian values      		 OLD KINGDOM 2600–2200 DORIC PERIOD 1100–650 EARLY CHOU PERIOD 1300–800 GOTHIC PERIOD 900–1500
      1. Feudalism. Spirit of countryside and countryman. The "City" only a market or stronghold. Chivalric-religious ideals. Struggles of vassals amongst themselves and against overlord
      • Feudal conditions of IV and V dynasties (2550–2320 BC)
      • Increasing power of feudatories and priesthoods. The Pharaoh as incarnation of Ra
      • The Homeric kingship
      • Rise of the nobility (Ithaka, Etruria, Sparta)
      		 The central ruler (Wang) pressed hard by the feudal nobility
      • Roman-German imperial period
      • Crusading nobility
      • Empire and Papacy
      2. Crisis and dissolution of patriarchal forms. From feudalism to aristocratic State
      • VI dynasty (2320–2200 BC): Breakup of the Kingdom into heritable principalities.
      • VII and VIII dynasties: Interregnum
      • Aristocratic synoecism
      • Dissolution of kinship into annual offices
      • Oligarchy
      		 934–904: I-Wang and the vassals
      • 842: Interregnum
      • Territorial princes
      • Renaissance towns. Lancaster and York
      • 1254: Interregnum
      Late Period
      Actualizing of the matured State-idea. Town versus countryside. Rise of Third Estate (Bourgeoisie). Victory of money over landed property
      MIDDLE KINGDOM 2150–1800 IONIC PERIOD 650–300 LATE CHOU PERIOD 800–500 BAROQUE PERIOD 1500–1800
      3. Fashioning of a world of States of strict form. Frondes
      11th dynasty
      • Overthrow of the baronage by the rulers of Thebes
      • Centralized bureaucracy-state
      		 6th century
      • First Tyrannis (Cleisthenes, Periander, Polycrates, the Tarquins)
      • The City-State
      		 Period of the "Protectors" (Ming-Chu 685–591) and the congresses of princes (–460) Dynastic family-power, and Fronde (Richelieu, Wallenstein, Cromwell)—c. 1630
      4. Climax of the State-form ("Absolutism") Unity of town and country ("State" and

      "Society." The "three estates")
      1990–1790: 12th dynasty The pure Polis (absolutism of the Demos) 590–480: Chun-Chiu period ("Spring" and "Autumn")
      • Seven powers
      • Perfection of social forms (Li)
      		 Ancien Régime. Rococo. Court nobility of Versailles. Cabinet politics. Habsburg and Bourbon. Louis XIV, Frederick the Great
      5. Break-up of the State-form (Revolution and Napoleonism). Victory of the city over the countryside (of the "people" over the privileged, of the intelligentsia over tradition, of money over policy)
      1788–1680: Revolution and military government. Decay of the realm. Small potentates, in some cases sprung from the people 4th century: Social revolution and the Second Tyrannis (Dionysus I, Jason of Pherae, Appius Claudius the Censor)

      Alexander

      		 480: Beginning of the Chan-Kwo period

      441: Fall of the Chou dynasty. Revolutions and annihilation-wars

      		 End of the 18th century: Revolution in America and France (Washington, Fox, Mirabeau, Robespierre)

      Napoleon
      Civilization
      The body of the people, now essentially urban in constitution, dissolves into formless mass. Megalopolis and Provinces. The Fourth Estate ("Masses"), inorganic, cosmopolitan      		 1. Domination of Money ("Democracy"). Economic powers permeating the political forms and authorities
      1675–1550: Hyksos period. Deepest decline. Dictatures of alien generals (Chian). After 1600, definitive victory of the rulers of Thebes 300–100: Political Hellenism. From Alexander to Hannibal and Scipio royal all-power; from Cleomenes III and C. Flaminius (220) to C. Marius, radical demagogues 480–230: Period of the "Contending States"
      • 288: The Imperial title. The Imperialist statesmen of Tsin
      • From 289, incorporation of the last states in the Empire
      		 1800–2000
      • 19th century: From Napoleon to World War I. "System of Great Powers", standing armies, constitutions
      • 20th century: Transition from constitutional to informal sway of individuals. Annihilation wars. Imperialism
      2. Formation of Caesarism. Victory of force-politics over money. Increasing primitiveness of political forms. Inward decline of the nations into a formless population, and constitution thereof as an Imperium of gradually-increasing crudity of despotism
      1580–1350: Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt 100 BC–100 AD: Sulla to Domitian 250 BC–26 AD: House of Wang-Cheng and Western Han dynasty
      • 221 BC: Augustus title (Shi) of Emperor (Hwang-ti)
      • 140–80 BC: Wu-ti
      		 2000–2200
      3. Maturing of the final form. Private and family policies of individual leaders. The world as spoil. Egypticism, Mandarinism, Byzantinism. Historyless stiffening and enfeeblement even of the imperial machinery, against young peoples eager for spoil, or alien conquerors. Primitive human conditions slowly thrust up into the highly-civilized mode of living
      1350–1205: Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt 100–300: Trajan to Aurelian 25–320: Eastern Han dynasty after 2200
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      External links

      The following links to print versions of the tables are provided for verification purposes.
      In German:

      In English:

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      Last modified on 19 June 2013, at 05:38