born May 29, 1880, Blankenburg, Ger.
died May 8, 1936, Munich
German philosopher.
A schoolmaster before he turned to writing, Spengler is remembered for his influential The Decline of the West , 2 vol. (191822), a study in the philosophy of history. He contended that civilizations pass through a life cycle, blossoming and decaying like natural organisms, and that Western culture is irreversibly past its creative stage and headed into eclipse. Though acclaimed by a public disillusioned in the wake of World War I, his work was criticized by both professional scholars and the Nazi Party, despite some affinities with its dogma.
Spengler, pencil drawing by K. Grossmann, 1920; in a private collection
Deutsche Fotothek, Dresden