vector:

see above page 314

 

Nietzsche:

see Chapter I, page 11, Chapter VI, page 191, Chapter VII, page 241, 245, 252, Chapter VIII page 260, 291, and above page 308

 

“beyond good and evil”:

(aka Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future) published 1886, by Nietzsche, expands on his earlier Thus Spoke Zarathustra, with a more critical & polemical approach.  He accuses past philosophers of lacking critical sense & blindly accepting dogmatic premises in their consideration of morality, of founding grand metaphysical systems on faith that the good man is the opposite of the evil man, not just a different more direct expression of impulses common to both.  He abandons traditional morality in favour of an affirmative approach that fearlessly confronts the perspectival nature of knowledge & perilous condition of the modern individual.

 

prime-phenomenon:

aka the prime symbol or Ur symbol.  This is the depth-experience through which the world becomes, through which perception extends itself to world.  Its signification is for the Culture to which it belongs & only for that Culture. It actualizes for every high Culture the ·possibility of form upon which that Culture's existence rests and it does so of deep necessity.  From the prime symbol all other forms emanate into the Macrocosm.

 

Joachim of Floris:

1135-1202, Italian theologian & founder of the monastic order of San Giovanni in Fiore.  Considered the most important apocalyptic thinker of the Medieval period.  As a millenarian, he foretold a future in which a fundamental transformation of society would take place, after which "all things will be changed".

and see Chapter I, page 19

 

Homeric dawn:

Homer lived during the Greek Dark Ages which goes back as far as 1100 BC to 800 BC.  Spengler posits that this period represent the Apollonian Spring.

 

Roman Empire:

The Roman Empire was born in 27 BC and finished 476 AD.  Spengler posits that this period represent the Apollonian Winter.

 

Heraclitus (and concept of struggle):

535-475 BC, pre-Socratic Ionian Greek philosopher, native of Ephesus (part of the Persian Empire).  Famous for his insistence on ever-present change (or becoming) as the characteristic feature of the world.  This aspect of his philosophy is contrasted with that of Parmenides, who believed in being, and that nothing changes.

and see Chapter III, page 109

 

Stoics (and struggle):

Stoic philosophers taught acceptance, not struggle.  Happiness is found in accepting the moment as it presents itself, by not being controlled by desire pleasure or by  fear of pain, by using one's mind to understand the world and to do one's part in nature's plan, and by working together and treating others fairly and justly.  The objective was to achieve peace of mind or mind without passion, to maintain equanimity in the face of life's highs and lows

 

Epicureans (and struggle):

a philosophical school founded by Epicurus (341–270 BC) in 307 BC.  He believed that the greatest good was to seek modest, sustainable "pleasure" via a state of tranquillity and freedom from fear & absence of bodily pain through knowledge of the workings of the world and the limits of desire.

Notably the Epicureans eschewed politics as politics could lead to ambition which could lead to failure.  It was preferable NOT to struggle.

 

Fichte:

1762-1814, German philosopher, founding figure of German idealism (from Kant); he had original insights into the nature of self-consciousness & the originator of the thesis–antithesis–synthesis paradigm (usually attributed to Hegel).  He was motivated by the problem of subjectivity and consciousness.  He also wrote works of political philosophy & had a reputation as one of the fathers of German nationalism.

 

carpe diem:

Latin, meaning seize the day