THE AGE OF ANXIETYChapter 28

MODERN THOUGHT AFTER WWI

Doubt in human ability to progress after seeing the deaths of millions for little to no progress in land leads to gross disillusionmentPhilosophical underpinnings:Friedrich NietzscheMost famous quote: “God is dead” Words and meanings: relevance comes from their history, those with firm control over words control society and cultureSuperman (Übermensch): breaks out of societal conventions and formulates new moral codes for himself For Nietzsche, life is

meaningless Books: Thus Spake Zarathustra The Will to Power

Life comes from random chance happenings No purpose for life No inherent meaning Rules are the constructs of those

in power (traditional values might have been different with another culture)

Traditional values have no ultimate meaning

There is no ultimate meaning and life has no purpose

The end of life is the end Accept the meaninglessness of

life and move on

MODERN THOUGHT AFTER WWI

(A) Paul Valéry: saw postwar mankind as suffering from a “cruelly injured mind”, plagued by anxiety because of the loss of the progressivist vision of the 19th century

(B) Henri Bergson: experience and intuition as important as rationalism and scientific thinking

(C) Ludwig Wittgenstein: espoused logical positivism; denigrated the search for transcendent truth

A

B

C

MODERN THOUGHT AFTER WWI

Resurgent religion: Christianity Stems from work of

Søren Kierkegaard (A) Karl Barth: father of

neo-orthodoxy (B) Converts and

attractants T. S. Eliot (C) W. H. Auden (D) Evelyn Waugh (E) C. S. Lewis (F) Graham Greene (G) Max Planck (H)

A B C

D E F

G H

NEW MEDIA

Radio Known as the

“wireless” Cinema:

Silent films “Talkies” Useful as propaganda Leni Riefenstahl:

Triumph of the Will (Triumph des Willens)

THE INTERWAR POLITICAL SITUATION Political instability:

Search for governmental forms that will not lead to war and will control the chaos of the post-war world

Reparations: end of Germany’s prosperity Rampant, soaring

inflation (4 trillion marks to 1 US Dollar) by November 1923

Dawes Plan put in place to curb runaway inflation in European nations

GROWTH OF DEMOCRACIES Kellogg-Briand Pact: 15 countries

renounced war “as an instrument of national policy”, early attempt at a peace movement (idealistic, doesn’t work) Demonstrates the aggressive

political optimism of the 1920’s Disillusionment mostly found in the

artistic/literary circles; politics is philosophically a different place

Various parties competed for seats in Parliaments and for influences among various constituencies (Communists, Socialists, Social Democrats – all wanted workers votes)

Fragmentation of political spectrum grew as economic situations worsened

ARTISTIC AND PHILOSOPHICAL DISILLUSIONMENT

Despair over the ability of mankind to solve his own problems by recourse to reason

Reference the section entitled: Art 1700-1990 giving special attention to all artists from Picasso to Kandinsky

ENTER THE GREAT DEPRESSION Stock Market crash in the US (October

1929) Wiped out the financial holdings of

millions Banks went under because of bad debts

US banks call in their loans; bad for Europeans who owe millions of dollars to the US; New Deal puts Roosevelt into office

Germany’s solution: print billions of marks; leads to runaway inflation

France: depression hits later but is more persistent

Britain: less effected and also more socialist oriented; Liberal party surpassed by Labour Party

Countries go off the gold standard Massive unemployment worldwide; in

Europe socialism takes strong root in Scandinavian countries (welfare, pensions, healthcare)

POLITICAL MOVEMENTS Authoritarianism:

Human traditions of gravitating toward strong leaders in times of crisis

Authoritarian regimes: trying to maintain peace and order; minimal restriction on freedoms (if you go along; passive acceptance)

Totalitarianism: Seeks to control the totality

of people’s lives Religion, leisure activities,

culture (art, music, books), media, politics

Afraid of and discouraged deviation