DECLINATION OF DECLINE
OSWALD
SPENGLER
& AI
Recognising Patterns
in a Chaotic World
About
DECLINATION PROJECT
Marking the 90th anniversary of Spengler’s death, Declination of Decline—a book project on Oswald Spengler in the age of algorithms—is an independent creative undertaking by Croatian author Mirna Rudan Lisak, PhD. Her interdisciplinary approach, rooted in art, aesthetics and cultural history, invites a deep exploration of Spengler’s legacy in the digital age, where virtual reality, artificial intelligence and mediated perception are reshaping how we see the world.
The project is committed to intellectual integrity, historical awareness, and a long European tradition of critical thought. Bringing together insights from the humanities, arts and sciences, it invites a dialogue between past and present, engaging Spengler’s cultural morphology and its relevance today. Is virtual reality a continuation of the civilizational expansion—or its implosion? What does it mean to decline, or to refuse decline, in the 21st century?
The project’s guiding concept carries a polysemy—Declination as refusal, as astronomical positioning, and as historical fall—which frames the central inquiry. The book seeks to debate, dissect, and reinterpret these meanings, forging new insights into the cyclical dynamics of civilisations and the future of cultural forms, inviting readers to challenge received perspectives and imagine new inner and outer horizons.
Culture
IN THE ERA OF AI AND VIRTUALITY
Oswald Spengler (1880–1936) was a German philosopher of history and culture and a political thinker best known for his monumental work The Decline of the West, in which he proposed that cultures, like living organisms, follow distinct life cycles—each with its own youth, maturity, and eventual decline. He saw Western civilisation as Faustian: expansive, inventive, yet bound for exhaustion.
His method, cultural morphology, reads history not as progress but as a series of great forms—each rising with myth and art, and falling into technics and power. That vision startled his contemporaries, influenced global thinkers, and remains eerily prophetic today.
Spengler’s voice echoes with urgency in a world marked by digital acceleration, cultural fragmentation, and geopolitical shifts, making his call to understand history as the rise and fall of civilizations more significant than ever. Neither nostalgic nor reactionary, he invites us to read the present with temporal depth—and to meet our moment with clarity, precision, and style.
This is our purpose: to make as meaningful as possible this life that has been bestowed upon us … to live in such a way that we may be proud of ourselves, to act in such a way that some part of us lives on.
Project in motion: Declination of Decline begins where most books end — with exposure. Rather than completing the work behind closed doors, this project moves backwards — from design and announcement to writing and reflection, each stage made visible.
Launched in anticipation of the 90th anniversary of Spengler’s death, it stands as a public act of remembrance. The aim is not only to revisit Spengler’s thought, but to trace its afterlife — in today’s world and the works of contemporary figures who may not name him yet echo his vision.
As Spengler’s vast intellectual range spanned fourteen disciplines, this book will reach toward that same ambition. Rooted in culture and the arts, it also dares to test the author’s thought across unfamiliar terrain. The goal is not to interpret Spengler, but to encounter him — through movement, through difficulty, and always in full view.
Schedule
FROM CONCEPT TO PUBLICATION
Act 1
— Conceptual Launch
From logo to layout, Act 1 builds the stage before the script. Marking the 90th anniversary, the visual identity sets the tone: the tombstone-inspired logo, the palette echoing Spengler’s temperament, and the acid yellow accent connect past and virtual present. Through hover effects, animations, and a modern visual treatment, this act reveals the project’s deeper intention: not to design a book, but to prepare a space for Spengler’s return.
Act 2
— Book Development
This is the most demanding phase of the project: the development of the book itself. Through the established platform, the writing becomes visible—chapter by chapter, line by line. This act invites the reader to witness an attempt to match Spengler’s breadth: bridging philosophy, culture, and technology, while opening space for dialogue between his voice and the future. Declination becomes process, authorship a shared horizon.
Act 3
— Publishing & Events
Act 3 becomes a space of celebration — where the written work finds its final form and enters the world. This act will host the publication of the book, related events, and accompanying reflections. In honour of Spengler’s legacy, it opens a stage for dialogues, acknowledgments, and encounters shaped by the journey behind. From print to presence, it brings the process to a close — not as an end, but as the beginning of public visibility.
Visiting Spengler: Nordfriedhof, München, 8 May 2022