Structured in twelve chapters to mirror the rhythm of the year, the book echoes Spengler’s understanding of culture as a living organism with its own seasons—each chapter addressing a distinct phase of civilizational transformation. The aim is to compose, at a high literary level, a synthesis across philosophy, the arts, and the sciences—engaging also with history, political thought, mass media, and the cultural implications of AI and VR—without proposing any political programme. It draws from fields where the author stands firm and ventures into those less familiar. In this way, the project follows Spengler’s ambition to grasp the total movement of culture—not only by interpreting his legacy, but by encountering his visions.

Particular attention is given to the future of art in an AI world—to authorship, originality, and the aesthetics of synthetic media—while the political consequences of virtuality and transhumanism exceed the scope of this book. Nevertheless, their cultural implications remain close: platform dynamics, mediated perception, and the shifting boundaries of identity in a world increasingly governed by code—they all press against the limits of Spengler’s framework, testing anew his call to turn from consolation to action; from reflection to technics. His challenge, therefore, still stands:

“I can only hope that men of the new generation may be moved by this book to devote themselves to technics instead of lyrics, the sea instead of the paintbrush, and politics instead of epistemology. Better they could not do.”
— Oswald Spengler, The Decline of the West

In response, this book seeks to examine Spengler’s relevance in the contemporary world—where his ideas offer a cornerstone for understanding the ramifications of virtual reality as a manifestation of Faustian striving for infinity: they become a testament to technological development, a new frontier for digital economies, a medium for cultural and communicative transformation, and a stage for emerging debates on power, identity, and governance. In this context, the notion of declination not only serves as an intricate linguistic device to unveil all dimensions of the chosen theme, but also proposes an alternate trajectory—one that defies linear narratives of collapse. And as an astronomical concept denoting elevation and the duration of celestial visibility, declination underscores Spengler’s insight into the cyclical rise and fall of cultures—allowing even opposing viewpoints to seek a shared horizon.

More than a theoretical inquiry, this book is an artistic attempt to render the complexity of the idea of decline not only through rational thought, but through form, atmosphere, and language. While conceived as an authored work, the project remains open to collaborative contributions—particularly in chapters that cross into fields unfamiliar to the author—in the spirit of Spengler’s own multidimensional reach.