Chapter 26&27

Uncertainty in modern thought

A period of questioning values and beliefs that guided society, especially after World War I.

World War I effects on modern thought

Western society began to doubt its long-held beliefs in progress and rational understanding.

Valéry's crisis description

He referred to the war's impact as the 'terrible uncertainty' left on the injured mind.

Nietzsche's belief about civilization decline

He argued that Western civilization was declining due to Christian humility and an overemphasis on rational thought.

Bergson's contribution to philosophy

He stated that immediate experience and intuition are as crucial as rational thought.

Sorel's view on socialism

He believed socialism would triumph through a great violent strike led by an elite.

Logical empiricism

A philosophical approach that emphasizes logical clarification of thoughts and the study of language, as defined by Wittgenstein.

Existentialism

A philosophy that stresses individual action to overcome life's meaninglessness, developed by Heidegger, Jaspers, Sartre, and Camus.

Revitalization of fundamental Christianity

A post-World War I movement emphasizing the human aspect of Jesus and reconciling religious belief with science.

The new physics

Challenges to Newtonian physics by thinkers like Planck and Einstein, which undermined belief in constant natural laws.

Freudian psychology

Freud proposed that human behavior is fundamentally irrational and is influenced by the unconscious mind.

Stream of consciousness technique

A narrative mode that captures thoughts and feelings as they occur, used by writers like Woolf and Joyce.

Functionalism in architecture

An architectural approach that emphasizes efficiency and utility, exemplified by Le Corbusier.

Dadaism

An art movement that embraced absurdity and irrationality as a reaction to World War I.

The Dawes Plan (1924)

A plan that provided financial aid to Germany to help it pay reparations and stabilize its economy.

Conservative authoritarianism

A government form focused on maintaining the status quo, emerging after World War I in Eastern Europe.

Stalin's Five-Year Plans

Economic strategies aimed at rapid industrialization and collectivization in the USSR.

Enabling Act of March 1933

Legislation that allowed Hitler to assume dictatorial powers in Germany.

Nuremberg Laws (1935)

Racist laws that stripped Jews of their citizenship and legal rights in Nazi Germany.

Blitzkrieg

A military strategy characterized by swift and sudden attacks, used by Nazi Germany during World War II.