The Shaping of the "Second Europe" 1914 - Present

"Revolt Against Europe" as a Major Theme

Outline of Lecture

I. The First and Second Europe Again
II. What Happened To The Second Europe in the 19^th Century: The Impact of Revolutions and "-Isms"
III. "Revolt Against Europe" As A Major Theme
IV. A Preview of Topics

A. Totalitarianism and the Revolt Against Europe
B. The Struggle of Democracies and the Revolt Against Europe
C. Nationalism and the Revolt Against Europe
D. Freudian Psychology, Existentialism, Literature and the Revolt Against Europe
E. Mass Man, Theology and the Revolt Against Europe
F. Is There To Be A Third Europe?

The First and Second Europe (Again): A Look Backward

This section is part review and part preview of what is coming. We began this course with the Enlightenment, the second phase of Europe as a culture. I called the Enlightenment the "Second Europe", to distinguish it from the first phase of Europe, the "First Europe", the medieval outlook prevalent from 900 to 1350. We defined the values and beliefs of this culture and at the same time compared them with those of the "First Europe", to show what I believe to be true: that there has been a core of beliefs, values and ideas in Europe as a culture from its founding to the present. I refer you to that first lecture I gave. But by way of reminder, I characterized the "First Europe" in the following way:

(1) Each man possessed dignity and worth as a soul whose salvation the church and state were to aid. The soul's destiny was another world, to be with God. (2) This God was a transcendent ethical deity who revealed himself and his purpose by intervening in, and giving meaning to human history (3) Therefore, man was impelled to look to the future, not in this life primarily, but the next. (4) The universe was God's universe. Its order and purpose were God's will. If one understood something of God's will, he could see the order and purpose of the universe. (5) God's will also constituted the ideal standard for the social order. Kingship, divinely anointed by God through the church, had the mission of creating a more Christian society on earth and caring for the welfare of men's souls. That outlook dominated thinking and a lot of activity and creativity between the 10^th and 14^th centuries.

No outlook or culture, however, stays the same (and survives), and so Europe with its dynamic and creative capacity began to change, leading to a second phase, the Enlightenment, or "Second Europe". Again by way of reminder, I made the following general comments about the assumptions of the "Second Europe":

(1) Man's worth and dignity lay not in his possessing a soul but a mind which functioned like the underlying laws of the universe--man could reason. (2) Both human reason and natural (rational) law had originated with God whose existence was necessary and important because he had created a perfect universe--a machine, some thinkers said, of marvelous proportion and regularity. Human reason's identity with natural law meant that man could know the basic structure of the universe. Science promised even more; man could have total knowledge of the world and solutions to all the problems which had hitherto stood in the way of perfect human happiness. (3) The God of Judaism and Christianity became a Master Builder. He was necessary as a creator, but unnecessary as a sustaining presence, because he had left men plenty of signs and laws by which to live and to become masters themselves of the best of all possible worlds he had created. (The name for this theistic idea is Deism.) (4) One did not have to take man's growing knowledge and power on mere faith; history demonstrated that there had been a progressive increase in knowledge and intelligence. There was no reason to doubt that man could know and do anything he set his mind to do. The future beckoned with the promise of unlimited progress. (5) The will of God was no longer the measure of social institutions or personal human existence; in its place was natural law as understood by science. Political authority rested on the consent of free, equal, basically good men. And as for man himself, he ought to be free to define his own ultimate aims in life and pursue his own happiness.

What Happened To The Second Europe in the 19^th Century: The Impact of Revolutions and "-Isms"

We saw the bright hopes of the Enlightenment somewhat, but not totally, tarnished by events of the 19^th century. Using the theme "Impact of Revolutions" we presented and analyzed a number of "-isms" which came out of three revolutionary events in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries: the political revolutions in the United States and France; the Industrial Revolution; and Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. At least two of the -isms we examined showed that Enlightenment ideas, values, and assumptions could be put into effect in the world of life, not just the world of the intellect. I speak of Liberalism and Literary Optimism, which affirmed everything or almost everything in the Enlightenment outlook. Other -isms modified (i.e., raised questions or doubts) at least one or more of Enlightenment principles. Perhaps you agree that Conservatism, Nationalism, Romanticism, and Socialism fit this category. Then we saw other -isms which rejected most or almost all of the assumptions held to be true by Enlightenment thinkers. I believe that you will agree that Literary Pessimism, Realism, and Naturalism, Nihilism, and Imperialism go in this group. If you have a different view I do not mind, so long as you have evidence for what you think.

"Revolt Against Europe" As A Major Theme

Now as we begin the 20^th century I am going to use a new theme to give you a handle on what I think has happened in the last hundred years or so of the history of Europe as a culture. That theme is "Revolt Against Europe." When I say "Revolt Against" I mean a repudiation of the Second Europe or Enlightenment. I believe that the dominant theme running through much of this century--whether in the work of intellectuals, poets, or artists, the rise of totalitarianism, or the problems of democracies--is a declaration that the Enlightenment is dead. The phrase "Revolt Against Europe" was coined by Christopher Dawson in a book he published in 1932, The Making of Europe. (If you find the idea of his work appealing and want to read it, check our library or click here). This phrase strikes me as the most succinct and exquisite way to describe what has happened to Europe as a culture in the 20th century. I want to preview the topics we will be looking at and give you suggestions about why I think that theme is accurate.

Totalitarianism and the Revolt Against Europe

In the next two sessions we will take up the rise of totalitarianism, which is essentially the same phenomenon whether of the left (Communism) or the right (Fascism). Totalitarianism scorns reason, denies human equality, opposes law and order, relies on violence and lies to attain its goals, and aims at the total control of life (hence the term, "totalitarianism"). In its Fascist form it openly repudiates reason, vehemently attacks equality, flouts law and order, and boasts of its brutality against its enemies (Herman Goering, the Nazi German second in command, once remarked "When I hear the word 'culture' I reach for my revolver"). In totalitarianism's other form, Communism says one thing and does another. It professes Marxian Socialism, but acts in a totalitarian fashion. Marx, as we saw, did believe in human dignity and man's capacity for reason and science to figure out his great historical problem, that of giving the worker control of the wealth he produced. Marx held up the ideal of the classless society, a true democracy in his vision, as the goal of history. His "reason" and "science", of course, are not subject to rational and scientific examination: for Marx democracy means a single party dictatorship and history has but one conclusion. Still, there is a humanitarianism in Marxian Socialism which is not to be found in Fascism's bald-faced racism. But Russian Communism ignored Marx's humanitarianism and behaved like Fascism. Thus in practice there is no difference between the two forms.

The Struggle of Democracies and the Revolt Against Europe

The success of totalitarianism for much of the last century meant that democracy was in trouble. The great issue was whether democracy could fend off Fascism and Communism without becoming as totalitarian as they, thus destroying itself while saving itself. Or, to put it another way, whether democracy could preserve and extend its Enlightenment traditions while becoming at least as efficient politically and militarily and as productive economically as its mortal enemies. At times it looked impossible to do both. To fight Fascism and Communism militarily required that democracies regiment themselves and curb democratic principles. To avoid collapsing during the Great Depression and to offset the appeal of Communism and Fascism the democracies had to introduce the planned economy and welfare state. Regimentation, the planned economy, and the welfare state did win the war against totalitarianism and extend economic benefits to the majority of citizens, but democracy as a way of life suffered nonetheless. We will examine the successes and failures of democracy in the 20^th century.

Nationalism and the Revolt Against Europe

20th century nationalism has become even more divisive and hostile to Europe than its 19^th century forerunner. We saw 19^th century nationalism's challenge to the Enlightenment view of man, of society, and the future. But 20th century nationalism is almost totally anti-Enlightenment. In Fascism nationalism becomes racialist. The Fascist state proclaimed the purity and strength of its own people, the Master Race, and the contamination and weaknesses of other peoples. Its ideology called for the destruction or enslavement of inferior peoples. Nationalism also took a totalitarian direction with Fascism and Communism, more so with the former than the latter, although there as well. Fascism avowed the supremacy of the nation over the individual: there is no meaning apart from the nation; yielding to the nation and the Leader define a man's worth and meaning. Fascism represented the most virulent form of totalitarian nationalism. But even in the non-western countries, most of which achieved independence after 1945 in a surge of nationalist fervor, nationalism took totalitarian forms and displayed hostility to European culture.

Freudian Psychology, Existentialism, Literature and the Revolt Against Europe

For convenience I am grouping several topics we will take up separately. But they are interrelated. Sigmund Freud, Jean Paul Sartre, and the poets and writers we will be discussing all write from an awareness that the rational in man is not the controlling element of his makeup and that more basic forces constitute his true nature. Freud emphasized the unconscious or subconscious as the true motivator of human behavior. His theories are a rational look at an irrational or nonrational dimension of man. Sartre takes a view of man called existentialism: man is not a being with an essence, or given nature; instead he is an existing being, living in perfect freedom to make himself, or not, as he chooses. In either case, he defines his being by living. Else life is meaningless. Reason and science cannot define it accurately. "Heaven is empty and we are left alone" to make ourselves as human beings in an environment devoid of meaning; we are abandoned, alienated, fighting despair lest we fail at being our own makers. Then the poets and writers (especially, Joseph Conrad, Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, William Butler Yeats, and T. S. Eliot) chime in with artistic, poetic visions of what it means to be living in tension and alienation from established values, beliefs, and ideas. Again, Revolt against Europe.

Mass Man, Theology and the Revolt Against Europe

The human being whose nature is the focus of literary writers and artists, Freud, and Sartre is Mass Man, a new entity in the 20^th century. He has been made by the Technological Revolution of the last hundred years. He enjoys the abundance produced by technology and the industrial economies of the world. He can make thousands of choices about all areas of life unlike those who came before him. But still he lacks security and looks to others to define himself. Mass Man is defined by that vague but potent power called public opinion. The "Good Life" for him is what the media, and the opinion makers who express the values and ideals manifesting themselves through the media, tell him is the Good Life. The Enlightenment vision of the rational individual, freed from superstition and prejudice to make choices he thinks best, has come to Mass Man. But not all is gloom and doom in the 20^th century. Theology has not given up on Mass Man or the core of values and ideas embodied in the tradition of Europe. We will look at some broad trends and specific theologians who attempt to salvage the spiritual core of Europe and make it relevant to those facing the destructive effect of totalitarianism and a world without meaning, to those willing to be more than Mass Man.

As a foretaste of what to expect in the next and final segment of the course, consider two examples from the 20th century which suggest (perhaps "scream" is a better word) that artists believe the traditions of Europe are as useless and repulsive as last week's lunch. The first is a musical composition. I will be playing in class a portion of one of the most startling events of the turn of the century: Igor Stravinsky’s premiere of his music for the ballet, The Rite of Spring in 1913. An example of musical Expressionism, The Rite, shocked its audience by its pagan themes and unconventional rhythm and dissonance, to the point of outrage and violence. The nearest thing to it a hundred years later (patrons of the arts now meekly accepting any outrage in dumb show of their "artistic sophistication") is the rioting following an athletic championship. According to some eye witnesses, the dancers and orchestra barely managed to complete the performance, so loud were the jeers and insults. "The pagans on-stage made pagans of the audience," said one music commentator in more recent times. Even the end did not still the uproar. As the audience spilled out of the theater into the streets, some continued to yell and throw punches at each other. If you listen to the entire work on your own (perhaps too much to ask), notice particularly the movements, "Dances of the Young Girls," "Game of Abduction," "Dance of the Earth," and "Sacrificial Dance." The ballet took as its theme the sacrifice of a young virgin to bring about the arrival of spring. Those who studied History 1121 with me will remember ancient mythmaking and its attempt to make desired events in nature occur by the enactment of the hoped for event. Stravinsky, thus, was reaching far back, beyond the western tradition for inspiration in his choice of subject matter. What better example of Revolt Against Europe? (To listen to an excerpt from the Rite, click on this link.)

The second example is a piece of "art," if one may use the term loosely. Late in 2004, 500 art "experts" voted that the most influential work of modern art is Marcel Duchamp's Fountain, a urinal Duchamp signed "R. Mutt" and put on display in 1917. So what, you say? Consider that this selection ignores Matisse and Picasso, arguably the two leading artists of the same period. Is signing a ready-made object and calling it your creation evidence of creativity? Or was Duchamp telling us what he really thought of the Western artistic tradition going back to the Greeks, and delighting in the gullibility of art critics and the art-buying public? (Perhaps you can answer after reading his article "The Creative Act"). By the way, a replica of this urinal, oops, Fountain, (only one of many authorized by Duchamp after the original disappeared) sold in 2002 for $1,185,000, in the price range expected by the auction house. You decide. As useless and repulsive as last week’s lunch? Or an important statement of the human condition? Before we leave the subject, some “performance artists” have tried to put the “fountain” to its designed purpose, claiming that Duchamp would have approved.

Is There To Be A Third Europe?

We conclude by looking forward, after having looked so far back. Is Europe done for, or is there something else waiting to take its place, something better than we might now expect after such a gloomy selection of topics? That forms my last subject. And perhaps it will surprise you. There is a lot of speculation about what may come next. We look at some of that and make our own contributions. I mean not only mine, but yours too. You are entitled to it after sitting through all you have endured this term.

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