The Inter-War Years

Major Themes of This Lecture The Age of Anxiety The Loss of Confidence in Continuous Human Progress and the Power of Human Reason The Search for Post War Stability in the 1920s The Destruction of That Stability- The Great Depression

Attempt At Another Amazing Metaphor Pre 1914 World Technological Gadgets to Ease Life Shorter Work Hours Society/ The Age of Anxiety World War I Reason Progress Stream of Consciousness- distopias Science Freud Peace Einstein Industry Existentialism

Theme #1 The Age of Anxiety What was it? A break in the centuries-old faith in human progress that had started in the Renaissance and continued through the Scientific Revolution , Enlightenment, and Industrial Revolution “Perhaps human reason can solve all of our problems…” “Umm… ok… scratch that.”

Why this loss of faith? Largely because of the horrors of WWI ‘This is what science and reason brought us?’ Evident across many fields: philosophy, psychology, literature, physics Pre World War I = optimism for the future Post World War I= pessimism for the future “If modern science brought us the slaughter in the trenches, what will future ‘progress’ bring us? Not totally misguided… think about the atom bomb

Philosophy Nietzsche Reason and human intellect are weak Instead, emotion and passion are the keys to human strength Human society glorifies the weak (‘blessed are the meek’), but should instead glorify the strong God is dead There is no external meaning… there is only the meaning that we give to the universe Most people are too weak to discover a meaning, but some ‘supermen’ would be able to do it Thought democracy was part of the weakness…gives all, even the weak, a voice Remember, democracy has been on the rise all throughout the 19th century Very influential in the country of …??? Germany Fight Hitler

Philosophy (cont.) Schools of Philosophical Thought Inspired by Nietzsche and the Age of Anxiety Logical empiricism Philosophy is just a verbal grinding of gears… there is no way to determine anything about the large questions philosophy tries to answer Existentialism There is no external meaning. Humans must create their own meaning. However, humans must act. For example, existentialists had to decide how to respond when Hitler took over Europe. To fight him or not? How did most react? Against Hitler Why is it obvious that existentialists must be atheists?

You Tube- Nietzsche interprets Hitler

Physics Pre-Einstein Einstein’s relativity After Einstein Early discoveries of radiation and quanta… even the atom is not stable Einstein’s relativity All space and time are relative to the observer… there is no absolute space or time The only absolute is…??? matter and energy are forms of each other More on this later, no?! After Einstein Heisenberg uncertainty principle If you know exactly where a particle is, you cannot know its speed. If you know its exact speed, you cannot know exactly where it is. The speed of light

VS Which is more comfortable to believe? If a human were to move near the speed of light, time would slow down for them, relative to the observer… VS Which is more comfortable to believe?

Freudian Psychology Freudian View of the Brain Pre-Freudian View of the Brain Output Output Input Input Logic

Mr. Hansen’s Milkshakes brings all the boys to the yard. ;)

Part of the Freudian Brain Id- Primitive Desires  food, sex, pleasure Ego – rational brain Which of the Id desires can I get away with without getting in trouble Superego- Conscience  Should I try to get away with stuff I want, even if it is wrong?

Literature Literature Reflects age of anxiety… author is not omniscient… society is confusing and characters are confused… stream of consciousness (see James Joyce’s Ulysses below) "...I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes. " Distopias

Religion Christian Existentialists worked to revitalize religion if reason is flawed, instead of saying there is no meaning, return to an extra-rational god…. Re-emphasize the non-rational aspects of Christianity

Society/ The Age of Anxiety Revival of Christianity

ART Realism Was Killed by the _____??? (a technology) Impressionism Replaced Realism Impressionists seek to give the subjective, emotional, personal view of something (a way to be ‘realer’ than the camera) Post-Impressionists (aka Expressionists) Expressionists begin to use abstract shape to convey emotions sometimes called les fauves (the beasts) by their critics, for the oddness of their images Types of expressionism Cubism (Picasso) Dadaism (down with convention and tradition- nihilist) Surrealism (linked to Freudian exploration of the dream world and unconscious mind) Camera

Impressionist

Look At the Rest of the Art Pieces In an Attempt to Feel the Anguish and Search For Meaning

Edvard Munch: The Scream (1893) Expressionism Using bright colors to express a particular emotion.

Franz Marc: Animal Destinies (1913) Expressionism

Wassily Kandinsky: On White II (1923) Expressionism

Picasso  Studio with Plaster Head [1925] Cubism

Georges Braque  Still Life LeJeur [1929] Cubism

Dadaism

Salvador Dali: Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War), 1936 Surrealism

Radios and Movies Appealed to mass audiences, unlike highbrow art Could be used for indoctrination/ propaganda

End of Part I

Hansen. Name __________________ AP Euro Hansen Name __________________ AP Euro The Age of Anxiety (Interwar Years Theme #1) What Was It? A break in the centuries-old faith in ________________ that had started in the Renaissance and continued through the _____________________ , Enlightenment, and Industrial Revolution “Perhaps human reason can ____________________ _____________________________________” “Umm… ok… ________________.” Why this loss of faith? Largely because of ____________________________ ‘This is what _____________________ brought us?’ Evident across many fields: philosophy, psychology, literature, physics Pre World War I = _________ for the future Post World War I= ___________ for the future “If modern science brought us the slaughter in the trenches, what will __________________________ ____________________________? Not totally misguided… think about the __________ Philosophy Nietzsche Reason and human intellect ______________ Instead, _________________________ are the keys to human strength Human society glorifies the weak (‘blessed are the meek’), but should i_________________________ ___________________ God is ___________ There is no _____________________ … there is only the meaning that _______________ to the universe Most people are too weak to discover a meaning, but ______________________________________ _________________________________________ Thought _______________ was part of the weakness…gives all,_____________________ ____ ____________________________________ Remember, democracy has been on the rise all throughout the 19th century Very influential in the country of _________ ??? Schools of Philosophical Thought Inspired by Nietzsche and the Age of Anxiety Logical empiricism Philosophy is just a _______________ ____________________________… there is no way to determine anything about the ________________________ philosophy tries to answer Existentialism There is no external meaning. Humans must _____________________________. However, humans must _____. For example, existentialists had to decide how to respond when ____________________ _________________________. To fight him or not? How did most react? _______________________ Why is it obvious that existentialists must be atheists? __________________________ Physics Pre-Einstein Early discoveries of _________________ ________________________________ even _________________ is not stable Einstein’s ______________ All _______________________ are relative to the observer… there is no ____________ space or time The only absolute is…___________________ _____________________ are forms of each other More on this later, no?! After Einstein Heisenberg ______________________________ If you know exactly where a particle ____, you cannot know its ________. If you know its exact ________, you cannot know exactly where it _____.

Expressionists begin to use abstract shape to convey _______________ Freudian Psychology Parts of the Freudian Brain ______________ - Primitive Desires  food, sex, pleasure _________________– rational brain Which of the Id desires can I get away with without getting in trouble __________________- Conscience  Should I try to get away with stuff I want, even if it is wrong? Literature Reflects age of anxiety… author is _____________________ … society is _________________and _________________ are confused… stream of _____________________ Dystopias Religion _________________________________ worked to revitalize religion if reason is flawed, instead of saying there is no meaning, ________________________________ ____________________________________…. Re-emphasize the _________________ aspects of Christianity Art Realism Was Killed by the ______________??? (a technology) ___________________ Replaced Realism Impressionists seek to give the subjective, emotional, _____________ of something (a way to be _________________than the camera) Post-Impressionists (aka ____________________________) Expressionists begin to use abstract shape to convey _______________ sometimes called les fauves (the beasts) by their critics, for the ____________________________ Types of expressionism ____________ (Picasso) _____________ (down with convention and tradition- nihilist) _________________ (linked to Freudian exploration of the dream world and unconscious mind) Radio and Movies Appealed to ____________________, unlike highbrow art Could be used for ______________________________ _____________________________________________