So ...what is the Zeitgeist ?...by definition it is the current way of thinking, or rather an aspect, a particularly driving aspect of thinking that manages to be assimilated into the everyday thought and behaviour of the people. Driven by Politics, the National Media, by RevolutionaryThought ?.... it then seeps into the common (pardon the word) consciousness and the way of thinking. The Local Media perpetuate the new way and it spreads to the pubs and cafes according to what has been said about such and such a thing ....or how such and such a person has behaved.......did you see that in the paper the other day ??? and ohhhh how wrong is that? Or how good is that ? How often do we hear positive media statements, unless it conforms to the current Zeitgeist ? However certain fashionable ways of social thinking are liable to disappear, or rather likely to to so. Times change. The superpowers and other subtler forces, by economic, cultural or military influence, change the everyday consciousness of the populace. Opinions change, often with repression or fear acting as the tool. For instance, we now know, and have known for a considerable time actually, that Germans do not eat babies. This was something put about in the war propaganda,and was it believed by an uneducated, impressionable class. So I began to think that just like every dog, every Zeitgeist has its day. I also began to think how these invasive trends of influence have affected our lives. Also on how many levels does or do the Zeitgeist (s) influence, and for how long ? And when does a Zeitgeist stop being a Zeitgeist ? The most influential body of thought must surely be religion. It has been entrenched in the human mind since time immemorial. Oddly enough with no proof it seems, that there is an omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent god or gods that actually exist.
I would say the Zeitgeist's lifespan to be variable. That religion is not a Zeitgeist but that the Zeitgeist of Victorian principles was. That lasted for over a hundred years in the UK, until the people from those times had little influence on people's lives, mainly caused by them dying. I am also thinking that there are flippant Zeitgeists...triviality !! Those that the popular tabloids plaster all over their pages until the next trend is pushed from the press. These may last a few months or longer. So without going on forever here, I have concluded that a Zeitgeist is a temporary influence on social thought which lasts a relatively short time. It can move from generation to generation. If it does not last long after that, such as with Victorian standards, then it is a Zeitgeist, or has been one. If the thinking becomes permanent then it loses its identity. What do you think?
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