Karl Theodor Jaspers (, ; 23 February 1883 – 26 February 1969) was a German-Swiss
psychiatrist and
philosopher who had a strong influence on modern
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
, psychiatry, and philosophy. After being trained in and practicing psychiatry, Jaspers turned to philosophical inquiry and attempted to discover an innovative
philosophical system
A philosophical theory or philosophical position''Dictionary of Theories'', Jennifer Bothamley is a view that attempts to explain or account for a particular problem in philosophy. The use of the term "theory" is a statement of colloquial English ...
. He was often viewed as a major exponent of
existentialism
Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...
in Germany, though he did not accept the label.
Biography
Jaspers was born in
Oldenburg in 1883 to a mother from a local farming community, and a
jurist father. He showed an early interest in philosophy, but his father's experience with the legal system undoubtedly influenced his decision to study law at the
University of Heidelberg
}
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
. Jaspers first studied law in Heidelberg and later in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
for three semesters. It soon became clear that Jaspers did not particularly enjoy law, and he switched to studying
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
in 1902 with a thesis about criminology. In 1910 he married Gertrud Mayer (1879–1974), the sister of his close friends
Gustav Mayer and Ernst Mayer.
Jaspers earned his
medical doctorate from the
University of Heidelberg
}
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
medical school in 1908 and began work at a
psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociat ...
in
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
under
Franz Nissl
Franz Alexander Nissl (9 September 1860, in Frankenthal – 11 August 1919, in Munich) was a German psychiatrist and medical researcher. He was a noted neuropathologist.
Early life
Nissl was born in Frankenthal to Theodor Nissl and Maria Haas. ...
, successor of
Emil Kraepelin
Emil Wilhelm Georg Magnus Kraepelin (; ; 15 February 1856 – 7 October 1926) was a German psychiatrist.
H. J. Eysenck's ''Encyclopedia of Psychology'' identifies him as the founder of modern scientific psychiatry, psychopharmacology and psych ...
and
Karl Bonhoeffer
Karl Bonhoeffer (; March 31, 1868 – December 4, 1948) was a German neurologist, psychiatrist and physician.
Life
Bonhoeffer was born in Neresheim in the Kingdom of Württemberg to Friedrich von Bonhoeffer (1828–1907), who worked as judg ...
, and Karl Wilmans. Jaspers became dissatisfied with the way the medical community of the time approached the study of
mental illness and gave himself the task of improving the psychiatric approach. In 1913 Jaspers habilitated at the philosophical faculty of the
Heidelberg University and gained there in 1914 a post as a
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...
teacher. The post later became a permanent philosophical one, and Jaspers never returned to clinical practice. During this time Jaspers was a close friend of the Weber family (
Max Weber also having held a professorship at Heidelberg).
In 1921, at the age of 38, Jaspers turned from psychology to
philosophy, expanding on themes he had developed in his psychiatric works. He became a philosopher, in Germany and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
.
After the
Nazi seizure of power in 1933, Jaspers was considered to have a "Jewish taint" (''jüdische Versippung'', in the jargon of the time) due to his Jewish wife, and was forced to retire from teaching in 1937. In 1938 he fell under a publication ban as well. Many of his long-time friends stood by him, however, and he was able to continue his studies and research without being totally isolated. But he and his wife were under constant threat of removal to a
concentration camp
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...
until 30 March 1945, when Heidelberg was occupied by American troops.
In 1948 Jaspers moved to the
University of Basel in
Switzerland.
In 1963 he was awarded the honorary citizenship of the city of Oldenburg in recognition of his outstanding scientific achievements and services to occidental culture. He remained prominent in the philosophical community and became a naturalized citizen of Switzerland living in Basel until his death on his wife's 90th birthday in 1969.
Contributions to psychiatry
Jaspers's dissatisfaction with the popular understanding of mental illness led him to question both the diagnostic criteria and the methods of clinical psychiatry. He published a paper in 1910 in which he addressed the problem of whether
paranoia was an aspect of personality or the result of biological changes. Although it did not broach new ideas, this article introduced a rather unusual method of study, at least according to the norms then prevalent. Not unlike
Freud, Jaspers studied patients in detail, giving biographical information about the patients as well as notes on how the patients themselves felt about their symptoms. This has become known as the ''biographical method'' and now forms a mainstay of psychiatric and above all psychotherapeutic practice.
Jaspers set down his views on mental illness in a book which he published in 1913, ''General Psychopathology''.
This work has become a classic in the psychiatric literature and many modern diagnostic criteria stem from ideas found within it. One of Jaspers's central tenets was that psychiatrists should diagnose symptoms of mental illness (particularly of
psychosis) by their ''form'' rather than by their ''content''. For example, in diagnosing a
hallucination
A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinati ...
, it is more important to note that a person experiences visual phenomena when no sensory stimuli account for them, than to note what the patient sees. What the patient sees is the "content", but the discrepancy between visual perception and objective reality is the "form".
Jaspers thought that psychiatrists could diagnose
delusions in the same way. He argued that clinicians should not consider a belief delusional based on the content of the belief, but only based on the way in which a patient holds such a belief. (See
delusion for further discussion.) Jaspers also distinguished between ''primary'' and ''secondary delusions''. He defined primary delusions as ''autochthonous'', meaning that they arise without apparent cause, appearing incomprehensible in terms of a normal mental process. (This is a slightly different use of the word ''autochthonous'' than the ordinary medical or sociological use as a synonym for indigenous.) Secondary delusions, on the other hand, he defined as those influenced by the person's background, current situation or mental state.
Jaspers considered primary delusions to be ultimately "un-understandable", since he believed no coherent reasoning process existed behind their formation. This view has caused some controversy, and the likes of
R. D. Laing
Ronald David Laing (7 October 1927 – 23 August 1989), usually cited as R. D. Laing, was a Scottish psychiatrist who wrote extensively on mental illnessin particular, the experience of psychosis. Laing's views on the causes and treatment o ...
and
Richard Bentall (1999, p. 133–135) have criticised it, stressing that this stance can lead therapists into the complacency of assuming that because they do not understand a patient, the patient is deluded and further investigation on the part of the therapist will have no effect. For instance Huub Engels (2009) argues that schizophrenic disordered speech may be understandable, just as
Emil Kraepelin
Emil Wilhelm Georg Magnus Kraepelin (; ; 15 February 1856 – 7 October 1926) was a German psychiatrist.
H. J. Eysenck's ''Encyclopedia of Psychology'' identifies him as the founder of modern scientific psychiatry, psychopharmacology and psych ...
's
dream speech
Dream speech (in German ''Traumsprache'') is internal speech in which errors occur during a dream. The term was coined by Emil Kraepelin in his 1906 monograph titled ''Über Sprachstörungen im Traume'' ("On Language Disturbances in Dreams"). Th ...
is understandable.
Contributions to philosophy and theology
Most commentators associate Jaspers with the philosophy of
existentialism
Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...
, in part because he draws largely upon the existentialist roots of
Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his car ...
and
Kierkegaard, and in part because the theme of individual freedom permeates his work. In ''Philosophy'' (3 vols, 1932), Jaspers gave his view of the history of philosophy and introduced his major themes. Beginning with modern science and
empiricism, Jaspers points out that as we question
reality
Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...
, we confront borders that an empirical (or scientific) method simply cannot transcend. At this point, the individual faces a choice: sink into despair and resignation, or take a
leap of faith
A leap of faith, in its most commonly used meaning, is the act of believing in or accepting something outside the boundaries of reason.
Overview
The phrase is commonly attributed to Søren Kierkegaard; however, he never used the term, as he ...
toward what Jaspers calls ''
Transcendence''. In making this leap, individuals confront their own limitless
freedom, which Jaspers calls ''
Existenz'', and can finally experience
authentic existence.
Transcendence (paired with the term ''The Encompassing'' in later works) is, for Jaspers, that which exists beyond the world of
time and space
In physics, spacetime is a mathematical model that combines the three dimensions of space and one dimension of time into a single four-dimensional manifold. Spacetime diagrams can be used to visualize relativistic effects, such as why differen ...
. Jaspers's formulation of Transcendence as ultimate non-objectivity (or no-thing-ness) has led many philosophers to argue that ultimately, Jaspers became a
monist, though Jaspers himself continually stressed the necessity of recognizing the validity of the concepts both of
subjectivity and of
objectivity.
Although he rejected explicit religious doctrines,
including the notion of a personal God, Jaspers influenced contemporary theology through his philosophy of transcendence and the limits of human experience.
Mystic Christian traditions influenced Jaspers himself tremendously, particularly those of
Meister Eckhart and of
Nicholas of Cusa. He also took an active interest in
Eastern philosophies, particularly
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
, and developed the theory of an
Axial Age
Axial Age (also Axis Age, from german: Achsenzeit) is a term coined by German philosopher Karl Jaspers. It refers to broad changes in religious and philosophical thought that occurred in a variety of locations from about the 8th to the 3rd centu ...
, a period of substantial philosophical and religious development. Jaspers also entered public debates with
Rudolf Bultmann
Rudolf Karl Bultmann (; 20 August 1884 – 30 July 1976) was a German Lutheran theologian and professor of the New Testament at the University of Marburg. He was one of the major figures of early-20th-century biblical studies. A prominent criti ...
, wherein Jaspers roundly criticized Bultmann's "
demythologizing" of Christianity.
[See ''Myth and Christianity: An Inquiry into the Possibility of Religion without Myth'' – a debate between Jaspers and Bultmann, The Noonday Press, New York, 1958.]
Jaspers wrote extensively on the threat to human freedom posed by
modern science and modern
economic and
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...
institutions. During World War II, he had to abandon his teaching post because his wife was Jewish. After the war he resumed his teaching position, and in his work ''The Question of German Guilt'' he unabashedly examined the culpability of Germany as a whole in the atrocities of
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's
Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
.
The following quote about the Second World War and its atrocities was used at the end of the sixth episode of the BBC documentary series ''
The Nazis: A Warning from History'': "That which has happened is a warning. To forget it is guilt. It must be continually remembered. It was possible for this to happen, and it remains possible for it to happen again at any minute. Only in knowledge can it be prevented."
Jaspers's major works, lengthy and detailed, can seem daunting in their complexity. His last great attempt at a systematic philosophy of Existenz – ''Von der Wahrheit'' (On Truth) – has not yet appeared in English. However, he also wrote shorter works, most notably ''Philosophy Is for Everyman''. The two major proponents of
phenomenological hermeneutics, namely
Paul Ricœur (a student of Jaspers) and
Hans-Georg Gadamer (Jaspers's successor at Heidelberg), both display Jaspers's influence in their works.
Political views
Jaspers identified with the
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
political philosophy
Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, ...
of
Max Weber, although he rejected Weber's
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
. He valued
humanism
Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and Agency (philosophy), agency of Human, human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical in ...
and
cosmopolitanism and, influenced by
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...
, advocated an international federation of states with shared constitutions, laws, and international courts. He strongly opposed
totalitarian
Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...
despotism and warned about the increasing tendency towards
technocracy
Technocracy is a form of government in which the decision-maker or makers are selected based on their expertise in a given area of responsibility, particularly with regard to scientific or technical knowledge. This system explicitly contrasts wi ...
, or a regime that regards humans as mere instruments of science or of ideological goals. He was also skeptical of
majoritarian democracy. Thus, he supported a form of governance that guaranteed individual freedom and
limited government
In political philosophy, limited government is the concept of a government limited in power. It is a key concept in the history of liberalism.Amy Gutmann, "How Limited Is Liberal Government" in Liberalism Without Illusions: Essays on Liberal Th ...
, and shared Weber's belief that democracy needed to be guided by an
intellectual elite.
[.] His views were seen as anti-communist.
Influences
Jaspers held Kierkegaard and
Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his car ...
to be two of the most important figures in
post-Kantian philosophy. In his compilation, ''The Great Philosophers'' (''Die großen Philosophen''), he wrote: "I approach the presentation of Kierkegaard with some trepidation. Next to Nietzsche, or rather, prior to Nietzsche, I consider him to be the most important thinker of our post-Kantian age. With
Goethe and
Hegel, an epoch had reached its conclusion, and our prevalent way of thinking – that is, the
positivistic, natural-scientific one – cannot really be considered as philosophy." Jaspers also questions whether the two philosophers could be taught. For Kierkegaard, at least, Jaspers felt that Kierkegaard's whole method of
indirect communication precludes any attempts to properly expound his thought into any sort of systematic teaching.
Though Jaspers was certainly indebted to Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, he also owes much to more traditional philosophers, especially Kant and
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
.
Walter Kaufmann argues in ''From Shakespeare to Existentialism'' that, though Jaspers was certainly indebted to Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, he was closest to Kant's philosophy:
Jaspers is too often seen as the heir of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard to whom he is in many ways less close than to Kant ... the Kantian antinomies and Kant's concern with the realm of decision, freedom, and faith have become exemplary for Jaspers. And even as Kant "had to do away with knowledge to make room for faith," Jaspers values Nietzsche in large measure because he thinks that Nietzsche did away with knowledge, thus making room for Jaspers' "philosophic faith".
In his essay "On My Philosophy", Jaspers states: "While I was still at school
Spinoza
Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, ...
was the first. Kant then became the philosopher for me and has remained so ... Nietzsche gained importance for me only late as the magnificent revelation of nihilism and the task of overcoming it." Jaspers is also indebted to his contemporaries, such as
Heinrich Blücher, from whom he borrowed the term, "the anti-political principle" to describe totalitarianism's destruction of a space of resistance.
[Hans Mommsen, "Interpretation of the Holocaust as a Challenge to Human Existence", in Arendt in Jerusalem, ed. Ascheim, p. 227.]
Selected bibliography
;Original German
* ''Psychologie der Weltanschauungen''
* ''Nikolaus Cusanus''
;Translations
See also
*
Definitions of philosophy
Definitions of philosophy aim at determining what all forms of philosophy have in common and how to distinguish philosophy from other disciplines. Many different definitions have been proposed but there is very little agreement on which is the rig ...
References
Further reading
* Claudio Fiorillo, ''Fragilità della verità e comunicazione. La via ermeneutica di Karl Jaspers'', Rome, Ed. Aracne, 2003.
*
Azurmendi, Joxe: "Bakearen inguruko diskurtsoaren jasangaitza" about ''Die Schuldfrage'' (Jaspers, 1946) in ''Barkamena, kondena, tortura'', Donostia, Elkar: 2012
* Engels, Huub (2009). Emil Kraepelins Traumsprache: erklären und verstehen. In Dietrich von Engelhardt und Horst-Jürgen Gerigk (ed.). Karl Jaspers im Schnittpunkt von Zeitgeschichte, Psychopathologie, Literatur und Film. p. 331-43. Heidelberg: Mattes Verlag.
* Miron, Ronny, ''Karl Jaspers: From Selfhood to Being.'' Amsterdam/New York, NY, Rodopi: 2012
* Wallraff, Charles F., ''Karl Jaspers - An Introduction to His Philosophy.'', Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press: 1970.
*
Xavier Tilliette
Xavier Tilliette (23 July 1921, Corbie, Somme (department), Somme – 10 December 2018, Paris) was a French philosopher, History of philosophy, historian of philosophy, and theologian. A former student of Jean Wahl and of Vladimir Jankélévitch, ...
, ''Karl Jaspers'', Aubier, coll. « Théologie », 1960
External links
*
Existential Primer: Karl Jaspersed. by Claudio Fiorillo i
''Dialegesthai''* Current scholarly research on Jaspers (in English) is organized by the
Karl Jaspers Society of North America' and published in
Existenz'.
* Translation into English of Jaspers's 1958 peace prize acceptance speech
Truth, Freedom, and Peace'.
''The Philosophy Of Karl Jaspers''edited by
Paul Arthur Schilpp 1957
*
Karl Jaspers: Philosopher of Othernessat the
New Acropolisbr>
Online Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaspers, Karl
1883 births
1969 deaths
20th-century German non-fiction writers
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