Karl Jaspers
Karl Theodor Jaspers (* 23 February 1883 in Oldenburg; † 26 February 1969 in Basel) was a German psychiatrist and philosopher who became known far beyond Germany. He taught in Basel, among other places, and became a Swiss citizen in 1967.
Jaspers is considered an outstanding representative of existential philosophy, which he strictly distinguished from Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialism. He was first a teacher and then a lifelong friend of Hannah Arendt, with whom he also had a decades-long correspondence. He also exchanged letters with Martin Heidegger, which - interrupted during the National Socialist era - was sparse after World War II. He had a long-standing friendship with Max Weber, Hans Gruhle and Kurt Schneider. He also maintained close contacts with Alfred Weber, Eberhard Gothein and Gustav Radbruch. He belonged to the Marianne Weber Circle. After 1945, he was instrumental in the re-founding of Heidelberg University and thus entered into a lifelong relationship with its first rector after the reopening, Karl Heinrich Bauer.
Originally a medical doctor, Jaspers made a fundamental contribution to the scientific development of psychiatry. His philosophical work is particularly influential in the fields of philosophy of religion, philosophy of history and intercultural philosophy. With his introductory writings on philosophy, but also with his writings on political issues such as the atomic bomb, the development of democracy in Germany or reunification, he achieved high circulations and thus became known to a wider audience.
Jaspers and Anthroposophy
Jaspers had become acquainted with anthroposophy, and had respect for the ethical aspirations of followers of Rudolf Steiner, although for him the way of thinking of anthroposophists was an impossibility, in the sense that philosophy seemed possible to him. One of Jaspers' students was Herbert Witzenmann.
There are many pearls in Jaspers' work, such as the admonition not to carelessly mix the mystical with the rational (rationality in the sense that a businessman runs his company rationally). This is self-evident in the economic sphere, but less so in other more cultural spheres of life, world views, etc., which creates a lot of confusion.
See also
- Karl Jaspers - Article in the English Wikipedia
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