Karl Jaspers's Philosophy Expositions and Interpretations

Karl Jaspers (1883-1969) was one of the greatest European philosophers and humanists of the 20th century. His philosophical ideas and ethical impulses are also highly relevant for reflection upon in the 21st century. Starting his career as a physician and psychiatrist, he came to philosophy late but made major contributions to many speciality areas. A colleague of martin Heidegger, he had a falling out with the controversial philosopher over his initial support of the Nazi regime. Not only did the Nazis force Jaspers to leave his teaching position at the University of Heidelberg because of his Jewish wife, but they even threatened both their lives. For this reason among others, jaspers left Germany after the war and resumed his academic career at the University of Basel in Switzerland. Surveying the wide-ranging interests of Jaspers' thought, the contributors discuss his work in epistemology, the philosophies of science, history, culture, religion and metaphysics together with Asian thought, politics, ethics and education. The expository and interpretative essays in this volume, each uniquely commissioned, encompass the extraordinary richness of Jaspers' original philosophical thinking.