The book "World History of Philosophy" (translated from German Bozidar Zec) is a significant philosophical and literary work of the German philosopher and psychiatrist Karl Jaspers, who is reputed to be one of the founders of existentialism, so this book contains many of his thoughts, which otherwise characterize existentialists. In fact, he was a representative of Christian existentialism, so his studies had a great influence on theology, psychiatry and philosophy.
In this book, his various interpretations about man as a being, about his guilt, responsibility, life, death... Therefore, at the center of Karl Jaspers' study, man exists. Certainly, there are those critics who say of Jaspers that his study of the philosophy of existentialism is largely based on existentialist roots. Nietzsche i Kierkegaard, although they do not dispute that the theme of individual freedom, sometimes more, sometimes less, permeates a significant part of his work.
Beginning with modern science and empiricism, Jaspers points out that as long as we examine reality, we confront limits that no empirical or scientific method can overcome. Jaspers noticed the fact that man does not relate to the world primarily with the aim of knowing it in its entirety, perhaps because he realized how impossible it is for man, as an insufficiently perfect being, but above all to practically orientate himself in it.
In the book "The World History of Philosophy" Jasper largely deals with history viewed from the perspective of the existential direction of philosophy. In this sense, he says that everything that happens in the world changes, that everything is a continuous wave and flow, and that's why everything has its beginning and end. That there is no state of infinite duration. That virtually everything has its own history. Despite such an interpretation, Jaspers is very careful when he talks about man, so he says that the history of man is something completely different, something that is new compared to all natural events.
By natural events, Jaspers meant unconscious happenings, unintentional, which is why he says that human observation of these events is available from the outside only in their appearance. According to his interpretation, history is accessible to man from the inside only up to a certain limit, so we can understand it in various ways, we can appropriate it as our own possibility. Jaspers says that in the existence of nature everything is individualized. That in history the individual becomes unrepeatable, unique, irreplaceable. History has its own direction, there is no repetition of the same. No living being knows about his death, only man knows that he must die.
In this book it is also said that history is the happening of something that is truly transitory and in which the being of eternity is manifested. The meaning of history can only be in the whole of its events, but also in each special and individual one.
The history of philosophy indicates that history is: the transient appearance of the eternal. That is why the author believes that philosophy is the obviousness of eternal presence and that in every philosophy the connection between the opposite, the transitory and the existent is shown.
The history of real forces is not the same as the history of thought, literature, art and philosophy. They differ the most in their real content. The real content of real history is various events, political events, changes in society, while the real content of the history of art and philosophy concerns man's thoughts, his feelings, knowledge, self-awareness, beliefs and his impact on being. There are also words here about, admittedly sporadic, attempts to make sense of such interpretations. Namely, it was said that the spiritual is the history of ghosts. That it is an unreal way of being, a series of illusions and dreams. Nevertheless, a large number of scholars of this matter agree that history is one whole. Divisions are made for easier consideration, i.e. a more complete understanding of the matter.
According to Jaspers, the history of philosophy is the manifestation of being, that is, the realization of man in his existence. Manifesting your own essence. It illuminates man through the inner workings of thought. The history of philosophy tells about the emergence of man in his world. Also, according to this author, man is the reality of his own relationship to God, and that his history is a series of appearances of that relationship.
The basic question of philosophy, which is also the foundation of existence, is the question - what is being. Jaspers, and not only him, believes that being can be known neither as an object outside our consciousness nor as an object of inner experience - neither as an object nor as a subject, but as something that includes both. Jaspers calls it transcendence, in fact - that which is on the other side of the boundary of experience, that which is factually unknowable. The concept of transcendence can only be explained through codes and symbols, which exceeds the cognitive power of scientific concepts. Existence also represents the appearance of the eternal in time, the infinite in the finite, so it itself is a code of transcendence.
Individual existence, i.e. a concrete person always lives in a certain situation that implies the existence of other people. That is why Jaspers believes that mutual communication, as a struggle for mutual love and solidarity in society, is the source of individuality and humane life.
When it comes to the world, Jaspers distinguishes three types of worldviews:
The first type refers to the physical world as a set of all sensory stimuli in nature, which is the subject of natural sciences.
The second type refers to the self-observation of man as a subject and includes spiritual and cultural activity, which is the subject of spiritual sciences.
The third type of world view observes the split between man and the world and tends to include them in one. Jaspers calls such a view of the world metaphysics, that is, philosophy.
Jaspers does not reject science but only points to its limits in terms of understanding existence. According to Jaspers, the essence of existence is expressed by the experiences of uncertainty and finality, which man meets in borderline situations, such as death, guilt, struggle or suffering. In such situations, a person has to make up his own mind and choose one of the conflicting possibilities.
Throughout history, man has developed different ways of overcoming existential insecurity. For example, he subdues nature, but cannot master it because he cannot know it fully.
Karl Jaspers was born in Oldenburg in 1883. He showed an early interest in philosophy, however, according to his father's wishes, he enrolled in law after graduation. At that time, doctors discovered that he had an incurable lung and heart disease, due to which Jaspers would have to stay away from any physical exertion for the rest of his life. He soon realizes that he is not that interested in law after all, and in 1902 he begins his medical studies. He graduated from medicine in 1909 and began working in a psychiatric hospital in Heidelberg. From 1916 he worked as an associate professor at the Department of Psychology in Heidelberg, and from 1921 as a full professor at the Department of Philosophy. During the National Socialist rule, Jaspers was forced to leave his teaching post because his wife was Jewish. Since 1943, he was forbidden to publish his works. In the post-war era, he significantly contributed to the reconstruction of the University of Heidelberg. In 1948, he accepted an invitation to the Chair of Philosophy in Basel, and in 1958 he received the Peace Prize. He died in Basel on February 26, 1969.
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