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and theoretical life from his body. And so it happened that
right into the eighth and ninth decade of his life he was the
most talked about political philosopher in West Germany
and, through Hannah Arendt, his fame also stretched to the
USA. At that stage Jaspers rarely left his apartment in Basel
any more, but his thoughts travelled the world for him.
EINBLICKE: His physical illness had a philosophical advan-
tage?
BORMUTH: Exactly. His professional exclusion from psychiat-
ry began when Jaspers‘ illness left him very few opportuni-
ties to take part in everyday clinic life, but gave him plenty
of time for thinking, reading and talking to his patients. His
illness forced him to take on the role of the engaged ob-
server, whose insights have
benefited psychiatry ever
since. When it came to phi-
losophy, his physical borderline situation also obliged him
to live a sheltered life of thought. Jaspers described himself
as an “outsider” who enjoyed the “fool‘s licence” in the phi-
losophical establishment. Until, that is, it became clear that
he had brought existential questions from psychiatry to the
philosophical field, prompting new ideas about man and his
potential freedom.
EINBLICKE: And what did you find so fascinating about this?
BORMUTH: That in the name of potential freedom Jaspers
opposed all objective reductionism and educational dogma.
Jaspers believed that the philosopher should be a recalcit-
rant contemporary who, in the spirit of Socrates, shows us
the limits of knowledge. It‘s no coincidence that the young
Jaspers attracted attention at secondary school for refusing
to join a pupil association. He preferred to stand as an indi-
vidual, at a distance from collective opinion makers. He can
still inspire us today to pause for a moment and think about
what we are really doing, what the point of our action is, and
where we want it to take us.
Karl Jaspers
The psychologist and philosopher Karl Jaspers (1883-1969)
was born in Oldenburg and worked at the Universities
of Heidelberg and Basel. His writings on psychiatry went
on to become classics. After 1920 he founded German
existential philosophy together with Martin Heidegger.
He and his student Hannah Ahrendt made a profound
impact on political philosophy after the end of the Second
World War.
2008 was designated the “Year of Jaspers” and marked
the beginning of intense research into the philosopher
and his work. As a result, the Heisenberg Professorship
for Comparative Intellectual History was established. This
initiative has now found its academic home at the Karl-
Jaspers-Haus in Oldenburg.
The philosopher‘s library, comprising more than 12,000
volumes from a broad spectrum of disciplines, forms
the centrepiece of the Karl-Jaspers-Haus. The building
also houses workrooms for research on Jaspers and the
Jaspers-Edition, as well as two apartments for use by
visiting scholars. A lecture room provides the newly
founded Karl-Jaspers-Gesellschaft with the possibility to
promote dialogue among scholars, and also to convey
the discourse to the general public through various
events.
A sheltered life of thought
Jaspers-Experte Matthias Bormuth: „Welchen
Sinn hat unser Handeln?“
Jaspers expert Matthias Bormuth: “What is the
point of our action?”