The Theme of Existence in the Philosophy of Karl Jaspers.

Onyenuru Okechukwu. P. (OP).

Domincan Institute, Samanda, Ibadan, Nigeria.
June, 2014. [email protected]
Introduction
Out of the numerous species of life in the universe, humans are the only species that ask
pertinent questions bothering on the meaning, value and goal of life. Why do we live? What do
we live for? What is the ultimate sense in continuing to exist on earth? Even when philosophy
analyses statements, questions knowledge and seeks ontology of being, it makes no sense if it
does not add value to life by providing answers to these and other existential questions. Thus
over the centuries, philosophers from Socrates to contemporary thinkers have tried to give voice
to this cry of uncertainty, paradox, and inescapable incongruity enveloping human existence.
In the nineteenth century, a philosophical school emerged, like others before it, to settle mans
anxiety about life. Existentialism, as it is called, is a philosophical movement that recognises the
ineptitudes of life and attempts to solve it by encouraging a deep reflection upon human
existence in order to create an authentic individual in a hollow and absurd life. In this work, we
shall focus on the theme of existence in the works of one of the foremost, yet unfamiliar
existentialists- Karl Jasper. We shall begin with a brief survey of his life history and a general
overview of the existentialist themes. Next we shall look at his analysis of what existence is, and
the relevance of philosophy to it. Finally we shall end with a succinct conclusion.
Karl Jasper, the Existentialist.
Karl Jaspers (1883-1969) was born in the East Frisian city of Oldenburg. He started out as a
psychiatrist in Heiderberg, Germany, after which he switched to writing philosophy. Although
both epochs cannot be finely severed, yet his intellectual career can be periodised into the
medical-psychological period (19101919) and the philosophical period (19321947) during
which his main philosophical works were written.1 Like most existentialist who got inspred by
their socio-cultural milieu, three events are key to Jaspers formation as an existentialist. First,
1

Ronny Miron, Karl Jaspers, From Selfhood to Being. (New York: Amsterdam Press, 2012), p. 4

early in his childhood, Japer was diagnosed with a lung disease-bronchiectasis- a chronic illness
that would impede his physical ability to function throughout his life.2 Due to the primitive
nature of medicine, there was an anxiety, in him and others, that he would live a life of pain and
suffering, and eventually die at an early stage. According to Salamun,
The permanent confrontation with the imminence of his own death because of his disease
had a great influence upon one of the main thesis of Jaspers' existential philosophy,
namely, that the experience of boundary situations like death, suffering, struggling, or
guilt, is an unavoidable condition of human existence. Experiencing and overcoming
those situations in the right way provides a basic opportunity to realize the meaning of
life.3
Second, is the deep personal relationship he had with his Jewish wife, Getrude. Before this
union, both of their parents disagreed because of the conservative nature of both races. Jasper
and his wife used to philosophise. The extent of their intimacy was most clearly expressed during
the Nazi years. During most of that time, she was exempt from being arrested due to her
marriage to Jasper, a German. Jaspers, on the other hand, was demoted in the university and
eventually dismissed in 1937 due to the same fact. From 1937 to 1945 Jaspers' career was over.
In their bathroom cabinet, they had a bottle of poison, and they had agreed to commit suicide
together if she was ever arrested.4
Third, the Holocaust perpetrated by the Nazi regime over the Jewish race and the agonizing
effect of this experience made a lasting impression on him. The first event entrenched the
existential themes of absurdity, death, meaningless of life and a need for the struggle for
authenticity and individuality. The second event shaped his conception of interpersonal
existential communication that became a second aspect for the meaning of life in Jaspers'
existentialism. The Nazi take-over which also saw Heidegger becoming a pro-Nazi almost
pushed him to despair and constituted a crucial motivation for developing a third conception of
the meaning of life, namely, that every human being is to be governed by reason.
2

Peach Filiz, Death, Deathlessness and Existenz in Karl Jaspers Philosophy. (Edinburg: Edinburg University
Press, 2008), p. 30
3
Salamun Kurt. Karl Jaspers Conception of the Meaning of Life. International Journal in Philosophy, Religion,
Politics and Arts. Vol. 1, No. 1-2, (Fall, 2006), p. 2
4
Cf. Peter, Koestenbaum, Karl Jaspers. The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Vol 4, 2nd Ed. 2006, p. 800

Jaspers was also influenced especially by Immanuel Kant, Soren Kierkegaard and Friedrich
Nietzsche, whom he admired because they were, to him, prophets who articulated the structure
of their existence. Irrespective of them not being academic philosophers, their thinking welled up
directly from their personal existence, and they illustrated the axiom that philosophic thinking
begins in the attempt to communicate to another the nature of ones Existenz.5
Existentialism as a philosophical school has a slippery hold. It is a highly diffuse theoretical
movement in which it is almost impossible for any two philosophers connected with this
movement should hold similar views in all respects. However, existentialism has certain unifying
features. In the early stages of its evolution, existentialism might be described as a theoretical
stance which reacted to the abstract rationalism of Hegels philosophy, insisting on the
irreducibility of the subjective, personal dimension of human life. It was also a movement away
from Kantian formalism and emphasis on the belief that the content of thought must reside in
particular experiences and decisions, on the individual.
Existentialism as a philosophy is a passionate and deeply engaged activity, in which the integrity
and the authenticity of the human being are decisively implicated; a seeking to overcome the
antinomies (reason/experience; theory/praxis; transcendence/immanence; pure reason/practical
reason) which determine the classical metaphysical tradition by incorporating all aspects
(cognitive, practical and sensory) of human life in an encompassing account of rational and
experiential existence.6
Karl Jaspers Concept of Existence.
Existence in one sense refers to the sum total of reality, and in another sense, the elusive
characteristic of being which differentiates real things from fictional ones.7 For Jasper, Existence
as it pertains to Being is called Encompassing. It is the form of our awareness of being which
underlies all our scientific and common-sense knowledge and which is given expression in the
myths and rituals of religion.8 This awareness is not that of an object, but reflection on the
subjective situation of being. Thus existence is about reflection upon the horizon of life,
5

Ibid., 799
Steven Crowell, Existentialism. Stanford Encycopedia of Philosophy.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/existentialism/ (Friday, June 6, 2014)
7
Thomas Baldwin, Existentialism. The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Ed. by Ted Hendrick, 1995, p. 257.
8
Jaspers Karl, Philosophy of Existence. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvanian Press, 1971), p. xv
6

accepting the limitless possibilities in reality and also accepting that even though we can enlarge
the extent of our knowledge, we can never escape the fact that it is fragmentary and has a limit.
He says:
By reflecting upon that course (the limitless horizon of reality) we ask about being itself,
which always seems to recede from us, in the very manifestation of all the appearances
we encounter. This being we call the encompassing. But the encompassing is not the
horizon of our knowledge at any particular moment. Rather, it is the source from which
all new horizons emerge, without itself ever being visible even as a horizon.9
Encompassing as awareness involving a subject-object encounter, Jasper posits, is in modes.
Every act of awareness is therefore analyzable according to a model in which a subject is related
to an object. The modes of encompassing are immanent and transcendent modes.
Immanent Mode:
Jaspers' anthropological framework consists of a dual conception of man, and bears in some
basic aspects striking resemblances to Immanuel Kant's philosophical anthropology and to Soren
Kierkegaard's conception of the human being. Human beings are made up of an empirical and
non-empirical phenomena. While the empirical dimension of man can be researched by the
sciences (e.g., biology, psychology, sociology), the non-empirical dimension cannot be described
and explained in objectifying scientific terms. The immanent mode consists in the SubjectObject encounter in the empirical realm, by which it attains self realization. The three modes of
immant mode of encompassing are
1. Dasein or Existence: Dasein10 is a mode of Being which manifests itself as ones
empirical self in the world with a temporal dimension. In other words, Dasein is mans
everyday concrete mode of being among other entities. Dasein is embedded in the world

Ibid., p. 18
Jaspers' use of Dasein must also be distinguished from Heidegger's. For Heidegger, Dasein as an empirical entity
is firmly grounded in the world, and there is no transcendent experience for Dasein. For Jaspers, Dasein is also
grounded in the world as ones empirical self. However, this empirical self can transcend the empirical realm as
Existenz. For Jaspers, the distinction between Dasein and Existenz is crucial, whereas for Heidegger there is no
differentiation in this regard.

10

of experience, involved in practical aspects of everyday life, and always in a situation.

According to Peach, Jasper believes that:
Man is the only entity in the world to whom Being is manifested through his
empirical existence. Man as Dasein is confronted with the world and as such
he has needs and wants and makes decisions accordingly. Empirical existence
is involved in worldly activities and constitutes mans mundane being...
Empirical existence, or Dasein, represents ones self as a concrete, physical
and sociological being... Dasein cannot be understood as an object in
isolation, but rather as a being among other beings in the world.
At this level, man is seen in his/her most tangible manifestation of time and space, having
needs and instincts, and also trying to gratify them. Whatever man comes in contact with
are objects of his/her practical concern and they constitute the world of ordinary
experience.
2. Consciousness-In-General: This second mode of immanent mode of enconpassing
entail a form of consciousness in which universal truths and objective knowledge, such as
logic, mathematics and scientific knowledge, can be cognised and, in principle, shared
by everyone who has the intellectual capacity to reflect.11 This level also called the mode
of abstract rational and conceptual understanding is methodologically bent towards
generation and application of concepts and methods in general which are public and
verifiable. The knowledge acquired here is universal and objective. In consciousness-ingeneral an interchangeable point of mere thought speaks. It is thought-in-general, not
that of a particular individual or the selfhood of Existenz,12 accounting for its
universality.
In as much as truth is sought in this level of existence, Jasper is quick to warn that
although "consciousness in general," this realm of the sciences, is also the
realm where matters become clear for us because they can be stated, yet its
compelling correctness is by no means ever in itself alone the absolute truth.
Rather, truth emerges from all modes of the encompassing... Truth that is
11
12

Peach Filiz, op.cit., p. 34

Jaspers Karl, op.cit., p. 39

vitally important to us begins precisely where the cogency of "consciousness in

general" ends.13
At this level, we have the capacity to engage in intellectual search for truth by
formulation of concepts and application of principles which are objective knowledge, yet
truth is not grasped at this level.
3. Spirit: This immanent mode of Being is the totality of intelligible thought, action and
feeling. It is a mode formed out of a kind of synthesis of existence and abstract
consciousness in general, that is why mans existence in this mode is both concrete and
historical on one hand; and on the other hand, like consciousness in general, it is
universal. It is a drive towards a unity or wholeness of emotions, perceptions, impulses,
concepts, methods, views obtained from the lived experience of the Dasein and
Consciousness in general to form Ideas. These unified ideas include ideas of religion,
politics, culture, tradition and organization. Truth at the level of spirit is conviction. It
proves itself in actuality through existence and thought, to the extent to which it submits
to the wholeness of ideas, thereby confirming their truth.14
Peach sums up the unity of all three modes of immanent existence or dimensions of human
realisation in a mode succinct way. He says,
According to Jaspers, then, Dasein, consciousness-as-such and Spirit are the
modes of Being in which we see ourselves as rooted in the world, and we
participate in the worldly events as possible Existenz without any
transcendent experience. At the same time, all three modes of Being are
inseparably connected with Existenz, ones inner self.15
Transcendent Mode
Although we are immersed in the world of experience in which we have to apply the three modes
of immanent existence in order to know and survive, however, the world is not all there is to
reality, and so these immanent modes do not exhaust our encounter with reality. Man has the
13

Ibid., p. 36
Ibid., p. 39
15
Peach Filiz op.cit., p. 35
14

ability to transcend the world of empirical experience by means of philosophical thinking. But in
order to transcend, we must first have a full grasp of the immanent. There are two modes in this
encompassing.
1. Transcendent mode of Existenz: The concept of Existenz stands for the non-empirical
and non-objective actuality of selfbeing and true self-hood. It is the authentic ground of
human being, exemplified by the intimate dimension of personal autonomy, existential
freedom, authenticity and undetermined moral decisions.16 It is the absolutely unique
inner core of the individual that creates the authenticity of the person. Existenz lacks a
definite definition partly due to limitation of language and partly to the absence of an
object to refer to, since it is a possibility in all men. Existenz may also be described as the
ultimate source or origin of all concrete being. It is in this sense the principle of freedom,
creativity and pure spontaneity. It is the quality of life, a universal structure. Existenz is
the self-being that relates to itself and thereby also to transcendence from which it knows
that it has been given to itself and upon which it is grounded.17
Existenz appears to itself as consciousness-in-general, existence and spirit; and it can
contrast itself with their modes. But it can never take a position outside itself, cannot
know itself and at the same time be identical with what' it knows. Thus, all knowledge
and action must occur in the world in one or more of the three immanent modes. Thus,
Existenz seems to be a principle of spontaneity or creativity within them. It is not to be
mistaken for an object for it is not. Its origin issues from thinking and acting. It is man as
Existenz who continually breaks out of established patterns to create new historical
organizations at the level of existence, new knowledge and understanding at the level of
consciousness in general and new ideas in the realm of the spirit, as in morals, art, and
religion.18 Self-realisation as Existenz is equivalent to realising the meaning of one's own
life.
2. Transcendence: transcendence is an objective mirror of the Existenz; the being that is
partly reflected by the immanent reality. Transcendence is Being in itself, that makes

16

Salamun Kurt, op.cit., p. 4

Jaspers Karl, op.cit., p. 21
18
Ibid., p. xx
17

Existenz aware of its (transcendence) self subsistence, and its (Existenz) dependence of it.
If there were no transcendence, if the world were all there were to being, Existenz
would not be possible. Man would be a mundane being, describable in the concepts of the
various immanent modes of the encompassing.19 The consciousness of Existenz of
transcendence brings awareness that within any level of the world, one never fully
articulates all possibilities, and beyond objective determination is a background or
horizon of being itself to which Existenz is related. Thus, existential self realization is not
a product of the rational or managerial ability of Existenz, but a gift from the
unattainable and [incomprehensible] One that works through reason20
In order to fully live out ones existence, that is, to actualize ones Existenz through the
harmonisation of the different modes of existence, Jasper presents two intertwined possibilities.
Reacting to Boundary Situations
As humans move along in life, there comes a time when each person is faced with certain tough
moments, situation whose solution elude the power of rational knowledge. Jasper calls these
situation Grenzsituationen or boundary situations. We cannot escape them nor explain them
away, else we would be deceiving ourselves. Neither can they be managed else we would break
down or run into despair. Resolving it requires a radical change of attitude. The proper way to
handle boundary situations "is not by planning and calculating to overcome them but by the very
different activity of becoming the Existenz we potentially are; we become ourselves by entering
with open eyes into the boundary situations. We can know them only externally, and their reality
can only be felt by Existenz. To experience boundary situations is the same as Existenz.21
There are four major boundaries of situation in life, suffering, struggle, guilt, and death. We are
inevitably faced with our death, or the death of a child or loved one, anguish, excruciating and
persistent pain, power or social struggle, sadness or guilt. On the other hand, we long for their
opposites-peace, happiness, joy, riches, recognition. Faced with these antinomies of life, man has
two options before him considering also, that every choice comes with consequences: either to

19

Ibid., p. xxi
Ibid., p. 57
21
Salamun Kurt, op.cit., p. 4
20

resigns to fate, nihilistic despair or hopelessness; or make meaning out of life by facing the
challenge squarely.
In order to make meaning out of life, we have to embark on a journey of soul searching by
deep philosophical reflection and a radical change of attitude. For Jaspers, philosophy is a
process of thinking, an as inner action in which the thinker comes to an authentic awareness of
himself and reality by pressing beyond or transcending everything objective.22 In the unique
and historical experience of boundary situations, it is up to each individual to realise the proper
moral attitudes or virtues to adopt, thereby ensuring individual authenticity; philosophy is
concerned directly with a fundamental new interpretation of life. When succeeding in the
realisation of proper attitudes and virtues, one has a good chance to realise the meaning of life.23
Interpersonal Communication
There is a common maxim the no man is an island. This means that every man lives life to the
fullest by coexisting with the other. For there to be coexistence, there must be communication.
Jasper identifies four types of communications which is found in every human society. The first
is communication is for existence, which is instinctual. This is in obedience to the law of self
preservation. It is communication to satisfy sexual desires, power thirst etc. Communication at
this level is either conflict prone or an expression of an identity of interests. It is not unlimited
communication, but breaks off to suit its own purposes and uses cunning against the enemy and
against the possible enemy in the friends.24 The second is in consciousness in general. It
proceeds by rational argument and targets universal and formal truth, such as intellectual
discussion of experts in order to solve problems. At the level of the spirit or Geist,
communication moves closer to the other person rather than being centred on tangibles and
ideas. Here the totality of the speaker and listener is put on display; there is a search for
Existenz.25 The fourth and most important is existential communication. This communication is
a philosophical enquiry into ones experiential existence, into ones own life as presented by
history or experience. It involves an intimate interpersonal relationship between two human
being, like father and son. Jasper says:
22

Jaspers Karl, op.cit., p. xii

Salamun Kurt, op.cit., p. 5
24
Jaspers Karl, op.cit., p. 39
25
Cf. Ibid., p. 39-40
23

Existenz, the man who is himself present speaks. He speaks to another Existenz as one
irreplaceable individual to another. Their communication takes place in a loving
strugglenot for power but for openness in which all weapons are surrendered but all
modes of the encompassing appear.26...In Existenz there is faith and despair. Opposed to
both stands the desire for the peace of eternity, where despair is impossible and faith
becomes the vision, that is to say, the perfect presence of perfect reality27
In order to optimize our existential options, we have to make a deliberated effort to change our
attitude to life by cultivating certain key virtues which are- willingness to be solitude; Openmindedness; sincere intention to accept a communication partner in his or her autonomy and
individual possibility for self-realisation; intellectual integrity and truthfulness; Existential
equality grounded on the conviction that irrespective the others ethnic, social, racial or gender
differences, substantial communication can be achieved. It is a call to giving to each person
his/her dues because we all partake the same historical Existenz.
To crown all of this, self-realisation has to do with the application of reason to the historical
facticity of life. Reason is the bond that unites all the modes of encompassing to bring about
wholeness of the individual. Reason seeks unity, but not just any unity simply for the sake of
unity. It seeks the One that contains all truth. It is as if reason brings the One from an
unattainable distance and makes it present as an attracting force overcoming all divisions.28
Conclusion.
Karl Jaspers existential philosophy is about identifying our modes of immanent and
transcendental beingness. No matter how much we relate with the universe, if we do not aim at
transcending concrete reality towards to origin of the encompassing (God), there cannot be full
actualization of our existence. We can never attain Existenz. While we need philosophy, religion
and science in other to reach this level of self awareness and self realization, reason plays a
major role in unifying these modes, by this we make radical attitudinal choices that will facilitate
our living a fulfilled life in the face of despair.

26

Ibid., p. 40
Ibid., p. 41
28
Ibid., p. 55
27

10

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