Jaspers, Karl

Socrates, Buddha, Confucius, Jesus: From The Great Philosophers, Volume I

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There's scholarship and there's scholarship
Interesting idea, but is it trustworthy scholarship?
Made a big impression on me!
Well Written
pleasure at leisure

Socrates, Buddha, Confucius, Jesus: From The Great Philosophers, Volume I
Karl Jaspers
Manufacturer: Harvest/HBJ Book
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0156835800

Amazon.com

Arguably the four most influential individuals in human history, Socrates, the Buddha, Confucius and Jesus have cast shadows on history that are nearly inescapable even today. Who were they, what were their doctrines, and what was their influence? These are some of the questions that the 20th-century philosopher Karl Jaspers explores in this short excerpt from his larger volume, Great Philosophers.

Book Description

A part of JaspersÂ's planned universal history of philosophy, focusing on the four paradigmatic individuals who have exerted a historical influence of incomparable scope and depth. Edited by Hannah Arendt; Index. Translated by Ralph Manheim.

Customer Reviews:

There's scholarship and there's scholarship.......2003-08-22

The previous reviewer, in reminding us of recent scholarship on Jesus and the Gospel tradition, raises several pertinent considerations. Jaspers' book generally reflects the more modern scholarship that has focused increasingly on certain parallel sayings in Matthew and Luke as "Q Gospel" remnants and on the earliest Vaticanus and Sinaiticus manuscripts of the earliest extant Gospel, Mark. Yet recent similarly focused studies on the other three paradigmatic figures covered here don't seem reflected in Jaspers' book to the same extent. Personally, I am not as disturbed as the previous reviewer may be by applying modern scholarship to the Gospels. Rather, what I miss is the same strictness applied to the other three written traditions. Confucius, for example, is eventually described as having held high office only when we get to relatively late texts in the Confucian tradition. Yet Jaspers accepts this description of him without question. In fact, if, as Jaspers does by inference in his Jesus chapter, we are to set some of what we read in the Gospel of John aside, then oughtn't we set aside similar texts describing Confucius as having had conspicuous political success? If the "Q Gospel" passages in Matthew/Luke and the earliest manuscript tradition for Mark are to be highlighted as delineations of the "historical Jesus", then only Chapters 3 through 9 of the Analects of Confucius, generally regarded as the earliest stratum of Confucian text, should be the primary basis for the kind of modern philosophical scrutiny Jaspers purports to offer. Jaspers' Confucius chapter does not confine itself to the kind of wandering, almost homeless, figure found in these seven earliest chapters. To be consistent, shouldn't it? While it's useful for Jaspers, at the outset of his Buddha chapter, to single out the Digha-Nikaya collection as the earliest stratum of Buddha sermons, the rest of the Buddha chapter goes well beyond the Digha-Nikaya collection, even flirting occasionally with Buddha traditions lying outside the Pali tradition, let alone the Digha-Nikaya collection! There's nothing inherently wrong with this, but it becomes inconsistent in the light of Jaspers' tacit adoption of certain tenets of modern historical criticism in his Jesus chapter. (To do Jaspers justice, he never explicitly offers quite the detailed textual background on the Gospel tradition that I attempt here.) What, IMO, might prove a more creditable effort -- since I would agree that these four figures indeed emerge as the most strongly verified human beings in history to live an essentially blameless life oriented toward an entirely self-made, and therefore inherently courageous, ethic -- would be a survey based exclusively on those fifteen or so sermons in the Digha-Nikaya regarded by modern scholars as the earliest for Buddha, on Chapters 3 through 9 of the Analects for Confucius, on the earliest, least "spun", Plato dialogues, such as the Charmides, the Hippias Minor, the Euthyphro, the Apology and the Crito, for Socrates, and on the Vaticanus/Sinaiticus Mark tradition plus the "Q" passages in Matthew/Luke for Jesus. It is unfortunate that Jaspers' book, with all its modern trappings (not in itself a bad thing, IMO), fails to do this rigorously. Hence, my three-star rating. Jaspers should be given credit, though, for a worthwhile start at the important task of evaluating perhaps the four finest human beings ever to walk this earth.

Interesting idea, but is it trustworthy scholarship?.......2002-11-14

Karl Jaspers has undertaken an interesting study in the little book. He looks at the teachings of four men who have had the most far-reaching impact on our world. He claims that the greatness of their influence is measured in centuries as well as globally. The four great men he chose for this book are, as the title suggests, Socrates, Buddha, Confucius and Jesus. He entertained the thought of including Mohammed but chose not to. He explains that Mohammed "might be comparable in historical importance but not in individual depth (p. 87)." One other interesting insight comes from Jaspers on the same page. We have no writings from any of the four themselves - what we do have comes from their disciples after they died.

So much for the interesting, now for the question of trustworthiness.

Jaspers examined the biblical accounts of Jesus through the lens of higher criticism. In other words, Jaspers did not deal with the biblical text itself when he studied Jesus, he dealt with the text after sifting through what others thought was truly the teaching of Jesus. The reason this poses a problem is important to all readers, not merely to Christians. If he did not take the teachings of Jesus (as recorded by his disciples) at face value, did he take the teachings of Socrates, Buddha and Confucius (as recorded by their disciples) at face value? Is the reader really getting Socrates, Buddha, Confucius and Jesus, or is the reader getting Karl Jaspers? Knowing the aspects of Jesus' teachings that have been ignored in this study, and their importance to understanding Jesus' view of himself and the world around him, makes me wonder what we may have lost, in this study, from the other three great men included here.

This book is a very interesting idea. But, is it trustworthy scholarship? Not in my humble opinion. However, those who do not wish to sift through the original writings will inevitably want to read Jasper's abridgement of those writings. This may be to the readers' benefit, or to their detriment.

Made a big impression on me!.......2002-01-09

Aside from being an intelligently written book, I gave this book 5 stars because it made a big impression on me. Jaspers explanation of Confucius made the strength of Confucious's teaching clear. Now I'm very interested in Confucious and am reading more books about him. In that respect, this slim volume changed my life: It brought Confucious to life. What's more, by explaining Confucius's feelings about Taoism, this slim book did more to explain classic Taoism than the 2 books on the Tao I've already read.

Be aware that this book is due to the editing of Hannah Arendt. This means that Jaspers did not put this book out and say "Ta Da, the 4 Greatest!" No, Jaspers wrote a 2 volume book on the great philosophers due to his post War interest in increasing tolerance among men (per the Encyclopedia Britanica). This book does not appear to have any noticable Existentialist influence.

Finally, if you are a fundamentalist Christian, be warned that it is clear from his writing that Jaspers does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, nor does he believe the Bible is free of error. He is not disrespectful of Jesus nor of Christianity, but do not think that because Jesus is in this book that the book is strongly pro-Jesus.

Well Written.......2000-10-14

This book is a joy to read. Jaspers has a real talent for breaking down complex thoughts into detailed, easy to read format. Jaspers presents a broad overview that should be attractive to newcomers. More advanced readers will appreciate his style and his refreshing perspective.

pleasure at leisure.......2000-07-26

This is a short reflection of different philosophers which can give you a glimpse of their thoughts living and effect of them on social set ups at that time. Book is written in a very simple language but mostly the names of cities are confusing and it would have been helpful if with every city there would have been a hint of geographical location . Some places it is there and mostly the place is left just with a distorted name. Overall readable book in free time but I doubt if it is worth of serious thought.

Karl Jaspers: Basic Philosophical Writings : Selections

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The best introduction to Jaspers
fine collection of essential writings....

Karl Jaspers: Basic Philosophical Writings : Selections
Karl Jaspers
Manufacturer: Humanities Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1573925292

Customer Reviews:

The best introduction to Jaspers.......2004-07-01

I've read a _lot_ of (and about) Jaspers, but this book has proven the most effective resource for my Jaspers studies.

Ehrlich, Ehrlich, and Pepper selected excerpts from throughout Jaspers' career in philosophy (not a lot from his psychology, as the title indicates). They then grouped these texts together in logical and cohesive sections, adding short introductions to each section as well as each individual text. The result: it is possible to sit down and read the collection cover-to-cover and feel the continuity of the work.

E, E, and P have gotten over a major hurdle in making Jaspers' work accessible. Many of the available translations of Jaspers are sub-par. Jaspers' frequent coinage and usage of technical jargon has posed a translation problem (i.e. words that no one knows exactly how to translate) that has resulted in discrepancies between translations. E, E, and P resolve this (to a large degree) by retranslating or correcting many of the passages in this book. Since I happened to have both a German and an English (trans. E. B. Ashton) copy of Jaspers' 3 volume work "Philosophie" -- a text quoted often in this volume -- I compared translations. E, E, and P's revisions to E. B. Ashton's translation were consistently more readible.

In addition to providing a fantastic overview of Jaspers, this volume does have a couple of other highlights:
* Many passages translated from Von Der Wahrheit -- Jaspers' last major work (which remains largely untranslated).

* Great coverage of some of his writings on religion (Buddhism, Christian mysticism, etc.)
* Selected entries from his journals.
* Correspondence with other philosophers (notably Arendt and Heidegger).

In short, I highly recommend this book for those looking for a good Jaspers reader. If you are new to Jaspers, I would also suggest reading Philosophy of Existenz -- a great (and short) overview of Jaspers' project.

fine collection of essential writings...........2000-05-27

....Jaspers is difficult reading in places but has a plenitude of existentially worthwhile ideas: historicity, Existenz, the Encompassing... worth the trouble.

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Jasper;s Psychopathology
I still like this book.
The Doctor is In
A good book for mental health professionals
Great if you are a psychiatrist or psychologist

General Psychopathology (Vol. 1)
Karl Jaspers
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0801857759

Book Description

In 1910, Karl Jaspers wrote a seminal essay on morbid jealousy in which he laid the foundation for the psychopathological phenomenology that through his work and the work of Hans Gruhle and Kurt Schneider, among others, would become the hallmark of the Heidelberg school of psychiatry. In General Psychopathology, his most important contribution to the Heidelberg school, Jaspers critiques the scientific aspirations of psychotherapy, arguing that in the realm of the human, the explanation of behavior through the observation of regularity and patterns in it (Erklärende Psychologie) must be supplemented by an understanding of the "meaning-relations" experienced by human beings (Verstehende Psychologie).

Customer Reviews:

Jasper;s Psychopathology.......2006-11-10

Still the most accurate phenomenological definitions in psychopathology.
Dense, a must for all those in the subject.

I still like this book........2001-10-11

People who learned to diagram sentences and outline thoughts when they were in school might be interested in how this book is organized around, in, and through an outline. Picking any particular topic, it is often surprising how well Karl Jaspers has placed it within a scheme of things. Normally, there wouldn't be much reason to consider how a history of thinking as bombing might find a place in a book like General Psychotherapy, but at the moment, it is interesting that the following ideas in this book can be assigned to a particular place on a thread that runs through it, largely about the "worlds of obsessional patients." On page 390, in Chapter VI, MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS AND THEIR SPECIFIC MECHANISMS, SECTION TWO, ABNORMAL MECHANISMS, 1. Pathological Psychogenic Reactions, ( c ) Classifications of reactive states, 2. According to the type of the reactive states: "(b) There may be an explosion in the form of fits, tantrums, rages, disjointed movements, blind acts of violence, threats and abuse. There is a working up of the self into a state of narrowed consciousness (prison-outbreaks, frenzies, short-circuit reactions, are some of the terms used)."

The Doctor is In.......2000-04-27

There is much more in this book than the average patient is ever going to learn in personal visits to a shrink. A thorough knowledge of the point of view presented by Jaspers goes a long way in support of the view that modern drug treatments of psychiatric problems attempt to mask symptoms, which are much easier to define and classify than the problems of existence that attempt to surface in situations where people would like an infinite solution to individual problems. In Jaspers's examination of the relationship between the doctor and the patient, any doctor who approaches a fixed view of the best remedy is in danger of failing to understand the nature of the individual patient. It helps to have some background in the personal issues which are most meaningful to the reader. In our own time, there is a controversy about the use of ancient remedies like marijuana, and I found it useful to compare therapeutic suggestions in this book with the federal government's position that smoking such stuff isn't medicine, "it's more like a Cheech and Chong show." If you want to live through reading this book, you will have to inhale while you read. Best of all, there is no point in this book at which the doctor says, "Your time is up."

A good book for mental health professionals.......1999-01-23

This is a classic work on the observation of psychopathology without the theoretical overlay of other works. This author also founded phenomenology, a type of existential philosophy. This book is a must for mental health diagnosticians but might be a bit dense for the general public.

Great if you are a psychiatrist or psychologist.......1998-11-03

This is a classic work by the father of a philosophical school called phenomenology. His student Schneider is responsible for forming the psychiatric criteria for Schizophrenia in use today (1998) by DSM-4. Jaspers was a prodigy when he wrote this at age 33. His philosophical works have been the subject of great controversy because of the concept of empathy.

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Here is found a seminal articulation of the concept of the Axial Age
The Axial Age--The Cover Up

The Origin and Goal of History
Karl Jaspers
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press Reprint
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0837189837

Customer Reviews:

Here is found a seminal articulation of the concept of the Axial Age.......2006-01-16

This work describes the concept of the Axial Age and answers some early criticisms of the idea. Then Jaspers proceeds to develop a sweeping overview of human history from pre-history onward.

I don't see, however, that this work "makes mincemeat of Darwinian thinking" as is asserted by a previous reviewer. Rather, the concept that there could be parallel evolutionary developments re-evolving similar responses to similar situations is quite in accord with evolutionary thinking. There are numerous examples of such parallel developments in biological evolution (see Simon Conway-Morris' "Life's Solution"). No one to my knowledge is trying to suppress the simultaneous domestication of grains in (as I recall) seven locales around the planet (see Jared Diamond's "Guns Germs and Steel" for example).

Further, the assertion that the axial developments were completely independent (which was Jaspers' view as well as that of the previous reviewer) is on somewhat shaky ground owing to the work of Thomas McEvilley "The Shape of Ancient Thought", for example, who traces the continuous interplay of peoples along the axis thereby providing excellent opportunities for cross-fertilization of spiritual and philosophic ideas.

There is no disputing several centuries of Euro-centric views of history and Jaspers was one of the few in his era to thoughtfully step outside that box - and there are still only a few who have (Burkert and Hobson come to mind).

I do agree with the previous reviewer that this work is certainly worth being reissued or made available via books-on-demand.

The Axial Age--The Cover Up.......2003-12-28

This is one of the most significant works of the twentieth century yet it is not even in print. Deep sixed from the word go. Remarkable! Even books detailing the intellectual biography of Jaspers omit mention of it. The various efforts to subject the issues to scholarly study distort the original observations. What's going on? The reason is not hard to find. It contains the first crystallization of something current science and religion don't want to face, the phenomenon of synchronous parallel evolution, global in scale, and operating in a fashion that flagrantly contradicts received dogmas of religious, scientific and economic history. Check out the reviewer's World History and the Eonic Effect for a discussion of this text. Meanwhile it should be reissued and the public deserves to know the existence of this line of historical evidence going back to the nineteenth century. It makes mincemeat of Darwinian thinking. Aha! Now we know why they deep sixed the book.

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Von der Wahrheit
Karl Jaspers
Manufacturer: Piper Verlag GmbH
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H85FSM

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Tragedy is not enough
Karl Jaspers
Manufacturer: Archon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: 020800730X

Anaximander, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Plotinus, Lao-Tzu, Nagarjuna: From the Great Philosophers: The Original Thinkers (Harvest Book, Hb 288)

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Anaximander, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Plotinus, Lao-Tzu, Nagarjuna: From the Great Philosophers: The Original Thinkers (Harvest Book, Hb 288)
Karl Jaspers
Manufacturer: Harcourt
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Taken from the Great Philosphers, Volume II.

Life Conduct in Modern Times: Karl Jaspers and Psychoanalysis (Philosophy and Medicine)

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Life Conduct in Modern Times: Karl Jaspers and Psychoanalysis (Philosophy and Medicine)
Matthias Bormuth
Manufacturer: Springer
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1402047649

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This award-winning book investigates the critique of psychoanalysis formulated by the psychiatrist and philosopher Karl Jaspers (1883-1969) over a period of five decades. His arguments against Freud and his followers are examined from systematic perspectives. The study traces the medico-historical roots of Jasper’s criticism of psychoanalysis and then places it within the framework of scientific theory before devoting itself extensively to medico-ethical aspects of the controversy, which are ultimately treated in terms of a history of mentalities. According to this view, Jasper’s student Hannah Arendt saw to it that the philosopher be made aware of the socio-cultural impact which psychoanalysis was beginning to have in the USA. The philosopher came to look upon psychoanalysis as a theory – in particular as it was propagated after 1945 in Germany and the US – whose claim to scientific objectivity constituted a serious threat to the freedom of the individual. Max Weber’s theory of science and his concept of modernity serve as a critical guide for the interpretation. Thus the normative premise of the investigation is the liberal idea that in a secular and pluralistic society it is ultimately the individual who is to take responsibility for life conduct.

Heidegger and Jaspers on Nietzsche: A Critical Examination of Heidegger's and Jasper's Interpretation of Nietzsche

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Heidegger and Jaspers on Nietzsche: A Critical Examination of Heidegger's and Jasper's Interpretation of Nietzsche
R.L. Howey
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 9024715385

Nietzsche: An Introduction to the Understanding of His Philosophical Activity

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Good introduction for the philosophically initiated
Keep this Depth in Sight
A wonderful translation of a historically significant work

Nietzsche: An Introduction to the Understanding of His Philosophical Activity
Karl Jaspers
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

Nietzsche claimed to be a philosopher of the future, but he was appropriated as a philosopher of Nazism. His work inspired a long study by Martin Heidegger and essays by a host of lesser disciples attached to the Third Reich. In 1935, however, Karl Jaspers set out to "marshall against the National Socialists the world of thought of the man they had proclaimed as their own philosopher." The year after publishing Nietzsche, Jaspers was discharged from his professorship at Heidelberg University by order of the Nazi leadership.

Jaspers does not fall into the same trap as idealogues do, citing bits and pieces from Nietzsche's work to reinforce already held opinions. Instead, he openly shows the wide range of Nietzsche's views, including his endorsement of wars and warriors, his prophecies of world struggle and "new masters," and the cruel arrogance of the supermen. Yet Jaspers finds Nietzsche's philosophy to be extraordinary not only because he foresaw all the monstrosities of the twentieth century, but also because he saw through them.

"The appearance which Nietzsche's work presents can be expressed figuratively: it is as though a mountain wall had been dynamited; the rock, already more or less shaped, conveys the idea of a whole. But the building for the sake of which the dynamiting seems to have been done has not been erected. However, the fact that the work lies about like a heap of ruins does not appear to conceal its spirit from the one who happens to have found the key to the possibilities of construction; for him, many fragments fit together. But not unambiguously; many functionally suitable pieces are present in numerous, only slightly varied repetitions, others reveal themselves as precious and unique forms, as though each were meant to furnish a cornerstone somewhere or a keystone for an arch." -- Karl Jaspers, from the introduction

Customer Reviews:

Good introduction for the philosophically initiated.......2000-06-01

This is a good introduction if you have some background in philosophy. Otherwise, it is likely to be over your head. Jaspers' look at Nietzsche is philosophically creative and sometimes complex. It is not just a guide to Nietzsche's thinking but a sometimes intense reading of his philosophy. If you are looking for a guidebook of sorts Kaufmann's 'Nietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist' is the best one.

Keep this Depth in Sight.......2000-05-27

Consider Karl Jaspers a master of multiplicity, whose understanding of Nietzsche's thought is like the complexity of a physiologist's understanding of the peristaltic activity involved in swallowing anything. For Jaspers, an interest in Nietzsche is mainly meaningful if it is accompanied by a wish for intellectual growth (this may be a valid career goal for those who are lucky enough to pursue this kind of thing professionally). At least, such a view of Jaspers could be supported by what he wrote on the topic, "Ways of Criticizing Nietzsche" in this book. Anyone who does not accept and assume the full multiplicity of the topic being considered falls into the error described on page 420. "He is bound to consider as fixed and final formulae what to Nietzsche were only steps and to pervert these formulae by turning them into jargon, demogogic means of persuasion, or sensationalistic journalese." The world which offered Nietzsche such foolish models for demonstrating the recklessness of typical thinking does not receive due consideration here, this being a book on a lonely thinker. The self of Nietzsche can only emerge for readers who are able "to keep this depth in sight" while overcoming "the rationally onesided formulations of the understanding which he himself recognized in his own thinking but failed to check." Such a view of Nietzsche springs from the desire of those who need to consider themselves fully educated, but sensible. The kind of thought-check which is being suggested by Jaspers is supposed to thwart the kind of racing thoughts which are not productive. Don't forget that Karl Jaspers was also a doctor, an expert on General Psychopathology, a field in which facts are not as important as the emotional experiences of the kind of person who becomes the subject of such studies. In the field of philosophy, where Nietzsche's desire to learn the truth about the limitations which always prevent the full realization of this desire for truth, thereby setting a new standard for intellectual integrity, Jaspers felt that Nietzsche's sense of "knowing full well where to find exactly what I have to learn" (p. 421) when it came to matters fully covered by books "was of little consequence for his truly philosophical thinking." (p. 421) I must be over-simplifying this ~ this is only a review, and Jaspers's sympathy with Nietzsche's awareness of the limitations placed on his knowledge by the fact that "he was forced to content himself with the reading of books" (p. 421) must be true as well for people who are only reading reviews.

A wonderful translation of a historically significant work.......1998-01-24

This wonderful introduction to Nietsche by Karl Jaspers was written in 1936 after Jaspers had been disgraced by the Nazis and forced out of his professorship. He had taken refuge in Bern. This work is his offering to help us see that Nietsche was critically important to 20th centruy philosophy, and was not the pop-philosopher the Nazis tried to make him out to be. Jasper's work is the first real undertaking to show Nietsche as he was, and to appreciate him for what he was and is.

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