Truth and Symbol [Paperback]

Karl Jaspers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1959 | ISBN-10: 0808403036 | ISBN-13: 978-0808403036

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (January 1, 1959)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0808403036
• ISBN-13: 978-0808403036
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,882,453 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Karl Jaspers, November 22, 2010

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Philonous (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Truth and Symbol (Paperback)

Karl Jaspers is a German Existentialist Philosopher born in 1883 and passed away in 1969. Before, Karl Jaspers was not a philosopher but a medical student who practiced psychiatry but unsurprisingly Karl Jaspers was fairly well versed in philosophy but decided not to pursue it as a professional career due to the fact that Philosophy at the time was too detached and "academic" (Most of philosophy was based on logic, language, etc). When Karl Jaspers did become a philosopher he wrote three volumes called Philosophie (or simply Philosophy) and then summarized his works in his work Philosophy of Existence and Reason and Existenz.

In this book Karl Jaspers begins briefly expounding on the notion of Cyphers, which are "Symbols" of Being. Cyphers in themselves are not objective existing entities but "consummation" of the phenomenon that we usually encounter in our daily basis. To try to abstract it or objectify it we lose the cypher, but when we reflect on our daily experience and try to capture it's essential reality then Cyphers appear to us. Cyphers are complicated part of Jaspers Philosophy, and Jasper does not give a clear definitions of what Cyphers really are, but the general function of cyphers are almost like obscure windows into Being-Itself. Cyphers are like the borderline of our Self that are both real yet symbolic. Anything that inspires, captivates, moves, or transforms our experience is really a Cypher. Karl Jaspers seems to believe that "Philosophizing" is to cultivate the fascination of reality through Cyphers, it is not to decode these cyphers (since this would be an abstraction and objectification) but to quietly meditate on them to enjoy them as they are.

Unfortunately, while Karl Jaspers is one of the very interesting Philosophers in the 20th century (and one of the founders of German Existentialism) his reputation is very much underrated. The reasons for this is unknown (probably has to do with the fact that Heidegger and Ardono severely criticized Jaspers for his philosophy and radical Liberalism) but it is quite certain that Karl Jaspers' philosophy is unwelcomed in the analytic tradition since his philosophy is obscure to read. However, there is no simple answer to the undeserved neglect of Karl Jaspers.