Karl Jaspers: biography of this German philosopher and psychiatrist

Existentialist philosophy constitutes a model of thought that focused on the study and reflection of the human condition, in the freedom of people and in their responsibilities as individuals; as well as in the emotions and the meaning of life.

This current originated in the 19th century and extended until the second half of the 20th century, Karl Jaspers being one of its creators and a great defender of it. In addition to being one of the great promoters of existentialism, this German philosopher and psychiatrist greatly influenced both psychology and philosophy and theology. This article will focus precisely on his life story, the biography of Karl Jaspers, as well as in his contributions to different disciplines of knowledge.

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Who was Karl Jaspers? Biogradía and trajectory

Born in Oldenburg, February 23, 1883, Karl Theodor Jaspers was a famous psychiatrist and philosopher whose influence on psychiatry and modern philosophy has led him to appear in all the books in the history of both disciplines.

This popular German thinker studied and received his doctorate in medicine at the university in his hometown in 1909. His beginnings in the world of work began in the psychiatric hospital of the University of Heidelberg, known for having been the workplace of the psychiatrist. Emil kraepelin only a few years before.

But Jaspers did not like the way the scientific society of the time treated the research of mental illnesses, so from then on his objective would be to change the perspective of these research. This need made him settle temporarily as a professor of psychology at the same university. Eventually, it became permanent and never returning to clinical practice.

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Exile for war and return to Germany

Come the rise of Nazism, Jaspers had to withdraw from the direction of the university, since his opposition to the system and the Jewish origin of his wife cost him expulsion from the field of education, without being able to return until the end of Hitler's mandate. After the fall of Nazi rule, the doctor-turned-teacher was able to regain his position and, in addition, collaborate in the recovery of German education.

At this time he was able to once again enjoy a well-integrated public life in German society. In 1947 he was awarded the Goethe Prize, and in 1959 he collected the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to the recovery of Europe.

Last years of life and death in Basel

During his stay in Heidelberg, Karl Jaspers was deeply disappointed by the German political context and in 1948 he went to the University of Basel. Finally, in 1961 he withdrew from teaching due to his advanced age.

Jaspers questioned the democracy of the Federal Republic of Germany in his work The Future of Germany, written in 1966. Due to the not very good reception that this work had among the political class, Jaspers he was forced to adopt Swiss nationality in 1967him, passing away in the same city of Basel a couple of years later.

He was awarded the title of Doctor honoris causa at different universities, including the University of Paris, Heidelberg or Basel. He was also an honorary member of various scientific communities, including in Spain where he participated in the Madrid Forensic Medicine Society.

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Contributions of Jaspers to psychology and psychiatry

As mentioned above, Jaspers never quite agreed with the way that medical society understood mental illness, creating an ongoing discussion about whether both the diagnostic criteria and the clinical methods used in psychiatry were really the suitable.

Likewise, in 1910 he produced a transformative essay in which considered the possibility that paranoia was a product of biological disturbances or if it constituted another shade of personality. Although he did not contribute much in this matter, it did lead to the creation of a new procedure for the study of human psychology.

This new change was based on examining and recording the biographical data of the patient and the way in which he noticed and felt his own symptoms. This new working formula became known as the biographical method., a method that is still preserved in psychological and psychiatric practice today.

Karl Jaspers and the study of delusions

One of the most famous quotes from Jaspers was: "the study of the psychic being requires an explanatory psychology, a comprehensive psychology and a description of existence." From this point of view, psychology had to answer several fronts of questions that have to do with mental life.

Likewise, Jaspers thought that the same way should be done in the diagnosis of delusions, considering the way in which the patient held onto these beliefs and not only the content of these. From this he distinguished between two types of delusions: primary delusions and secondary delusions:

1. Primary delusions

These arose without an obvious reason, becoming indecipherable within the framework of normality and without a reasonable argument behind them.

2. Secondary delusions

Said delusions seemed to be related to the person's life history, with your context in the present moment or with her mental state.

A psychiatry focused on forms

Finally, Jaspers embodied his vision of mental illness in the play General Psychopathology (1913), a work that became a classic of reference within the psychiatric bibliography and whose diagnostic guidelines have served as inspiration for diagnostic procedures modern.

The most relevant aspect of these works was the idea that opinion in psychiatric diagnosis should be based more on form than content. A valid example is that when a diagnosis of a hallucination, the way in which said hallucination is presented (visual, auditory, etc.) is more important than its content.

Contributions to philosophy

Jaspers' thought has usually been incorporated into existentialist philosophy. The reason is that at the base of his ideas are the philosophy of Kierkegaard and NietzscheThe reflections on personal freedom being very characteristic of his work.

In his three-volume work Philosophy (1932), Jaspers portrays his way of seeing the history of philosophy, also including his most relevant thesis. In them he states that when we doubt reality We cross the border that the scientific method cannot cross. Arriving at this place, the person has two alternatives: resigning himself or launching himself towards what Jaspers calls “transcendence”.

For Jaspers, "transcendence" is what the person finds beyond time and space. In this way, the person examines his own free will, which Jaspers calls "existez", and thus manages to really live the true existence.

Regarding the religionsJaspers denounced any religious dogma, which even encompasses the existence of a God. However, also left an important mark on modern theology through his philosophy of transcendence and the frontiers of human experience.

Also, Jaspers reflected on the impact that science, politics and modern economics had as a challenge for the freedom of people. This is a debate that is still very topical today.