Karl Jaspers Quotes on Knowledge
Karl Jaspers was a 20th-century German philosopher and psychiatrist, one of the founders of existentialism and a major figure of mid-20th century European thought. This page collects quotes attributed to Karl Jaspers on the topic of knowledge, drawn from across the philosopher's works.
Quotes
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Attributed to Karl Jaspers:
“Philosophy is a way of life, not a set of doctrines to be memorised.”
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Attributed to Karl Jaspers:
“Whoever offers himself as an arbiter of aesthetic matters takes a great risk.”
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“The Great Philosophers (1962)”
I approach the presentation of Kierkegaard with some trepidation. Next to Nietzsche , or rather, prior to Nietzsche, I consider him to be the most important thinker of our post- Kantian age. With Goethe and Hegel , an epoch had reached its conclusion, and our prevalent way of thinking — that is, the positivistic , natural-scientific one — cannot really be considered as philosophy . -
“The Greek word for philosopher ( philosophos ) connotes a distinction from sophos . It signifies the lover of wisdom (knowledge) as distinguished from him who considers himself wise in the possession of knowledge . This meaning of the word still endures: the essence of philosophy is not the possession of the truth but the search for truth. … Philosophy means to be on the way. Its questions are more essential than its answers , and every answer becomes a new question.”
Way to Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy (1951) as translated by Ralph Mannheim , Ch. 1, What is Philosophy?, p. 12 | Variant translation: It is the search for the truth , not possession of the truth which is the way of philosophy. Its questions are more relevant than its answers, and every answer becomes a new question. -
“Way to Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy (1951) as translated by Ralph Mannheim , Ch. 1, What is Philosophy?, p. 12”
The Greek word for philosopher ( philosophos ) connotes a distinction from sophos . It signifies the lover of wisdom (knowledge) as distinguished from him who considers himself wise in the possession of knowledge . This meaning of the word still endures: the essence of philosophy is not the possession of the truth but the search for truth. … Philosophy means to be on the way. Its questions are mor -
“As quoted in Turning Conflict Into Profit : A Roadmap for Resolving Personal and Organizational Disputes (2005) by Larry Axelrod and Rowland Johnson”
We cannot avoid conflict, conflict with society , other individuals and with oneself. Conflicts may be the sources of defeat, lost life and a limitation of our potentiality but they may also lead to greater depth of living and the birth of more far-reaching unities , which flourish in the tensions that engender them.