Karl Jaspers (1883–1969) is one of the most important German-speaking philosophers of the 20th century. With a doctorate in medicine and a postdoctoral qualification in psychology, he was a full professor of philosophy in Heidelberg until his dismissal by the Nazi regime in 1937. In 1948, Jaspers accepted a position at the University of Basel, where he taught until his retirement in 1961. "Truth is what connects us" is one of Jaspers' key statements. Following in the humanistic tradition of the great philosophers, his thinking is devoted to the attempt to find orientation in a world that has become questionable and susceptible to ideology. As a metaphysician, Jaspers was also a co-founder of existential philosophy—and a prominent critic of postwar German politics.

The Karl Jaspers Complete Edition (KJG) presents his multifaceted oeuvre in its entirety for the first time. In three sections—works, estate, letters—all of Jaspers' published writings, relevant posthumous publications, and a selection of previously unpublished estate texts and correspondence are reproduced. In cooperation with the Karl Jaspers Foundation in Basel, the edition also focuses on the systematic cataloguing of Jaspers' estate, which is kept in the German Literature Archive.

The KJG is a joint project of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences with an office in Heidelberg and the Lower Saxony Academy of Sciences in Göttingen with an office in Oldenburg.

You can find the film on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWQckqmkUwU

Further information:

• Lecture on Jaspers and the media on July 2, 2025(internal link)
• Link tothe research center(internal link)
• Project of the Month February 2025 at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research(external link)
• Insights into the Academies' Program:Karl Jaspers: A Thinker for the Present(external link to the Academies' Union website)