Reason and Existenz

Karl Jaspers's work Reason and Existenz explores the relationship between human existence and reason. He posits that reason is a form of existence that becomes self-aware through interaction with others. This self-understanding is an ongoing process, never fully achieved, and ultimately leads to faith in transcendence as the only means of complete realization.1

Jaspers, a key figure in German existentialism, approached philosophy from the perspective of an individual's direct engagement with their own existence. His work, particularly after World War II, sought a new unity of thought he termed "world philosophy". He believed that philosophy's task is to appeal to individual freedom and focus on existence as the center of reality.2