Abstract:
The depth of Jaspers’ philosophical investigation in Die Schuldfrage can only properly be appreciated when placed in its historical context. Nazi control in Germany was extensive and had a profound impact on the private and public sphere of Jaspers, and other Germans. Historical analysis, as well as analysis of Jaspers’ personal correspondence and writing, shows us the relationship between Nazi control and the development of guilt. I argue that Jaspers’ work was a result of his own experience of guilt. Die Schuldfrage is unique, as colleagues and fellow Germans were uninterested or unwilling to deal with their guilt so soon after the war. To understand guilt, Jaspers splits guilt into four concepts: criminal; political; moral; metaphysical. The most impactful form of guilt is found in metaphysical guilt; which is a direct consequence of the loss of the common solidarity that makes us human. This loss brings us dangerously close to human meaningless existence, making the question of guilt so important to Jaspers.
