Death, 'Deathlessness' and Existenz in Karl Jaspers' Philosophy - by Filiz Page (Hardcover)

About the Book

Filiz Peach provides a clear explanation of Jaspers' philosophy of existence, clarifying and reassessing the concept of death that is central to his thought.

Book Synopsis

Karl Jaspers is one of the least understood and most neglected major philosophers of the twentieth century, and yet his ideas, particularly those concerned with death, have immense contemporary relevance. Filiz Peach provides a clear explanation of Jaspers' philosophy of existence, clarifying and reassessing the concept of death that is central to his thought. For Jaspers, a human being is not merely a physical entity but a being with a transcendent aspect and so, in some sense 'deathless'. Peach explores this transcendent aspect of humanity and what it is to be 'deathless' in Jaspersian terms.This book is a major contribution to the scarce literature on Jaspers and will be valuable to student and academic alike.

From the Back Cover

'Peach applies the rigour of ordinary language analysis with Socratic questioning to Jaspers's metaphysics and thinking about death and the experience of 'deathlessness'. Gregory J. Walters, Professor of Philosophy, Université Saint-Paul/Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Canada Karl Jaspers is one of the least understood and most neglected major philosophers of the twentieth century, and yet his ideas, particularly those concerned with death, have immense contemporary relevance. Filiz Peach provides a clear explanation of Jaspers' philosophy of existence, clarifying and reassessing the concept of death that is central to his thought. For Jaspers, a human being is not merely a physical entity but a being with a transcendent aspect and so, in some sense 'deathless'. Peach explores this transcendent aspect of humanity and what it is to be 'deathless' in Jaspersian terms. This book is a major contribution to the scarce literature on Jaspers and will be valuable to student and academic alike.

Review Quotes

It is a merit of this book to show by many sophisticated and subtle arguments that Jaspers' idea of deathlessness must be interpreted outside of a religious framework. Another merit is the scrupulous explication of basic concepts of Jaspers' philosophy in an analytical style. This analytical approach to Jaspers recommends this book to philosophers in the Anglo-American tradition, and not just to Continental or existentialist philosophers.--Philosophy Now

About the Author

Filiz Peach is Lecturer in Philosophy at the Mary Ward Centre, London