Max Weber: A Profile from Karl Jaspers’ Perspective

Abstract

Max Weber, who was a well-known sociologist both of his own time and of today, has been one of the most influential names – besides, Immanuel Kant, Søren Kierkegaard, and Friedrich Nietzsche - for Karl Jaspers, who is one of the original names that comes into minds when the 20th century existential philosophy is mentioned. In fact, it can easily be asserted that Weber had a huge personal role in Jaspers’ carrier as a philosopher. Karl Jaspers is known for his uniquely discussed concepts such as, freedom (Freiheit), communication (Kommunikation), Existenz, limit situations (Grenzsituationen), the encompassing (das Umgreifende), guilt (Schuld), and responsibility (Verantwortung). And it is obvious that Jaspers was affected by Weber considering his two specific concepts: guilt and responsibility. This is the case, because Jaspers himself explains how and in what ways he was influenced by Weber. In this article, we will discuss Weber from the perspective of Jaspers. This discussion will be held in two aspects: i) personal features of Weber given by Jaspers, and ii) Weber’s effects on Jaspers from the viewpoint of Jaspers and what they share considering politics and ethics at the theoretical level.

Keywords

• Karl Jaspers
• Max Weber
• Guilt
• Responsibility
• Influence

Max Weber: Karl Jaspers’in Perspektifinden Bir Profil

Abstract

Kendi çağında ve günümüzde oldukça iyi tanınan bir sosyolog olan Max Weber, 20. yy Varoluş Felsefesi dendiğinde akla gelen orijinal isimlerden birisi olan Karl Jaspers’i - Immanuel Kant, Søren Kierkegaard ve Friedrich Nietzsche yanında – en çok etkileyen isimlerden birisi olmuştur. Hatta Jaspers’in bir filozof olarak kariyerinde, Weber’in kişisel olarak etkisinin oldukça büyük olduğu da rahatlıkla iddia edilebilir. Karl Jaspers, özgürlük (Freiheit), iletişim (Kommunikation), varoluş (Existenz), sınır durumlar (Grenzsituationen), Kuşatan Varlık (das Umgreifende), suç (Schuld) ve sorumluluk (Verantwortung) gibi özgün bir biçimde ele aldığı kavramlarla tanınır. Jaspers’in, belirli iki kavramı bağlamında - suç ve sorumluluk – Weber’den etkilendiği aşikârdır. Çünkü Jaspers’in bizzat kendisi, Weber’den hangi açılardan ve nasıl etkilendiğini ifade etmiştir. Bu makalede de, Weber’i Jaspers’in gözünden görüp ele alacağız. Bu değerlendirme, i) Jaspers’e göre Weber’in kişisel özellikleri ve ii) Jaspers’in bakış açısından kendisinin Weber’den nasıl etkilendiği ve teorik düzlemde politika ile etik alanlarında hangi düşünceleri paylaştıkları bakımından iki açıdan ele alınacaktır.

Keywords

• Karl Jaspers
• Max Weber
• Suç
• Sorumluluk
• Etkilenim

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