Karl Jaspers and the Demonism of Technology

Psychiatrist and philosopher Karl Jaspers (1883 - 1969) was one of the most important representatives of
existential philosophy, who also developed an existential philosophy of technology. His early conception of
technology, which he put forth in Man in the Modern Age (1931), revolved around the transformation of human
society into a mass, mechanised culture. His initial assessment of this transformation was negative. He wrote of
the demonism of technology, describing technology as an independent power which had been summoned into
existence by human beings but which now has turned against them. According to Jaspers, technology
transforms human society into a mass culture, alienating human beings from themselves and from the world
around them.

Jaspers considered mass-rule a by-product of the close interaction between technological development and
population growth, which results in a vast number of human beings whose existence, becomes utterly dependent
on technology. This dependency requires a quite specific social and cultural formation. Besides a mechanisation
of labour, society needs a smoothly operating bureaucratic organisation in order to keep functioning. Society
becomes a machine itself, described by Jaspers as The Apparatus.

This apparatus of workers, machines, and bureaucracy increasingly determines how human beings carry out
their daily lives. It has two different but related effects. First, its system of mass production fosters a
homogenisation of the material environment in which human beings live. No attachment is possible to mass
produced objects, which only exist as exemplars of a general form and are primarily present in terms of their
functionality. Second, the apparatus approaches human beings not as unique individuals, but as fulfillers of
functions who are in principle interchangeable. Both effects of the technological transformation of society
impede human beings from being present as authentic existences, and from living their lives authentically and
in existential proximity to the world around them.

After World War II, Jaspers’ analysis of technology changed course. Rather than viewing technology as a threat
to authentic human existence, in The Origin and Goal of History (1949) and The Atom Bomb and the Future of
Man (1958), Jaspers saw technology as what was at stake in it. He concluded that technology is ultimately
neutral or no more than a means for human goals, since it is incapable of generating its own goals. This
neutrality makes human beings responsible for what they make of technology: Technology requires human
guidance. The task for human beings is to reassert sovereignty over technology.

Jaspers’ later perspective allowed him to discern not only a threatening side of technology but also ways in
which it opened up new existential possibilities. These include new proximity to reality, by understanding the
laws of nature lying behind the functioning of technology; recognition of the beauty of technological constructs;
and making use of the possibilities opened up by media and transportation technologies, which allow humans to
experience the Earth as one whole for which they can feel responsible.

Karl Jaspers was a German intellectual, who began his career from psychiatry, which he later changed into
psychology, before finally succumbing to philosophy and theology, in the beginning of the 1920s.

For him, the path which led to philosophy passed through the logical realm of science, his works cannot be fully
understood without first recognizing him as a renowned psychiatrist and psychologist.

Jaspers’ philosophy dealt with the concepts of existentialism, a theory according to which all philosophical
ideas begin by a human individual, his actions, feelings and attitudes. Jaspers’ ideas of existentialism were
heavily influenced by those of Friedrich Nietzsche and Søren Kierkegaard. Jaspers’ works also hint of influence
from both Kant and Weber, the latter being a close family friend of Jaspers’. He applied his psychiatric
approach to Nietzsche’s philosophical notions, and presented his theories as direct expressions of his outlook on
life, rather than fixed postulates.
The philosophy of Karl Jaspers is based on the idea that a human is not merely existentially present, but he also
desires to be more like himself. His three-volume Philosophy (1923) specifically contains these notions. He
attempts to explain and explore the height of human experiences. He created the German term “Umgreifende”
which literally translates to ‘the encompassing’; the term was meant to encapsulate the depth and limits of all
possible human experiences, both subjective and objective. These would include all those experiences which
can never be logically interpreted but are felt by man at a deeper, instinctive level.

Initiating his intellectual journey from science and the observation-based empiricism, Jaspers reaches at another
concept of philosophy in his book Existenzphilosophie (1938). He debated with the empiricists of his time and
said that whenever a person questions his perceived reality, he/she comes across boundaries which are above
our empirical senses and logic. This makes way for the person to choose between despair, depression and a
feeling of giving up, or he could make a go at a profound belief which he called ‘Existen’ which contains in
itself a myriad of possibilities and limitless freedom, which forms an integral part of the personality of any
individual who faces limiting situations like death, chance, guilt et cetera.

In the domain of theology, Jaspers strictly opposed religious doctrines and the concept of a personal God. His
notions of limited experiences created an impact on modern theology. His religious interests varied. He was
largely influenced by the religious teachings of Buddha, from which he gave his theory of Axial Age.

In his political views, an ideal government would be the one which guarantees maximum personal freedom
while holding a strong authority where necessary, run by a few intellectuals of choice. Jaspers considered
humanism as the best way forward in politics, and advised time and again about the cons of technocracy, an
establishment which considers humans as puppets in the hands of the government, who takes wrong advantage
of their capabilities.

Karl Jaspers taught at the University of Basel in Switzerland, where he simultaneously worked on his
philosophical ideas. He maintained his status as a prominent thinker and philosopher in the German intellectual
circles, until he passed away in 1969.

Today, Jasper remains largely neglected worldwide, considering the amount of his effort for the evolution of
both political philosophy and epistemology. The philosophical circles of Germany attempted at labeling him as
an advocate of Existentialism, which he refused to acknowledge.