Three interpretations of the content of Jaspers' philosophical faith
pp. 135-145
in: Helmut Wautischer, Alan Olson, Gregory J. Walters (eds), Philosophical faith and the future of humanity, Berlin, Springer, 2012Abstract
Philosophical faith traverses the divide between the transcendental understanding of phenomena and the unknowable dimensions of transcendent reality. Human beings are transformed through their free act of either accepting or rejecting the descent of Being into time as a lived faith and non-cognitive form of knowledge expressed in the cipher language of culture. The content of Jaspers' philosophic faith is examined in three interpretations: Faith with belief, faith without belief, and faith beyond belief. The essay opts for philosophical faith as beyond belief. The basic argument is that such faith is neither knowable nor demonstrable. Revealed truth and dogmatic metaphysics excludes the relativity of existential historicity. In this manner, philosophic faith is grasped as "not a knowledge I have, but a certainty that guides me."
