Grenzsituation as a key-Conception in Karl Jaspers’ Philosophy: Re-Readings, Interpretations, and Transfers. Vol. X (2022) di Studi Jaspersiani

With the term Grenzsituation Karl Jaspers shaped one of the most famous concepts of his philosophy. At the same time, he delivered to the 20. century Existentialism a fascinating category, whose evocative power is far away from being exhausted. Beginning by Jaspers’ thematization but without being limited to it, the issue 2022 of the Journal “Studi Jaspersiani” is dedicated to exploring whether and in which extent the meaning of such a category is still conceptually productive and valuable, inside and outside Jaspers’ thought and in and out of the philosophical field. The aims of the issue are twofold: on one hand, there is the interest at relaunching the philosophical investigation on a category which is an essential joint in Jaspers’ philosophy for his comprehension of the human condition; on the other hand, the proposal of moving the category outside the philosophical perimeter of Jaspers’ thought expresses the interest in trying to make it fruitful both for the contemporary philosophy and for other disciplines. In this frame, the idea of Grenzsituaton has been confronted with the challenges and questions brought about by the contemporary world: from the literary to the psychological research, from the frontiers of justice to those of technology, from the historical interrogation to the environmental and social emergences. Un caso analogico di situazione limite? Quando la colpa è una scelta. Abstract of Elena Alessiato's paper: Moving from the difference between «ground-situation» and «boundary-situation» the article tries to sketch out some basic features of them, among others: their permeability to the human action; the connection between pain and transcendence; the insufficiency of the intellectual awareness, and the role of free choice. From this background, the question about the historical guilt of the Germans after the IIWW is confronted with the hypothesis to consider it – or, at least, the way by which Jaspers thematizes it – as an analogy (but not as a full equivalent) to the correspondent boundary-situation. What one more time emerges is the fascinating complexity of both the notions of Grenzsituation and guilt also in the light of Jaspers’ personal life throughout the 20. century.