Tragično a transcendence: „Všechno zlé není tragické“

Abstract

This text concentrates on the relationship of evil and tragedy in context of the book Von der Wahrheit (1947; On the Truth) by Karl Jaspers. In its first part, the essay describes a distinct way of understanding Kant’s ethical evil. In contrast, Jaspers associates evil with untruth and sees its origin in the divergence of all ways of embracing. In the “Über das Tragische” chapter, two concepts of evil may be observed – the will to evil and the hidden evil. Individuals are responsible for both of these evils, although they are not the cause. Nevertheless, evil is not tragedy. The second part of the essay presents a closer look at an argument of Jaspers that “all that is evil is not tragic” to prove that death and suffering are an integral part of the life. Tragedy is anchored in a transcendence. A tragic hero, even at the cost of his own life, fights for the truth and embodies new ideas by his demeanour. The essay further shows Jaspers’ argument that religion is antagonistic to tragedy, because salvation, as portrayed in the religions, precludes the possibility of the tragic death, as being absolutely and radically tragic. The essay demonstrates Jaspers’ specific conceptual grasp of the tragedy as the basic reality of life, which shows the transience of human life and universal order.

Keywords

• karl jaspers
• evil
• tragedy
• existential philosophy
• transcendence
• metaphysics
• truth
• guilt