Karl Jaspers (1883–1969) was one of the most significant German-speaking philosophers of the 20th century. After earning his doctorate in medicine and his habilitation in psychology, he became a full professor of philosophy at Heidelberg in 1921. Forced into retirement by the Nazi regime because of his Jewish wife, he accepted a position in Basel in 1948, where he taught until his retirement in 1961. Interested in reaching a broad audience, Jaspers was very open to the then “new” media of radio, records, film, and television. He soon, however, came to know the downside of living in the public eye and found himself the target of abuse in a multitude of “hate letters.”

In the summer of 2025, the radio lectures *Introduction to Philosophy* (1950) and the television lectures *A Short Course in Philosophical Thinking* (1965) will be published as part of the inter-academic research project “Karl Jaspers Complete Works” (KJG).

About the Author: Dr. Dirk Fonfara studied Classical Philology, History, and Philosophy in Cologne. After passing the state examination (1996/97), he earned his doctorate there in 2002 with a dissertation on Aristotle’s doctrine of substance and, from 2003 to 2013, as a research associate at the Cologne Husserl Archive, edited two volumes of the historical-critical complete edition *Husserliana*. Since 2014, he has been working at the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities on the Karl-Jaspers-Gesamtausgabe (KJG) (KJG), which he has also been coordinating since June 2024. In addition, he has been teaching ancient and medieval philosophy as well as the work of Jaspers at Heidelberg University for nearly ten years.

About the lecture series: This public lecture series has been taking place for over 20 years now, featuring scholars from the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities as well as from its seven sister academies. The lectures are aimed at a broad audience to provide insights into research. Afterward, attendees have the opportunity to engage in conversation with the scholars over pretzels and wine in the Academy’s courtyard garden.

The series is held in cooperation with vhs Heidelberg.