Europe, an ethical-political cipher (Karl Jaspers)

Abstract

This communication tries to illuminate the main elements of the Karl Jaspers’s review done on the idea of Europe. We want to consider generically how the Jaspers’ position help us to understand the contradiction within the idea of Europe, specifically regarding to Philosophy: Philosophy intends to universal, but it is always historical. From this point emerges the question how to think the idea of civilizational universality, that is alive in the axiological core of Europe’s idea, with the relativity and fallibility of its factual project.

Keywords: freedom, authority, history, Europe.