The concept of university in the philosophy of Karl Jaspers

The aim of this research is to examine the university idea of the German philosopher Karl Jaspers, who was considered among the existential philosophers in the 20th century and who was well known in many countries, but little known in our country, and to bring it into the Turkish literature. The main aim is to reveal the philosopher's idea of university with his ideas about the university in The Idea of the University and other works. It is among the main objectives to bring up the basic ideas that should be considered about the university with the ideas put forward by the philosopher and to contribute to the literature in this field. Within the scope of the study, Karl Jaspers's book The Idea of the University, which is his main work on the subject, and other works were examined in order to reveal the idea of university. In order to understand the concept of university in his general philosophy, his works translated into Turkish and all other sources obtained were discussed through document analysis, one of the qualitative research methods. According to the findings obtained; as an existential philosopher, Jaspers focused on human being in his philosophy. He tried to make sense of the existence of man in the world, to explain the existence of man as a possibility, and to reveal the ways of illuminating this existence. He thought that man exists with the desire to know and he can continue his effort to reach this truth in an institution like a university that is universal and incorporates science and philosophy. The university, which is an institution that will serve humanity, is important in the views ofJaspers and the German idealists who existed before him. German philosophers such as Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Friedrich Schelling and Schleiermacher, especially Immanuel Kant, gave importance to the idea of university; have expressed their opinions on the subject. Jaspers adhered to the ideas of Schleiermacher and Kant on the subject; made the idea of university close to theirs. Jaspers writes that the main task to be done at the university is to seek the truth together with researchers and students. According to him, the university should give people a profession, generally educate person and conduct research. Science and scholarship, intellectual life, science and philosophy, research, education and training within the university, communication, existence of the university as an institution, ensuring the unity and integrity of all sciences in the university, the inevitable link of the university with the state and the important factors to be considered in the selection of students to the university are the main issues in his thoughts.