Q0201

Karl Jaspers

A verified English rendering from the curated archive.

English

Man is always more than he knows of himself.
Thinker Karl Jaspers
School Philosophy of Existence
Source Philosophy et al. (standard formulation)
Theme Self
Another quotation More from this thinker

Source context

This English passage is associated with Philosophy et al. (standard formulation), within the tradition of Philosophy of Existence. The wording below is a verified rendering prepared for careful reading rather than a claim of unique translation authority.

A short reading

Read in the register of self, the sentence asks the reader to test an assumption rather than to collect a slogan. In Karl Jaspers's wider work, similar claims are usually offered as prompts for judgment: what would have to be true for the sentence to hold, and what would follow if it did?

How to cite this quotation

APA: Karl Jaspers. (n.d.). Man is always more than he knows of himself. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0201

MLA: Karl Jaspers. “Man is always more than he knows of….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0201.

Chicago: Karl Jaspers. “Man is always more than he knows of….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0201.

Same thinker

More from Karl Jaspers

  1. To philosophize is to be on the way.

All quotations by Karl Jaspers

Same theme

More on self

  1. A friend is another self.
  2. A person's character is their destiny.
  3. I searched for myself.
  4. It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.
  5. Claim yourself for yourself.

Browse the self theme