Karl Jaspers On Real Philosophy

Karl Jaspers came to philosophy from another discipline, psychology. His research in psychology exposed him to the searching questions which could only be answered by philosophy. 

Here’s his description of the philosophical scene of the 1920s and his feelings about it: "It seemed to me that the philosophy of the academicians was not really philosophy; instead, with its claims to be a science, it seemed to be entirely a discussion of things which are not essential for the basic questions of our existence. In my own consciousness I myself was not originally a philosopher. But when the intellectual world is empty of philosophy, it becomes the task at least to bear witness to philosophy, to direct the attention to the great philosophers, to try to stop confusion, and to encourage in our youth the interest in real philosophy." ~ (The Philosophy of Karl Jaspers; Edited by Paul Arthur Schilpp; Page 34)

Jaspers never made philosophy his main profession, though he wrote several books on it and believed that philosophy could be regarded as the supreme, and even the sole, concern of man.