The Thought, Written, and Spoken Word. Ferdinand Ebner as the Author of the Letters to Luisa Karpischek

Abstract

When we are talking about the word in a scientific context, we usually have in mind an abstract and impersonal word proper to the sciences. However, each word, even when used in philosophy, if it is to have any meaning at all, should be connected to life, and particularly, addressed from a concrete I to a concrete Thou. This is how Ferdinand Ebner, one of the founders of the philosophy of dialogue, perceives it. In this article, on the basis of what Ebner wrote to his female friend, Luisa Karpischek, an attempt is made to follow the movement of the word: from the word experienced, thought, and written in the letters and notes, to the word spoken. This is, so to speak, an attempt to show the genesis of Ebner’s views, known from his philosophical books. As in life, not everything has been said in the letters, some things remain for the reader to guess.