本书写于1930年。当时作者虽相当了解法西斯主义，但对国家社会主义几乎一无所知。当作者还在为书稿的完成而喜悦时，十分震惊地听说国家社会党人在1930年的选举中赢得了最初的胜利。书稿被搁置一旁有一年之久。因为我不想让它在我的三卷本《哲学》之有问世。《哲学》在1931年发表。该书发表后几星期，本书也出版了。为了阐明那个时代，作者利用了仅属于那些特别岁月的事实材料，因而本书在许多方面感染了当时的气氛。尽管自它问世以来已发生了种种事情，但是若考虑一下今天的哲学状况和世界情景，那么作者认为，它在现在和当时一样有效。

First published in English in 1933, this detailed philosophical examination of the contemporary state and nature of mankind is a seminal work by influential German philosopher Karl Jaspers. Elucidating his theories on a variety of topics pertaining to contemporary and future human existence, Man in the Modern Age is an ambitious and wide-ranging work, which meditates upon such diverse subjects as the tension between mass-order and individual human life, our present conception of human life and the potential for mankind's future existence. Written shortly before the accession to power of Hitler and National Socialism, this is not only an important philosophical work, but also an insightful and intriguing historical document.