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A Rumor of Empathy: Rewriting Empathy in the Context of PhilosophyRewriting Empathy in Freud

A Rumor of Empathy: Rewriting Empathy in the Context of Philosophy: Rewriting Empathy in Freud [Theodor Lipps had a direct influence on Sigmund Freud. Nevertheless, Freud’s use and mention of “empathy” is complicated by James Strachey’s mistranslation of the term. Freud’s method was an empathic one, and the dispute is not that Freud did not use or value empathy. Freud applies empathy in his clinical practice, even when he does not use the word [Einfühlung]. Freud’s mention (and use) of “empathy” is noted in education, clinical psychoanalytic technique, narrative art, as well as interhuman understanding writ large. Two reasons explain why Freud limited mentions of the word “empathy”: (1) Freud did not want to be regarded as a follower of Lipps; (2) Freud’s definition of introspection remained unrelated to empathy, and introspection is the royal road to empathy. Although Freud never uses empathy in the sense of Lipps’ “projective aesthetic empathy,” Freud’s use of empathy is aesthetically relevant because humor, art appreciation, and empathy are transformations in the psyche.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Rumor of Empathy: Rewriting Empathy in the Context of PhilosophyRewriting Empathy in Freud

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Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan UK
Copyright
© Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited 2014
ISBN
978-1-349-50462-6
Pages
66 –82
DOI
10.1057/9781137465344_5
Publisher site
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Abstract

[Theodor Lipps had a direct influence on Sigmund Freud. Nevertheless, Freud’s use and mention of “empathy” is complicated by James Strachey’s mistranslation of the term. Freud’s method was an empathic one, and the dispute is not that Freud did not use or value empathy. Freud applies empathy in his clinical practice, even when he does not use the word [Einfühlung]. Freud’s mention (and use) of “empathy” is noted in education, clinical psychoanalytic technique, narrative art, as well as interhuman understanding writ large. Two reasons explain why Freud limited mentions of the word “empathy”: (1) Freud did not want to be regarded as a follower of Lipps; (2) Freud’s definition of introspection remained unrelated to empathy, and introspection is the royal road to empathy. Although Freud never uses empathy in the sense of Lipps’ “projective aesthetic empathy,” Freud’s use of empathy is aesthetically relevant because humor, art appreciation, and empathy are transformations in the psyche.]

Published: Sep 23, 2015

Keywords: aesthetic empathy; Einfühlung; empathy; identification; introspection; James Strachey; mistranslation; self-knowledge; Sigmund Freud; Theodor Lipps

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