The Collected Works of EDITH STEIN ON THE PROBLEM OF EMPATHY

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84 Edith Stein if . . . then, so that the givenness of one occurrence (be it psychic or physical) motivates a progressi
Edith Stein C onstitution of the P slcho-P hlsicaL I ndiuidual 87 ligible to me, including those unfamiliar up to rhar point. For example, I can understand a furious laugh. Thus, too, I can understand the tail rvagging of a dog as an expression of.joy if its appearance and its behal'ior othenvise disclose such {'eelinqs and its situation warrants them. (n) The Constitution of the Psychic Indiaidual and lts Signifcance for the Correction of Empathl But the possibility of correction goes furtl'rer. I not only interpret single experiences and single-meaning contexts, but I take them as announcements of individual attributes and their bearers, just as I take my own experiences in inner perception. I not only con'rprehend an actual feeling in the friendly glance, but Iriendliness as an habitual attribute. An outburst of anger reveals a "vehement temperament" to me. In him who penetrates an intricate association I comprehend sagacity, etc. possibly these attributes are constituted for me in a whole series of corroborating and correcting empathic acts. Bur having thus gotren a picture ofthe foreign "character" as a unity of these attributes, this itself serves me as a point of departure for the verification of further empathic acts. If someone tells me about a dishonest act by a person I have recognized as honest, I u'ill not believe him. And, as in single experiences, there are also meaning contexts among personal attributes. There are essentially congenial and essentiallt, uncongenial attributes. A truly' good man cannot be vindictive; a sympathetic person, not cruel; a candid person, not "diplomatic," etc. Thus rve comprehend the unity of'a character in each attribute, as \4'e comprehend the r.rnity of a thirrg in every material attribute. Therein we possess a motivation for futtrre experiences. This is how all the elements of the individual are constituted fcrr us in empathic acts. (o) Deceptions of Empathl As in every experience, deceptions are here also possible. But here, too, they can only be unmasked by the same kind of experiential acts or else by inferences finally leading back to such acts as their basis. Many instances have already shown us what sources such deceptions can have. We come to false conclusions if'we empathically take or-rr individual characteristic as a basis instead of our typ.."' Examples are: if r.r'e ascribe our impressions of color to the color-blind, our ability to judge to the cl-rild, our aesthetic receptiveness to the uncultivated. If' empathy onll' meant this kind of interpretation of foreign psychic life, one would justifiably have to reject it, as Scheler does. But here he is confronted with what he has reproached in other theories: He has taken the case of deception as tl-le normal case. But, as rve said, this deceptior) can only be removed again bv empathv. If I empathize that the unmusical person has my enjoyment of a Beethoven symphony, this deception will disappear as soon as I look him in the face and see his expression o{'deadlv boredom. \4Ie can make the same error, in principle, rvhen we infer by analogy. Here our own actual, not typical, characteristic fbrnrs the starting point, too. If I logically proceed from this, I do not reach a deception (i.e., a supposed primordial givenness of u'hat is r-rot actually present), but a false inference on the basis of' the false premise. The result is the same in both cases: an absetrce of what is really present. Certainly "common sense" cloes not take "infererrce from oneself to others" as a usable means of reaching knowledge of foreign psychic life. In order to prevent such errors and deceptions, we need to be constantly guided by ernpathy through outer perception. The constitution of the fbreign individual is founded throughout on the constitution of the physical body. 'Ihus the givenness in outer perception of a physical body of a certain nature is a presupposition for the givenness of a psvcho-physical individual. On the other hand, we cannot take a single step beyond the physical body through outer perception alone, but, as we saw, the individual is only possible for a subject of the same tvpe. For example, a Irure "I," for which no living body of its own and no psycho-physical relationships are cor-rstituted primordially, could perhaps have all kinds of objects given, but it could not perceive animated, living bodies-living individuals. It is, of course, very difficult to decide what is here a matter of fact and rvhat is necessary essentially. This rerluires its oult investigation.
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The Collected Works of EDITH STEIN
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vi Edith Stein 4. -I'he Controversy
Page 5 and 6: l,,,n .n. undersrandi ,r,rlno.u.!r,
Page 7 and 8: xiv Edith Stein problem of empathy
Page 9 and 10: xvlll Edith Stein enological standp
Page 11 and 12: xxii Edith Stein Tr an s I ato r' s
Page 13 and 14: ON THE PROBLEM OF EMPATHY Foreword
Page 15 and 16: 4 Edith Stein What t an be leli if
Page 17 and 18: 8 Edith Stem primordially given, i'
Page 19 and 20: I2> 12 Edith Stein physical individ
Page 21 and 22: 16 Edith Stein Br.rt it seenls to m
Page 23 and 24: 20 Edith Stein The Essence of Acts
Page 25 and 26: 24 Edith Stein cheer me up.) Here,
Page 27 and 28: 28 Edith Stein experiences we only
Page 29 and 30: \JUl clearlt conscious motive for
Page 31 and 32: Chapter III The Constitution of the
Page 33 and 34: 40 Edith Stein soul. But, as we alr
Page 35 and 36: 44 Edith Stein usually comes up in
Page 37 and 38: 48 Edith Stein The psychic is in es
Page 39 and 40: 2 Edith Stein f unloading very well
Page 41 and 42: Edith Stein Constitution of the P s
Page 43 and 44: Edith Stein by empathic presentatio
Page 45 and 46: 62 Edith Stein as a physical bocly
Page 47 and 48: 66 Edith Stein (h) The Foreign Liui
Page 49 and 50: 7() 7'dith Stein n o n - p sy c h i
Page 51 and 52: 74 Edith Stein C onstitution of the
Page 53 and 54: 78 Edith stein Constitution of the
Page 55: 82 Edith Stent Wehavealreadyportray
Page 59 and 60: Chapter IV Empathy as the Understan
Page 61 and 62: 105> Edith Stein absolutely as the
Page 63 and 64: 98 Edith Stein 3. The Constitution
Page 65 and 66: 02 Edith Stein Empathy as the Under
Page 67 and 68: 106 Edith Stein center or the "1" k
Page 69 and 70: I l0 Edith Stein teristic:s to be d
Page 71 and 72: ll4 Edith Stein Empatfu as the Unde
Page 73 and 74: l 18 Edith Stein taken so literally
Page 75 and 76: 1r, Edith Stein l{otes t23 phenomen
Page 77 and 78: 2b Edith Stein ?q na cit..p.57f. '
Page 79 and 80: 130 Edith Stein experiences is plai
Page 81 and 82: 134 phenomenological reduction xiv,
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The Collected Works of EDITH STEIN ON THE PROBLEM OF EMPATHY

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