A Rumor of Empathy: Rewriting Empathy in the Context of Philosophy [Hardcover]

A rumor of empathy in vicarious receptivity, understanding, interpretation, narrative, and empathic intersubjectivity becomes the scandal of empathy in Lipps and Strachey. Yet when all the philosophical arguments and categories are complete and all the hermeneutic circles spun out, we are quite simply in the presence of another human being.Introduction: Rewriting the Definition of Empathy 1. A Rumor of Empathy in Hume's Many Uses of Sympathy 2. A Rumor of Empathy in Kant 3. From a Rumor of Empathy to a Scandal of Empathy in Lipps 4. Rewriting Empathy in Freud 5. Rewriting Empathy in Max Scheler 6. Husserl's Rewriting of Empathy in Husserl Conclusion

Lou Agosta has written a delightful and much needed book on the evolution and genesis of the idea of empathy. His deep appreciation and understanding of the writings of Hume, Kant, Lipps, Freud, Scheler and Husserl allows him to recognize, explore and ultimately fashion a wonderfully clear and practical notion of empathy, one in which we not only come to know the other as we listen with care, understand with insight, and interpret with feeling, but also one in which we learn to communicate openly and respond with humanity. In bringing together the skills of the philosopher and the experience of the psychotherapist, Lou Agosta helps us to understand the steady rise of empathy and why it informs and inspires so many modern-day disciplines and professional practices. For all those wishing to revel in empathy's rich provenance, this is the book for you. - David Howe, Emeritus Professor, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK and author of Empathy: What It Is and Why It Matters

A Rumor of Empathy is a masterpiece of philosophical-historical scholarship, presenting a rich and comprehensive account of the explicit and implicit conceptions of empathy that have appeared in the course of Western thinking from Hume through Kant, Lipps, Freud, and contemporary phenomenologists, both philosophical and psyl“ä