It could be Pre-reflective with knowledge, but when analysis doesn't kick in yet. Boris Shoshensky
---------- Original Message ---------- From: armando baeza <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Cc: armando baeza <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Worringer and his predecessors Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2009 22:54:16 -0700 I understand it as ; There is no empathy without previous knowledge in our mind. "Empathy is Pre-reflective" sounds like the opposite" to me. mando On Jul 19, 2009, at 6:46 PM, Boris Shoshensky wrote: > Husserl's student Edith Stein described Einfuhlung (empathy) as a > blind mode > of knowledge that reaches the experience of the other without > possessing it. > Einfuhlung is not the same as Verstehen or human understanding, which, > as Dilthey pointed out, requires the use of one's mental powers, > and cannot > be reduced to a mere mode of feeling. To understand is not to > apprehend > something empathetically. > Whereas understanding is reflective, empathy is prereflective. > Boris Shoshensky > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: Worringer and his predecessors > Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2009 13:32:32 GMT > >> It (empathy) has always seamed simple to me, Am I wrong?: > Things or objects reflect the experiences in the mind's knowledge of > those things and objects as individuals or like minded > groups. ...Mando > > > ************ > > That's Vernon Lee's definition of empathy, and it would have a > very wide > application: "Empathy can be traced in all modes of speech and > thought" > > Theodor Lipps restricts his discussion to empathy in aesthetic > enjoyment, > where "empathy is the fact that the antithesis between myself and > the object > disappears, or rather, does not even exist"... "the object (of > esthetic > pleasure) is the strong, proud, free ego; not the ego as such, but > just so > far > as it objectifies itself, that is, so far as it is bound up with the > sensuously perceived figure" > > Worringer quoted Lipps with "Esthetic enjoyment is objectified > self-enjoyment", and then focused on the kind of example that Lipps > offered > (of a dancer moving his arm) to further narrow the scope of empathy as > follows: "The need of empathy may be regarded as the presupposition > of the > artistic purpose only where this purpose inclines to > the truth of organic life, that is, to naturalism in the higher > sense". Then, > Worringer introduced another phrase, "self-privation", which he > suggested > encompassed both naturalism (empathy) and it's opposite (abstraction). > > In our discussion that followed, William told us that "it's not > the majority > case that contemporary art is antagonistic to empathy" > > But he also told us that "contemporary art aims to be outside the > familiar", > which would make it anti-empathetic by all of the above definitions. > > And that's why I asked William to explain what he means by 'empathy' > > (though I'm afraid he's not going to tell us) > > > > > ____________________________________________________________ > Click here to find the right business program for you and take your > career to > the next level. > http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2231/fc/ > BLSrjnxP25gWEeNDLNAwTYQeadELgf > vtDuOZQExTs81jTq1pIKoxdxpeDbq/
