Phenomenological Empathy by Edith Stein and Empathic Attitude by Carl Rogers: A Possible Dialogue?

Abstract

Empathy has been the subject of analysis by different authors and theoretical currents over time. Its conceptualization and the way in which this human phenomenon presents itself in intersubjective relationships were postulated by phenomenologists such as Edith Stein, while authors in the field of psychology, such as Carl Rogers, sought to describe the empathic attitude in the psychotherapeutic relationship. In this context, the objective of this work was to dialogue between the phenomenological conceptualization of empathy by Edith Stein and the empathic attitude in person-centered psychotherapy proposed by Carl Rogers, seeking to identify possible consensus and dissent between the works of Stein and Rogers on the topic. This is a qualitative bibliographic research of narrative review including literature in Portuguese, English and German, especially the original publication of a fragment of Stein's doctoral thesis and other subsequent original texts of his authorship with an autobiographical character. What we identified was much closer to possible consensus than dissent. Despite coming from different life contexts and social realities, with different scientific purposes, the philosopher and the psychologist presented, in their descriptions of empathy and its related aspects, a script whose evolution often brought resonant elements. In other words, when developing their theories, Stein and Rogers shared perceptions about the empathic relationship that can often be situated along confluent lines. However, it is important to highlight that this essay on the theoretical approaches surrounding Stein and Rogers' postulations on empathy does not aim to end the dialogue it proposed, but rather to open space for new and comprehensive reflections that aim to deepen the look at the human phenomenon of empathy.