The Non-Primordial Theory Of Edith Stein's Theory

In this philosophical study, Edith Stein’s theory of empathy/Einfühlung (aka. in-feeling) will define the “non-primordial” experience as part of the unconscious mind. Stein’s theory presents the “primordial” and the non-primordial experiences as being a way to understand the impact of empathy in terms of understanding the conscious and unconscious mind. Empathy is defined through the primordial act of experience through the “outer perception” of the conscious mind, which can experientially perceive the pain of another person or group of people, but only in a limited context. However, the more profound aspect of empathy must come from a non-primordial experience, which must come inadvertently from the unconscious mind. In this manner, it is …show more content…
In essence, an analysis of Edith Stein’s theory of empathy/Einfühlung will be examined through the authenticity of the non-primordial unconscious mind in relation to the limitations of the primordial experience through interpersonal relationships. Edith Stein’s theory of empathy provides a complex analysis of the human mind and the experiences that make up this behavior through human interaction. Empathy entails a powerful feeling of being connected with another human being, yet without a conscious feeling of …show more content…
Therefore, sympathy, fantasy, memory, or expectation cannot fully comprehend the act of empathy due to its only being an outer perception of another person’s experience. This is an important part of how Stein presents the conscious mind in the context of a primordial experience, which does not possess the deeper and more profound content of the non-primordial function of the unconscious mind. Certainly, this defines the limitations of human interaction through the restricted access to another person’s feeling and experiences, which make empathy extremely difficult to “teach” to another person if they do not have the non-primordial aspects of unconscious