EDĪTES ŠTEINAS MĀCĪBA PAR EMPĀTIJU KĀ KOPĪBAS MEKLĒJUMI
EDITH STEIN’S TEACHING ABOUT EMPATHY AS QUEST FOR THE COMMUNITY FEELING

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the understanding of empathy during the early period of Edith Stein’s philosophical development – when she composed and defended her doctoral thesis on the problem of empathy (Zum Problem der Einfühlung), by way of expanding Husserlian phenomenological approach and finalizing this theme in prepared habilitation dissertation Beiträge zur philosophischen Begründung der Psychologie und der Geisteswissenschaften (Philosophy of Psychology and the Humanities). Stein’s contribution to the understanding of empathy has aroused various interpretations among philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, teachers; these range from phenomenological, psychological, communicative approaches to theological and Christian mysticism standpoints. The present research paper accentuates the phenomenological elements in the passage of Stein’s thought in theological direction. The article displays the manner in which Stein’s teaching about empathy and the ‘I – the Other’ relationship is concomitant with the standpoints of the 20th century phenomenology concerning intersubjectivity, the living experience of the community (Gemeinschaftserlebnis) and the spiritual strength (Lebenskraft), and also with the events of the 21st century referring to the need for empathy in ethics, social life, Christian practice. The research paper deals with the cooperation of Edith Stein and Gerda Walter (Walther) and Hedwig Conrad-Martius in the field of phenomenology; it also discusses the differences between Stein’s understanding of empathy and Latvian philosopher Teodors Celms’s views concerning phenomenological solipsism. Stein amalgamates logico-transcendental aspect of phenomenology with the wider vision about the communities, thus arriving at the core philosophical questions about the feelings of community spirit, empathy, values and identities.

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