Pure self and empathy according to Edith Stein

Abstract

In the investigation of the sui generis experience of empathy Edith Stein uses the concept of the pure “I” with a triple purpose: (1) To demonstrate that the analysis of this experience occurs in the field of pure investigation, which always refers to the two poles of consciousness: subjective (noesis) and objective (noema); (2) Differentiate the phenomenological approach of the empathic act from other approaches donne in the empirical field (genetic, psychological, moral, ethical, etc. approach); (3) To emphasize that although the capacity to apprehend the experience of others is constitutive of the subject, the “I” always recognizes the flux that belongs to his individuality and differentiates it through otherness.