Lipps, Theodor
Lipps, Theodor
(1851-1914) Eminent German philosopher and psychologist. The study of optical illusions led him to his theory of empathy. Starts with the presupposition that every aesthetic object represents a living being, and calls the psychic state which we experience when we project ourselves into the life of such an object, an empathy (Einfhlung) or “fellow-feeling”. He applied this principle consistently to all the arts. The empathic act is not simply kinaesthetic inference but has exclusively objective reference. Being a peculiar source of knowledge about other egos, it is a blend of inference and intuition. Main worksPsychol. Studien, 1885; Grundzge d. Logik, 1893; Die ethische Grundfragen, 1899; Aesthetik, 2 vols., 1903-06; Philos. u. Wirklichkeit, 1908; Psychol. Untersuch., 2 vols., 1907-12. — H.H.