Einfühlung • (ein-foo-lung) • noun Definition: Feeling-into, empathy Origin: German Creating Empathy In 1873, German philosopher Robert Vischer published his doctoral thesis, On the Optical Sense of Form: A Contribution to Aesthetics, which was the first published usage of the word einfühlung. In his paper, Vischer spoke about the act of “feeling-into” or “in-feeling” an inanimate object such as a piece of art, which rapidly advanced the analysis of having empathy with something considered an “other.” Vischer’s focus on aesthetics articulated the importance of “feeling-into” art, architecture, and man-made creations. Despite the art being an “other,” it is important for it to invoke an emotional connection and for humans to aspire to “feel-into” their surroundings. Einfühlung expressed the importance of creating things imbued with geist, to recognize the geist of your surroundings, and to feel your geist into entities that could be considered an “other.”
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A Word for "Feeling-Into" the World
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Einfühlung • (ein-foo-lung) • noun Definition: Feeling-into, empathy Origin: German Creating Empathy In 1873, German philosopher Robert Vischer published his doctoral thesis, On the Optical Sense of Form: A Contribution to Aesthetics, which was the first published usage of the word einfühlung. In his paper, Vischer spoke about the act of “feeling-into” or “in-feeling” an inanimate object such as a piece of art, which rapidly advanced the analysis of having empathy with something considered an “other.” Vischer’s focus on aesthetics articulated the importance of “feeling-into” art, architecture, and man-made creations. Despite the art being an “other,” it is important for it to invoke an emotional connection and for humans to aspire to “feel-into” their surroundings. Einfühlung expressed the importance of creating things imbued with geist, to recognize the geist of your surroundings, and to feel your geist into entities that could be considered an “other.”