The Nature of SympathyThe Nature of Sympathy explores, at different levels, the social emotions of fellow-feeling, the sense of identity, love and hatred, and traces their relationship to one another and to the values with which they are associated. Scheler criticizes other writers, from Adam Smith to Freud, who have argued that the sympathetic emotions derive from self-interested feelings or instincts. He reviews the evaluations of love and sympathy current in different historical periods and in different social and religious environments, and concludes by outlining a theory of fellow-feeling as the primary source of our knowledge of one another.A prolific writer and a stimulating thinker, Max Scheler ranks second only to Husserl as a leading member of the German phenomenological school. Scheler's work lies mostly in the fields of ethics, politics, sociology, and religion. He looked to the emotions, believing them capable, in their own quality, of revealing the nature of the objects, and more especially the values, to which they are in principle directed. |
Contents
GENETIC THEORIES OF FELLOWFEELING | |
METAPHYSICAL THEORIES | |
3 The treatment of love in metaphysical monism | |
THE PHYLOGENETIC ORIGIN AND EXTENSION OF FELLOW | |
THE MORAL VALUE OF FELLOWFEELING | |
LOVE AND HATRED | |
A THEORY BASED ON THE PHENOMENA | |
2 The facts concerning the perspective of interests | |
4 The parallel extension of love and hatred | |
NATURE AND SCOPE OF THE PROBLEMS | |
THE GENERAL EVIDENCE FOR THE THOU | |
THE SENSE OF UNITY WITH THE COSMOS IN SOME | |
SYMPATHY AND ITS LAWS OF DEPENDENCE | |
THE INTERACTION OF THE SYMPATHETIC FUNCTIONS | |
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Common terms and phrases
act of love actually already animals apprehension attitude awareness benevolence body certainly character cognitive conception consciousness distinct Edith Stein egoism emotional empathy empirical entelechies epistemological Ernst Troeltsch essence essential ethical Ethik existence experience expression fact fellow-feeling Formalismus forms Freud function genuine given Hans Driesch Hegel Hence human hypnosis idea identification illusion impulse individual infection instance internal perception intrinsically intuition kind knowledge Kurt Schneider libido love and hatred Malebranche man's matter Max Scheler means mental merely metaphysical mind mode monistic moral value movement nature object organic panentheistic pantheism perceive phenomena phenomenological philosophical physical pity positive possible present presupposes principle problem psychology pure question reality realization regard relationship Ressentiment Scheler Schopenhauer sensations sense sensory sexual instinct sexual love simply social solipsism soul suffering sympathy tendency Theodor Lipps theory thereby things thought ultimate understanding unity vicarious feeling vital whole