Empathy in the early 20th century: Moritz Geiger and the importance of conceptual clarification

This article discusses Geiger's review of empathy, expressed in a lecture at the IV German Congress of Experimental Psychology in 1910. It deals with the key psychological question of how it is possible to know the minds of others. This question is complex and needs clarification, so Geiger divided it into 3 basic questions: The first is phenomenological (what is the conscious experience of empathy?); the second relates to the psychological function performed by the empathic act; and the third question asks whether and how empathy is acquired during personal development. Finally, Geiger introduces a distinction between basic empathy and reliving. Geiger's conceptual clarification is discussed and its relevance for the psychology and philosophy of his time is considered, as well as its possible influence on Jaspers' General Psychopathology. Finally, the current debate in the neurocognitive science of empathy is examined in light of Geiger's conceptualization. (PsycINFO Database Record