“Pedantic” linguistic-conceptual notes on empathy

Journal title PSICOTERAPIA E SCIENZE UMANE
Author/s Mauro Fornaro
Publishing Year 2025 Issue 2025/4
Language Italian Pages 8 P. 699-706 File size 256 KB
DOI 10.3280/PU2025-004008
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

It is shown in detail how the concept of empathy, contrary to essentialist definitions, is a construct. Recalling the plurality of current conceptions, it is urged to take into account the etymological meaning of the term when using empathy or developing theories about it. Finally, three typical problems raised by the concept of empathy are discussed: the notion of “feeling” (pathos), the subject of empathy in its relationship with truth, and the “nature” of the relationship between empathizing subject and target subject.

Keywords: Construct; Empathy; Etymology; Feeling; Subject

  1. Scheler M. (1923). Wesen und Formen der Sympathie. Bonn: Cohen (trad. it.: Essenza a forme della simpatia. Roma: Città Nuova, 1980).
  2. Fornaro M. (1993). Kohut: il metodo e le illusioni dell’empatia. Psicoterapia e Scienze Umane, 27, 3: 87-109.
  3. Fornaro M. (2001). Il Sé: quando la moda oscura il rigore dei concetti. Giornale Italiano di Psicologia, 28, 2: 407-412.
  4. Freud S. (1921). Massenpsychologie und Ich-analyse. Gesammelte Werke, 13: 73-161 (trad. it.: Psicologia delle masse e analisi dell’Io. Opere, 9: 259-330. Torino: Boringhieri, 1977).
  5. Gallese V. & Morelli U. (2025). Fare sul serio con l’empatia in psicoanalisi e psicoterapia. Psicoterapia e Scienze Umane, 59, 3: 463-494. DOI: 10.3280/PU2025-003006

Mauro Fornaro, “Pedanti” note linguistico-concettuali sull’empatia in "PSICOTERAPIA E SCIENZE UMANE" 4/2025, pp 699-706, DOI: 10.3280/PU2025-004008