You are invited to the Mahindra Harvard Humanities Center to attend the Philosophy, Poetry and Religion Seminar
Abstract
A multi-dimensional definition of empathy is proposed. It gathers together four aspects of a unified, coherent process of empathy that maps to a hermeneutic circle of empathy
(see Figure at end of paper).
These aspects or moments occur simultaneously but are put into sequence for purposes of exposition including: empathic receptivity as communicability of affect, empathic understanding of human possibilities, empathic interpretation of perspectives such as first and second person relatedness, and responsiveness in language.
The linguistic aspects of empathy include the paradox that empathy occurs in language first and foremost as listening. However, it also encompasses an optimal responsiveness to the humanity of the other as the paradigm speech act of narrative and short micro-narrative responses that demonstrate relatedness. Examples are engaged. I will NOT be reading the paper. I will be talking about the Figure on the hermeneutic circle of empathy at the back end of the paper.
