Editors’ Introduction

Abstract

Recent years have seen growing interest in the work of Edith Stein (1891–1942), particularly in her theory of empathy. This is due not only to the fact that Stein’s work intersects significantly with contemporary research on empathy, but also because Stein’s phenomenological writings shed new light on problems concerning the nature of self, affectivity, and sociality. In this Introduction, we aim at summarizing some important issues surrounding empathy before introducing Stein’s work and the relevance of her philosophical contribution as developed in the original essays collected in this volume.