The forms of sympathy and its role in understanding other's experiences in Scheler

Abstract

The objective is to describe the main features of the sympathy phenomenon from Max Scheler's phenomenology. The central problem is to show how sympathy shows itself as a privileged "place" for understanding the experiences of others, because it implies a psychic-affective unification with whom one sympathizes or welcomes. However, compassion and co-rejoicing cannot be understood as the apprehension of psychic contents unrelated to the reproduction of the feelings of the other, mistakenly equating sympathizing with affective contagion. Thus, first, some reasons and ways of transformations of anthropologies and historical consolidation of the modern ratio that led to such mistake are outlined. Then, after distinguishing the plural forms of sympathy, showing its law of internal reasoning, it is discussed in what sense sympathy is to suffer and to rejoice by spelling out its intentional structure. To know the other, however, is not only to unite affectionately with others, but the free decision, proper of a spiritual being, to take part in the opening of the personal being of others, to participate in their intentional acts. It follows, then, that sympathizing presupposes the supreme form of love. Palavras-chave : Feelings; sympathy; love; knowledge of each other.