3 Stages to Understanding Empathy

Edith Stein guides us through a structured approach to understanding others. From noticing another’s feelings, to imaginatively entering their perspective, and finally stepping back with clarity, her insights distinguish empathy from sympathy, showing how thoughtful awareness fosters ethical, authentic, and deeply human connection.

Edith Stein invites us to see empathy as a structured experience. She describes it as a three-level process:

1. Awareness of the Other. First, we become conscious of another person’s feeling. For instance, we may notice a friend’s sadness without immediately “taking it on” as our own.

   This stage involves a direct, pre-reflective recognition of the other’s affective state. Stein defines empathy (Einfühlung) as the intentional act through which one perceives the experiences of another without appropriating them. It is not an emotional projection but a deliberate act of consciousness that recognises the other as a distinct, experiencing subject. According to Stein, this initial awareness establishes the ontological reality of the other. It is the foundation for ethical and relational engagement, highlighting that empathy is not an optional courtesy but a fundamental moral capacity. Waltraut Stein emphasises that this recognition is affiliated with phenomenological methodology, where consciousness is always intentional and relational, allowing the empathiser to apprehend the other’s lived experience without conflating it with their own.

   
   

2. Imaginative Fulfilment. Next, we enter the experience mentally, seeking to clarify what it might be like to inhabit their perspective.

   Stein insists this requires disciplined cognitive engagement rather than mere sympathetic projection. Through the process of imaginative fulfilment, the empathiser enters the other’s situation intentionally, maintaining awareness of the boundaries between self and other. This is a methodologically rigorous phenomenological exercise, similar to Husserl’s epoché, where the focus is on bracketing one’s own subjective biases to apprehend the other’s lived experience accurately. Scholars noted that this imaginative participation is essential for grasping the structure of social acts and moral responsibility, as it allows insight into the affective organisation of consciousness while preserving the autonomy of the other person.

   
   

3. Objectification. Finally, we step back to recognise the experience as the other’s, not our own. For Stein, true empathy involves inhabiting another’s world while maintaining the integrity of one’s own consciousness.

   This stage, which can be described as grounding empathy in reflective clarity, requires moving back and forth (oscillation) between participation and recognition. The empathiser reflects on the previously inhabited state to confirm its status as the other’s experience. Stein’s realist phenomenology frames this as a careful balance: affirming the reality of the other’s experience while maintaining the observer’s own conscious horizon.

   
   

   The tripartite structure: awareness, imaginative fulfilment, and objectification demonstrates Stein’s central proposition that empathy is both morally and cognitively disciplined. It is foundational for ethical life, social understanding and authentic relational engagement.

   
   
   
   

Empathy vs. Sympathy Stein draws a clear distinction: empathy is understanding another’s feeling; sympathy is feeling with them. Empathy comes first, it lays the foundation for genuine emotional connection, allowing us to respond thoughtfully rather than react impulsively.

Sometimes our own emotions interfere. For instance, grief may prevent us from fully rejoicing with someone else. Stein calls this negative empathy—a blockage where our personal state interrupts the natural flow of understanding.

A Moment of Reflection: Reading Stein’s work reminds us: empathy is a delicate balance of presence and distance. It’s not about merging with others but appreciating their experience while remaining rooted in our own. In practicing it, we cultivate a quiet attentiveness, a step toward deeper human connection.