author
Theodor Lipps
1851–1914
A major figure in German philosophy and psychology, he is best remembered for shaping the modern idea of empathy through his influential writing on aesthetics and perception. His work helped connect questions about art, feeling, and the mind in ways that still echo today.
2 Audiobooks
Komik und Humor: Eine Psychologische-Ästhetische Untersuchung
by Theodor Lipps
Der Streit über die Tragödie
by Theodor Lipps
About the author
Born in Wallhalben, Bavaria, on July 28, 1851, Theodor Lipps was a German philosopher and psychologist who taught at the universities of Bonn, Breslau, and Munich. He became widely known in his own time as an important academic voice in both philosophy and psychology.
Lipps is most closely associated with aesthetics and with the idea of Einfühlung—usually translated as empathy. He used the term to describe the way people project feeling and inner life into what they perceive, especially in experiences of art and form. That idea later became highly influential well beyond aesthetics.
He died in Munich on October 17, 1914. Although he is less widely read today than some of his contemporaries, his work remains an important part of the history of modern psychology, aesthetics, and theories of empathy.