Abstract

From a phenomenological point of view a human being is an interlacing of body (Körper, Leib), psyche, consciousness as mind and spirit (Geist); it is a person who shares with another person spatial and temporal relations, feelings, valuations. A human being is both a natural and a cultural being, that is a person - as Husserl says - who can feel what another person feels only through sharing values, which are cultural determined. According to Husserl, a human being is both passive and active and his/her spontaneous, productive faculties originate cultural relations that allow a person to act in a framework of cultural values and valuations. It is, therefore, necessary to investigate the cultural basis of empathy.