Introduction
Theodor Lipps (German: [lɪps]; 28 July 1851 – 17 October 1914) was a German philosopher.
Biography
Lipps was one of the most influential German university professors of his time, attracting many students from other countries. Lipps was very concerned with conceptions of art and the aesthetic, focusing much of his philosophy around such issues. Among his fervent admirers was Sigmund Freud, Lipps then being the main supporter of the idea of the Unconscious. He thought that each state had its level of consciousness and that laughter was associated with hidden negative aspects. He adopted Robert Vischer's notions of empathy or esthetic sympathy (Einfühlung). Late in life, Lipps adopted some ideas from Edmund Husserl. Disliking his psychologism, some of his students joined with some of Husserl's to form a new branch of philosophy called phenomenology of essences. Among them there was Moritz Geiger who wrote one of the first phenomenological essays on the essence and meaning of empathy in which the influence of Lipps is relevant.