Empathy and Consciousness

The article begins by presenting five main theses: consciousness is intersubjective; empathy is central to the encounter between self and other; empathy makes the science of consciousness possible; empathy develops toward non-egocentric forms of relation; and the study of intersubjectivity requires collaboration between cognitive science, phenomenology, and contemplative traditions. The main sections discuss enactive cognitive science and the embodied mind; cognitive-scientific approaches to intersubjectivity; phenomenology and intersubjectivity; empathy as a layered experience of self and other; and the “Core Dyad,” which links empathy as a biological capacity with empathy as the precondition of consciousness studies. The article concludes by pointing toward a more integrative science of consciousness grounded in embodiment, affect, interpersonal relation, and contemplative transformation.