An epistemology of empathy and modern methods of social research

Intimations of the mind and early Chicago sociology

Bibliographic Data

ID4881510
AuthorsJoseph C Hermanowicz (0000-0001-5155-4941, Department of Sociology University of Georgia Athens Georgia USA, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume60
Issue4
Pagese22325-e22325
Publication date2024-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-5061 • E-ISSN: 1520-6696
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/jhbs.22325
PMID39314208
OpenAlexW4402765391
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited67

Empathic qualitative methods have become emblematic of early Chicago sociology. Yet methods were not formalized through the early 20th century and empathy was not in usage as a term. Only at mid-20th century did methodological formalization in sociology begin to occur, and an additional quarter-century passed before writing about empathy in sociological methods began to crystallize. Nevertheless, a portion of early Chicago sociologists, assimilating pragmatist thought, established a framework for the deployment of empathic acumen. Because empathy involves understanding others, it is argued that it is central to the study of social life. The article contends that understanding empathy must be as central to the social scientist's knowledge as it is to the effective deployment of research methods: a competent quest to generate knowledge about social life is premised on empathy. To heighten awareness of empathy, an epistemology is necessary. To this end, the article examines empathy as situated by a set of organizational and historical conditions that account for its origin and ascendance as a prescriptive characteristic of sociological work. The author draws attention to the significance of suffering and suggests that its religious precepts are transmuted for the conditions under which sociology develops in turn-of-the-century Chicago

Empathy · Epistemology · Pragmatism · Situated · Sociology · American History and Culture · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Management and Organizational Studies · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology

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