Although the Eng. term “empathy” was coined only in the early 20th century, the Ger. equivalent Einfühling was developed much earlier by J. G. Herder (1744–1803). It played a great role in the metaphysical-aesthetic speculations of Romanticism. In 1903 T. Lipps subjected it to an incisive description and analysis. In the United States it was taken up in a sociopsychological context as a method of sensitivity training. From S. Freud (1856–1939) by way of F. T. Vischer, it made its way into psychoanalysis. H. Kohut made it into a scientifically valid psychotherapeutic method resting o…