Theodor Lipps

Who was Theodor Lipps?

Theodor Lipps was a German philosopher. 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. Late in life, Lipps adopted some ideas from 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.