Abstract
The paper situates the notion of empathy broadly within the historical context of its origins and subsequent conceptual development, particularly in psychotherapy. It shows how the term is related to its wider usage in popular culture and in studies outside of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The paper surveys the contributions of several psychoanalytic writers, from Freud to Kohut. This is followed by a critique of more recent psychoanalytic inquiries into empathy. The discussion explores reasons for some of the difficulties resting with a psychoanalytic approach. It is suggested that these are due in large measure to inherent difficulties in defining the term, but that they are accentuated by the language and polemics of psychoanalysis. More specific contributions are considered with a view to understanding the notions of aetiology, description, function and epistemology in regard to empathy within the psychoanalytic framework.