I would just like to have a rough sketch of what an individual is, the subject of experience. For Stein, the individual is a psycho-physical individual. But for the purposes of analysis, I will separate the two elements of the individual, and focus on the psychic. The physical aspect is tackled here. The following are based on Edith Stein’s On the Problem of Empathy.
The Pure I
The individual is “‘itself’ and no other.” What it is is different from the “he” or “she.” It is, thus, just a “qualityless subject of experience,” a recognition of the subject’s uniqueness. For Stein, the individual is an individual, precisely because others are facing it.
The Stream of Consciousness
The “I” is not merely a qualityless subject of experience. Instead, it is also a stream of consciousness. Stein indicates that the “I” does not have just one experience, but many experiences, past and present. An experience of the individual is set against the many experiences the individual has already gone through.
The Soul
The soul is simply the “bearer” of experiences. It is the principle of unity for all experiences of the individual. The soul characterizes the subject’s “own,” and therefore unified, consciousness, separating it from the stream of experience of others.
Empathy 