Listening to Edith Stein: Wisdom for a New Century

A Collection of Essays

In addition to exploring and dialoging with others in the history of philosophy as well as her contemporaries, Edith Stein—Teresa Benedicta of the Cross— (1891-1942) has added her own voice to some of the fundamental questions that have been taken up by great minds over the centuries, from Aristotle to Aquinas and beyond. Stein did not simply bring together the work of the various great philosophers and theologians; rather, she delved into their work after having first wrestled with the topics themselves.

These fifteen essays by leading international Stein scholars demonstrate the breadth and depth Stein’s writings offer: a wide terrain for scholarly exploration as well as for the general reader seeking to glean St. Edith Stein’s wisdom on prayer, renewal and feminism. This newest Carmelite Studies volume offers a unique opportunity to “listen” to the voice and wisdom of this 20th century philosopher, convert, Carmelite and martyr.

Includes a fully linked comprehensive index, a complete list of all editions of Edith Stein’s works in both German and English, and biographical sketches of the contributors.

Edith Stein is one of the most significant German-Jewish women of the 20th century. At age twenty-five she became the first assistant to Edmund Husserl, the founder of Phenomenology. She was in great demand as a writer and lecturer after her conversion from atheism to Catholicism. Later, as a Discalced Carmelite nun, she continued her intellectual pursuits until, like so many others, she became a victim of Nazi persecution that raged across Eastern Europe. She died in Auschwitz on August 9, 1942. In 1998 she was canonized a saint.

In recent decades there has been a worldwide upsurge of interest in Stein’s philosophical contributions, as well as her approach to spirituality, prayer, and feminism. This volume is intended as a contribution to that interest.

By focusing on various aspects of Stein’s multifaceted work, each of these thirteen scholars contributes to the important task of identifying Stein’s distinctive voice in the perennial human quest for truth.

This pivotal book is a unique opportunity to “listen” to the voice and wisdom of this 20th-century philosopher, convert, Carmelite and martyr. That voice beckons us to connect with the wisdom of the past, to pay close attention to the many achievements of the human spirit in the present, and to draw on our individual experience and talents, and add our own contributions.

The authors and their respective essays are:

Ann Astell
“Carmel in Cologne, Echt and Auschwitz: Edith Stein’s Last Journeys and the Meaning of Place in Exile”

Angela Ales Bello
“The Spiritual Life and Its Degrees According to Edith Stein”
“Edith Stein: Between Husserl and Thomas Aquinas: Phenomenology and Christian Philosophy”

Prudence Allen, RSM
“The Passion of Edith Stein—Revisited”

Sarah Borden Sharkey
“Value, Emotions, and Edith Stein”

Johanna Valiquette
“Edith Stein’s Metaphysics: Body, Soul, Spirit”

Kathleen Haney
“Images of the Unseen: Stein’s Semiotics of Mystical Theology”
“Genesis and Beyond: Phenomenological Feminism in St. John Paul II and St. Edith Stein”

Michael F. Andrews
“Faith and Phenomenon: Edith Stein on the Paradox of Prayer”

John Sullivan, O.C.D.
“Edith Stein and Renewal: ‘The New Spirit Already Exists and Will Prevail’”

Walter Redmond
“A Purely Formal Conclusion: God Exists”

Mette Lebech
“Edith Stein and Martin Heidegger: On the Meaning of Being”

Antonio Calcagno
“Being, Aevum, and Nothingness: Edith Stein on Death and Dying”

Michael R. Paradiso-Michau
“Empathy and the Face: Edith Stein and Emmanuel Levinas”

Isobel Bowditch
“Life and the Other World: Edith Stein and Michel Henry”