Edith Stein: The Philosophical Background

by Alasdair MacIntyre

MacIntyre is one of the major British philosophers of the post-war years. He is a convert to Roman Catholicism. Edith Stein was an intellectual of considerable importance in the period between the two World Wars, also canonised as a Saint. A Jewish convert to Catholicism, she died in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Stein's published essays focused largely on the structure of the person and a careful articulation of the essential nature of community and its basis in our nature as persons. MacIntyre looks at Stein as both a theologian and philosopher, and reveals many of the fundamental issues in both disciplines.

Genres: Philosophy

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 8, 2007

About the author

Alasdair Chalmers MacIntyre was a British-American philosopher who contributed to moral and political philosophy as well as history of philosophy and theology. MacIntyre's After Virtue (1981) is one of the most important works of Anglophone moral and political philosophy in the 20th century. He was senior research fellow at the Centre for Contemporary Aristotelian Studies in Ethics and Politics (CASEP) at London Metropolitan University, emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, and permanent senior distinguished research fellow at the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture. During his lengthy academic career, he also taught at Brandeis University, Duke University, Vanderbilt University, and Boston University.

Reviews

[Rodrigo · Rating 5 out of 5]

No es un libro fácil, exige tener algunos conocimientos sobre Husserl y la fenomenología para entender lo que dice MacIntyre. Dicho eso, es excelente. Sitúa a Stein en la historia de la filosofía, nos muestra con quiénes está dialogando, a quiénes les responde y con quién está tomando distancia. MacIntyre también muestra su relevancia (que es mayor a la que se le da) y los aportes originales que hace.

Creo que buena parte de los argumentos de MacIntyre en Animales racionales y dependientes encuentran eco en la obra de Stein. En particular, que el sujeto que conoce no siempre está al tope de sus capacidades, también siente dolor, cansancio, molestia. Stein -y MacIntyre también- rescata la idea de que lo que somos solo puede ser entendido en referencia a otros con los que convivimos.

No sé si entendí todo. Tendré que releer para sacar más lecciones e ideas. Pero es excelente.

[David K. Glidden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caveat: This is the British edition of the very same volume on Stein’s early, secular philosophical views but with a different title, by Alasdair MacIntyre. Of course, the book is stellar, a history of philosophy written and researched to perfection.