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Edith Stein: A Philosophical Prologue, 1913-1922
Edith Stein lived an unconventional life. Born into a devout Jewish family, she drifted into atheism in her mid teens, took up the study of philosophy, studied with Edmund Husserl, the founder of phenomenology, became a pioneer in the women's movement in Germany, a military nurse in World War I, converted from atheism to Catholic Christianity, became a Carmelite nun, was murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1942, and canonized by Pope John Paul II. Renowned philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre here presents a fascinating account of Edith Stein's formative development as a philosopher. To accomplish this, he offers a concise survey of her context, German philosophy in the first decades of the twentieth century. His treatment of Stein demonstrates how philosophy can form a person and not simply be an academic formulation in the abstract. MacIntyre probes the phenomenon of conversion in Stein as well as contemporaries Franz Rosenzweig, and Georg Luckas. His clear and concise account of Stein's formation in the context of her mentors and colleagues reveals the crucial questions and insights that her writings offer to those who study Husserl, Heidegger or the Thomism of the 1920's and 30's. Written with a clarity that reaches beyond an academic audience, this book will reward careful study by anyone interested in Edith Stein as thinker, pioneer and saint.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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About the author
Alasdair MacIntyre
77 books516 followersAlasdair 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.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 8, 2014
This is a philosophical biography of a philosopher by another philosopher. To write a proper review of it is above my head. With my comments that follow, I simply wish to organize and preserve my thoughts about the subject.
Edith Stein (1881-1942) was declared a saint by the Catholic church in 1998. She grew up in a loving, religiously observant Jewish family in Breslau, Germany. In her teenage years, she became an atheist. She didn't really reject Judaism itself just the Judaism of her childhood. In college, Edith took an interest in psychology and then philosophy, and she went on to study for a doctorate in philosophy under Edmund Husserl (1859-1938), the founder of the branch of philosophy called phenomenology. Incidentally, he was also a German Jew but had converted to Lutheranism in his early twenties.
In these latter decades of the Kaisereich (before 1918), German Jews were no longer confined to being merchants but were able to enter the professions. Career opportunities for women were expanding as well. However, for a female to get hired as a professors of philosophy--that was another story. To get a professorship in a German university one had to do two doctoral theses, under two different advisers. Both of Edith Stein's theses were originally rejected because her advisers could not accept the idea of a woman as a faculty peer. But Husserl's wife intervened and influenced her husband to approve Stein's thesis (1916).
After Edith Stein had left her teaching assistant position under Husserl, she was succeeded by Martin Heidigger (1889-1976), who quickly became the most influential German philosopher of the 20th century. In 1933, Martin Heidigger joined the Nazi party and remained a member until the end. In his own personal attitudes and intellectual beliefs, Heidigger was not antisemitic, but from his position as a university rector and the most renowned philosopher in Germany, he expressed significant, extensive hatred towards Jews.
Edith Stein had had some knowledge of Catholic thought. While on a summer break from university, she read the autobiography of Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), a Carmelite nun, and it moved her to become a Catholic right away. Not one to take half measures, Theresa also became a Carmelite nun (1933). A sister followed her into Catholicism and the Carmelites as well.
In 1938, as Jewish persecution escalated in Germany, Edith Stein's religious superior transferred Edith and her sister to a Carmelite convent in the Netherlands. But in 1940, the Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands and began to deport the Dutch Jews to the concentration camps. Originally, they did deport Jews who had converted to Christianity prior to the Nazi occupation. However, in July of 1942, the Bishops of Holland wrote a letter condemning the deportation of the Jews and had it read from the pulpit at every Mass in every church in the Netherlands. The Nazis retaliated by deporting all of the Jews that had previously converted. I believe that, like Etty Hillesum, Edith and her sister could have escaped if they wanted. Edith and her sister were gassed about a week after their arrival at Auswitch.
After the war, Heidigger explained his antisemitism by saying that he was trying to preserve the university and philosophy. The married Heidigger had had affairs with two women that were Jewish. He helped one to escape to another country to avoid the Nazi persecution, and after the war Heidigger, sought out and resumed contact with both women. Heidigger never publicly apologized for his antisemitism. There is one record of a private conversation where he expressed regret.
Heidigger's life and philosophy never intersected. His life was never a witness to truth. And I am ashamed to say that he was a Catholic. In stark contrast, Edith Stein's life and beliefs were one and the same, even in the face of the Holocaust.
Phenomenology concerns itself with human experience. The thing that moves me the most about Edit Stein is that a women of her education and intellect, out of compassion for those suffering from the war (World War I), took a break from graduate school to seek training as a nurse and work for the Red Cross in a hospital for wounded soldiers. She served in the ward that took care of soldiers immediately after surgery. If you know anything about the trench warfare of World War I--the suffering that she witnessed is unimaginable to us today. This experience could have only have verified what she believed about life, experience, and empathy. The title of Edith's doctoral thesis was, On the Problem of Empathy. It is because of her unwavering unity of belief and action, in the face of the worst suffering of which humans are capable, that I call her a woman in the full.
Saint Edit Stein, pray for us.
Edith Stein (1881-1942) was declared a saint by the Catholic church in 1998. She grew up in a loving, religiously observant Jewish family in Breslau, Germany. In her teenage years, she became an atheist. She didn't really reject Judaism itself just the Judaism of her childhood. In college, Edith took an interest in psychology and then philosophy, and she went on to study for a doctorate in philosophy under Edmund Husserl (1859-1938), the founder of the branch of philosophy called phenomenology. Incidentally, he was also a German Jew but had converted to Lutheranism in his early twenties.
In these latter decades of the Kaisereich (before 1918), German Jews were no longer confined to being merchants but were able to enter the professions. Career opportunities for women were expanding as well. However, for a female to get hired as a professors of philosophy--that was another story. To get a professorship in a German university one had to do two doctoral theses, under two different advisers. Both of Edith Stein's theses were originally rejected because her advisers could not accept the idea of a woman as a faculty peer. But Husserl's wife intervened and influenced her husband to approve Stein's thesis (1916).
After Edith Stein had left her teaching assistant position under Husserl, she was succeeded by Martin Heidigger (1889-1976), who quickly became the most influential German philosopher of the 20th century. In 1933, Martin Heidigger joined the Nazi party and remained a member until the end. In his own personal attitudes and intellectual beliefs, Heidigger was not antisemitic, but from his position as a university rector and the most renowned philosopher in Germany, he expressed significant, extensive hatred towards Jews.
Edith Stein had had some knowledge of Catholic thought. While on a summer break from university, she read the autobiography of Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), a Carmelite nun, and it moved her to become a Catholic right away. Not one to take half measures, Theresa also became a Carmelite nun (1933). A sister followed her into Catholicism and the Carmelites as well.
In 1938, as Jewish persecution escalated in Germany, Edith Stein's religious superior transferred Edith and her sister to a Carmelite convent in the Netherlands. But in 1940, the Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands and began to deport the Dutch Jews to the concentration camps. Originally, they did deport Jews who had converted to Christianity prior to the Nazi occupation. However, in July of 1942, the Bishops of Holland wrote a letter condemning the deportation of the Jews and had it read from the pulpit at every Mass in every church in the Netherlands. The Nazis retaliated by deporting all of the Jews that had previously converted. I believe that, like Etty Hillesum, Edith and her sister could have escaped if they wanted. Edith and her sister were gassed about a week after their arrival at Auswitch.
After the war, Heidigger explained his antisemitism by saying that he was trying to preserve the university and philosophy. The married Heidigger had had affairs with two women that were Jewish. He helped one to escape to another country to avoid the Nazi persecution, and after the war Heidigger, sought out and resumed contact with both women. Heidigger never publicly apologized for his antisemitism. There is one record of a private conversation where he expressed regret.
Heidigger's life and philosophy never intersected. His life was never a witness to truth. And I am ashamed to say that he was a Catholic. In stark contrast, Edith Stein's life and beliefs were one and the same, even in the face of the Holocaust.
Phenomenology concerns itself with human experience. The thing that moves me the most about Edit Stein is that a women of her education and intellect, out of compassion for those suffering from the war (World War I), took a break from graduate school to seek training as a nurse and work for the Red Cross in a hospital for wounded soldiers. She served in the ward that took care of soldiers immediately after surgery. If you know anything about the trench warfare of World War I--the suffering that she witnessed is unimaginable to us today. This experience could have only have verified what she believed about life, experience, and empathy. The title of Edith's doctoral thesis was, On the Problem of Empathy. It is because of her unwavering unity of belief and action, in the face of the worst suffering of which humans are capable, that I call her a woman in the full.
Saint Edit Stein, pray for us.
June 9, 2020
A work of genius about a truly saintly phenomenologist: Edith Stein. MacIntyre shows the power of the history of philosophy when it is done right. A true philosophical masterpiece.
March 6, 2023
As an Edith Stein scholar myself I was really looking forward to reading Macintyre's book. My hope was that he would make a strong argument about Edith Stein's place in the history of philosophy. However, what I found was a book with lots of great information about Stein and her philosophical relationships and influences yet no really strong central thesis about her overall contributions to the philosophy of phenomenology. The information in itself was great yet The Institute for Carmelite Studies has already put out a great deal of detailed information on this time period. What was really needed in my opinion was for someone to take all of this good evidence and make a strong argument. I really should thank Macintyre though because my disappointment over what I wanted his book to be led me to publish my master's thesis "The Philosophical Contributions of Edith Stein" which deals with this same time period and does make a strong argument that Edith Stein has made important and heretofor uncredited contributions to phenomenology. In this way I would say that Macintyre's book has accomplished what any good book on philosophical research wishes to accomplish: The stimulation of further thought and research on a given topic.
August 1, 2014
This was a very helpful exploration of Edith Stein's philosophical development. For me, it was also a helpful introduction to phenomenology and Husserl's philosophy. The comparison between Stein's conversion and the "conversions" of three of her contemporaries was fascinating, but perhaps most helpful was the rare exploration of the relationship between life and philosophy. For example, MacIntyre relates Stein's experience as a nurse in the Great War with her philosophical work on empathy. I only wish he would have treated more of her work after her conversion and her death. Even though in that case, the book would not have been a "prologue," the book as it stands seems incomplete.
June 26, 2025
Alasdair MacIntyre recently passed away and so I thought it was a good opportunity to read his book explaining the philosophical context, influences, and development of the early Edith Stein. Her first forays into philosophy were as an atheistic/agnostic Jew studying phenomenology under Edmund Husserl at Gottingen; it was only later that she came to Christian faith and the tools it offers to philosophy (particularly Thomism). Any discussion that MacIntyre provides of her later development was only to help understand her earlier thought as a kind of prologue.
While Husserl is typically the focus of scholarly discussions of the early Stein, MacIntyre (of course) explains Husserl's influence, but also expands and deepens our understanding of the broader Phenemenological context that further shaped her thought and took it in directions that were often at odds with 'the Master.' MacIntyre focuses especially on Adolf Reinach and the ways that Stein followed and developed his thought. He also helpfully compares and contrasts Stein with Husserl's other famous student, Martin Heidegger. Whereas Heidegger started out as a Catholic/scholastic and moved to atheism, Stein went the opposite course, starting as an atheist and becoming a Catholic philosopher. MacIntyre's discussion of their differing views of Dasien was especially helpful. MacIntyre also shows the importance that Roman Ingarden had on Stein, though the focus on him is a bit more muted.
Due to MacIntyre's own standing as an important Catholic philosopher, his ability to highlight and explain these particular influences on Stein, both critically as a philosopher and sympathetically as a Christian, made this especially helpful. His final chapters on the nature of conversion (whether religious, philosophical, or political) as a way to understanding Stein's own conversion(s) was very insightful. MacIntyre wasn't afraid to take amusing swiped at other philosophers, which made this fun as well as informative. This is a book that I will return to as I continue my studies of Stein.
While Husserl is typically the focus of scholarly discussions of the early Stein, MacIntyre (of course) explains Husserl's influence, but also expands and deepens our understanding of the broader Phenemenological context that further shaped her thought and took it in directions that were often at odds with 'the Master.' MacIntyre focuses especially on Adolf Reinach and the ways that Stein followed and developed his thought. He also helpfully compares and contrasts Stein with Husserl's other famous student, Martin Heidegger. Whereas Heidegger started out as a Catholic/scholastic and moved to atheism, Stein went the opposite course, starting as an atheist and becoming a Catholic philosopher. MacIntyre's discussion of their differing views of Dasien was especially helpful. MacIntyre also shows the importance that Roman Ingarden had on Stein, though the focus on him is a bit more muted.
Due to MacIntyre's own standing as an important Catholic philosopher, his ability to highlight and explain these particular influences on Stein, both critically as a philosopher and sympathetically as a Christian, made this especially helpful. His final chapters on the nature of conversion (whether religious, philosophical, or political) as a way to understanding Stein's own conversion(s) was very insightful. MacIntyre wasn't afraid to take amusing swiped at other philosophers, which made this fun as well as informative. This is a book that I will return to as I continue my studies of Stein.
March 5, 2022
A philosophical intellectual biography, a history of the philosophical development of the phenomenologist-turned-Carmelite Saint Edith Stein, who studies under Husserl and was canonized as a Saint in the Catholic Church.
This biography focuses on the development of her philosophy, it IS a general biography but it focuses on how the events of her life consistently shaped her philosophy; it's very theory-heavy (as you'd expect, Alasdair MacIntyre is a brilliant man.) It ends, rather than begins, with her conversion to the Roman Catholic Church.
This biography focuses on the development of her philosophy, it IS a general biography but it focuses on how the events of her life consistently shaped her philosophy; it's very theory-heavy (as you'd expect, Alasdair MacIntyre is a brilliant man.) It ends, rather than begins, with her conversion to the Roman Catholic Church.
December 23, 2020
What can we learn about Edith Stein's conversion to Catholicism (she later died at Auschwitz and was canonized), from her seminal writings on phenomenology under the guidance of her mentor Husserl. That's what this book purports to show.
An easy and comprehensive introduction to phenomenology about which I knew little. It introduces us to many of the early participants, not just Husserl. Several of her peers fought (and died) in the trenches. There was more than one religious conversion.
The book ends at the point of her conversion, so this is not a complete biography. It is about her contribution to phenomenology, her colleagues and her life prior to conversion and about what may have caused her to convert. As the title says: "A philosophical prologue".
Stein did work on the Philosophy of Emotions, Other Minds, Empathy and Social Cognition, and Collective Intentionality and Social Ontology. I liked her analysis of moods and their impact on the empathy. Someone who is tired will be less empathetic. Sounds obvious, but so often philosophical concepts are analyzed in an abstract space where energy and mood have no role. Stein's moods reminded me of the Gunas in Samkhya philosophy.
An easy and comprehensive introduction to phenomenology about which I knew little. It introduces us to many of the early participants, not just Husserl. Several of her peers fought (and died) in the trenches. There was more than one religious conversion.
The book ends at the point of her conversion, so this is not a complete biography. It is about her contribution to phenomenology, her colleagues and her life prior to conversion and about what may have caused her to convert. As the title says: "A philosophical prologue".
Stein did work on the Philosophy of Emotions, Other Minds, Empathy and Social Cognition, and Collective Intentionality and Social Ontology. I liked her analysis of moods and their impact on the empathy. Someone who is tired will be less empathetic. Sounds obvious, but so often philosophical concepts are analyzed in an abstract space where energy and mood have no role. Stein's moods reminded me of the Gunas in Samkhya philosophy.
July 28, 2010
Wonderful on so many levels - a lovely introduction to 20th century German philosophy, a beautiful retelling of a woman's secular Jewish life from eastern Germany - a nice Brelau parallel to the life of Heidegger's piece of fluff from Koenigsburg, Hannah Arendt - of her conversion and her heroism. Not what you hear at Temple.
February 2, 2015
Great exploration of Stein's early philosophical career. Helped me understand the relationship between Husserl's thought (particularly, the "transcendental ego") and Heidegger's (particularly, "Dasein.") Also valuable for explaining one of the major trends in 20th century Catholic philosophical theology: the project of reconciling Thomist ontology with the Husserl's phenomenology.
October 1, 2015
Wonderful. A great introduction to the philosophy of Edith Stein, as well as the phenomenological movement in general. Leaves one hoping for a sequel.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews