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Edith Stein: Toward an Ethic of Relationship and Responsibility Judith Parsons

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Edith Stein: Toward an Ethic of Relationship and Responsibility Judith Parsons View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Duquesne University: Digital Commons Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fall 2005 Edith Stein: Toward an Ethic of Relationship and Responsibility Judith Parsons Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Parsons, J. (2005). Edith Stein: Toward an Ethic of Relationship and Responsibility (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1019 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EDITH STEIN: TOWARD AN ETHIC OF RELATIONSHIP AND RESPONSIBILITY A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Philosophy Department McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Sister M. Judith Kathryn Parsons, IHM © Copyright by Sister M. Judith Kathryn Parsons, IHM, 2005 All Rights Reserved Name: Sister M. Judith Kathryn Parsons, IHM Title: Edith Stein: Toward an Ethic of Relationship and Responsibility Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Date: November 7, 2005 APPROVED ____________________________________________________________ Lanei Rodemeyer, Ph.D., Director, Assistant Professor of Philosophy APPROVED ____________________________________________________________ Fred Evans, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy APPROVED ____________________________________________________________ Eleanore Holveck, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Philosophy APPROVED ____________________________________________________________ James Swindal, Ph.D., Chair Department of Philosophy APPROVED ____________________________________________________________ Francesco C. Cesareo, Ph.D., Dean McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts © v To Mom and Dad who first introduced me to . and all those who helped me to stay in touch with . Truth. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In August 2001, I had the privilege of traveling to Germany to find out more about a philosopher whom I had come to love and admire, Edith Stein. Traveling through Würzburg, Göttingen, and Cologne, my friend and fellow companion, Sister Elaine Brookes and I spoke often of God’s Providence. This Provident God had led me to Duquesne University, where, years earlier, I was introduced to phenomenology and a more rigorous, academic pursuit of truth. This same Providence had made circumstances such that I was on Duquesne University’s campus during spring break 2000 when the Eighteenth Annual Symposium of the Simon Silverman Phenomenology Center featured “The Philosophy of Edith Stein.” At that gathering, I listened to and prayed with Steinian scholars Sister Josephine Koeppel, Dr. Angela Ales Bello, Dr. Marianne Sawicki, Father John Sullivan, and other esteemed guests. Months later, Sister Josephine made arrangements for Sister Elaine and me to visit the Stein archives in Würzburg, where Brother Günter welcomed us with characteristic Carmelite warmth and hospitality. Brother Günter made arrangements for Dr. Zingle, former president of the Edith Stein Society, to meet us in Göttingen. There Dr. Zingle showed us the places where Stein had lived as a student, attended classes with Husserl, and celebrated after she passed her comprehensive examinations! Brother Günter also made an appointment for us at the Cologne Carmel, where we met the Carmelite archivist, Sister Maria Amata Neyer. There, we asked Sister Amata to show us something that Edith Stein had written in her own hand. Seating us solemnly on wooden benches, Sister Amata leafed through a large binder and then silently placed in our hands glassine-protected scraps of paper. Inscribed on these bits of paper were the last words Edith Stein had written as she was transported vii “to the East.” I recall now, as I did then, something Stein had written to a friend about “connectedness”: “The circle of persons whom I consider as connected with me has increased so much in the course of the years that it is entirely impossible to keep in touch by the usual means. But I have other ways and means of keeping the bonds alive.”1 Edith Stein, Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, let me know as I held those sacred scraps that I was connected to her in some way and for some Providential reason. Learning about Edith Stein and her philosophy has been my great privilege; I humbly thank God for the opportunity and ask that it continue. I thank my parents, family, and friends for their limitless encouragement, support, and love as “Edische” became part of my life. Heartfelt gratitude is offered to the members of my religious family, the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who supported me with temporal and spiritual resources, loving encouragement, and patient prayers. I am indebted to the Scranton IHMs, who opened their hearts and home to me, especially as I studied in Pittsburgh. I extend special gratitude to Dr. Lanei Rodemeyer who helped me to unfold my ontic blueprint as she directed this project. Her gentle reminders to “bracket” my admiration of Edith Stein made me a better philosopher. I thank, too, Dr. Fred Evans and Dr. Eleanore Holveck, whose suggestions were invaluable, and Dr. Thérèse Bonin, who shared a love of all things Edith. Sister Josephine Koeppel’s love of Edith Stein, as well as her advice, and the prayers of the Carmelites in Elysburg, PA, brought hope to me; I thank my Carmelite friends for their silent, sustaining presence. Professor Francis Xavier Monaghan, Joan Thompson, the librarians at Duquesne University and Immaculata University were also sources of information and inspiration. Special thanks to Sisters 1 Edith Stein, Self-Portrait in Letters, 1916-1942 (Washington: ICS, 1993) page 92, letter #9. viii who helped with the practical parts of this work: Sister Elaine de Chantal Brookes, Sister Patricia Dailey, Sister Mary Rose Yeager, Sister Anne Veronica Burrows, Sister Anne Marie Burton, Sister Benedicta Berendes, Sister Marie Cooper, Sister Margaret Shields, Sister Agnes Hughes, Sister Rose Mulligan, Sister Marcille McEntee, Sister Joseph Marie Carter, Sister Helen David Brancato, Sister Megan Brown, RSM, and especially Sister Caritas Schafer. I alone am responsible for any mistakes within this work. Speaking again of connectedness and of the “unshakeable bond” that she forms with people, Edith Stein ended a letter to another friend with these words, which I here echo: “All one can do is to try to live the life one has chosen with ever greater fidelity and purity in order to offer it up as an acceptable sacrifice for all one is connected with.”2 To Edith Stein and her ever-growing “circle of persons,” especially those persons connected in Providence to this work, I give thanks. 2 Stein, Self-Portrait in Letters, 166, #164. ix CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: TOWARD A STEINIAN ETHIC Introduction..............................................................................................................1 The Research Question ............................................................................................8 Present Status of the Problem ................................................................................15 Primary and Secondary Literature .................................................................15 Stein’s Written Works—An Overview..........................................................17 Stein’s Philosophical Works..........................................................................18 Stein’s Personal Works..................................................................................32 Translations of and Literature about Stein’s Philosophical Works ...............37 Suggested Methodology.........................................................................................49 Limitations Found in the Study..............................................................................52 Overview of Chapters ............................................................................................60 Conclusion .............................................................................................................62 CHAPTER TWO: INFLUENCES ON STEIN’S STANCE Ethics as Stance......................................................................................................65 Edmund Husserl’s Influence..................................................................................70 Husserl’s Legacy: Phenomenology...............................................................72 A Return to the Things Themselves...............................................................75 The Intentionality of Consciousness..............................................................78 Access to Essences via Particulars.................................................................80 Max Scheler’s Influence ........................................................................................83 An Intuited a priori Value System ................................................................89 A Hierarchy of Values ...................................................................................89 Personality Types throughout History ...........................................................93 Principles Learned .........................................................................................94
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