Central and East European
Society for Phenomenology

Repository | Series | Book | Chapter

147176

Edith Stein

woman as ethical type

Kathleen HaneyJohanna Valiquette

pp. 451-473

Abstract

The seeds of Edith Stein's ethical theory are present in her earliest work, Zum Problem der Einfühlung (1917; On the Problem of Empathy, 1964), since there she discovers that only empathy can disclose others. In her analysis of experiences of empathy, Stein enriched the phenomenological notion of the "person in the world." As early as age twenty-two—when she arrived at the University of Göttingen to study under Husserl—until her death at Auschwitz in 1942, her principal philosophical interest and the driving force behind her philosophy remained the person. For Stein, persons are the highest value. She also held that one "ought" to realize the values that (s)he can achieve. Thus all ethical dicta share a single intention: realizing the intrinsic value of persons, oneself and others.

Publication details

Published in:

Drummond John, Embree Lester (2002) Phenomenological approaches to moral philosophy: a handbook. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 451-473

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-015-9924-5_23

Full citation:

Haney Kathleen, Valiquette Johanna (2002) Edith Stein: woman as ethical type, In: Phenomenological approaches to moral philosophy, Dordrecht, Springer, 451–473.