Edith Stein Books

Edith Stein and Roman Ingarden, both students of Edmund Husserl, the founder of phenomenology, corresponded extensively between 1917 and 1938. These 162 letters, most published here for the first time, reveal a friendship that spanned the adult lives of these two important 20th-century thinkers. Through Stein's letters, the reader can follow her through her student days, her conversion from Judaism to Catholicism, her professional life, and her decision to become a Carmelite nun in the Carmel of Cologne, where she took the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. The letters end in 1938, when the Nazi threat escalating throughout Eastern Europe made correspondence difficult, especially across national borders. Four years later Edith Stein was arrested in the Netherlands by the Nazi SS, transported to Auschwitz, and was killed in the gas chambers. Roman Ingarden survived World War II, continued his academic work in Poland, and died in 1970. Although Ingarden's letters to her have not been found, Stein's to him also help us understand the life of this Polish phenomenologist and aesthetician, his life in Poland, his intellectual development, his own writings and academic career, and the editorial assistance Stein provided for all of the works he published in German. Translated from the newest critical German edition by Dr. Hugh Candler Hunt, this premiere English edition of her correspondence volume 12 of ICS Publications Collected Works of Edith Stein gives us a fascinating and intimate window into Edith Stein's rich life and personality, revealing her warmth and humor, deep capacity for friendship, and remarkable intellectual and spiritual depth. Included are 13 photos, bibliography and index.--Publisher

Edith Stein: Life in Jewish Family - The Collected Works of Edith Stein, Vol. One By Edith Stein, translated by Josephine Koeppel, OCD. Edith Stein's autobiography, with map and 11 pages of photos. This initial volume of the Collected Works offers, for the first time in English, Edith Stein's unabridged autobiography depicting herself as a child and a young adult. Her text breaks abruptly because the Gestapo arrested and deported her to Auschwitz in 1942. Edith Stein is one of the most significant German women of our century. At the age of twenty-five she became the first assistant to the founder of phenomenology, Edmund Husserl. She was much in demand as a writer-lecturer after her conversion from atheism to Catholicism. Later, as a Carmelite nun, she maintained her intellectual pursuits, until she died along with so many other Jewish people in the Holocaust. By making this story available in English, the Institute of Carmelite Studies provides an eye-witness account of persons and activities on the scene at the time when psychology and philosophy became separate disciplines. A preface, foreword, and afterword to Edith's text brings out many background details of the rich story she has left us. "A splendid translation, filled with a deep understanding of Edith Stein." - Cistercian Studies

To celebrate the fourth centenary of St. John of the Cross's birth in 1542, Edith Stein was tasked with preparing a study of his writings. Utilizing her philosophical skills, she reflects on the symbols of the cross and night, illustrating how entering the night equates to carrying the cross. Her analysis condenses John's thoughts on the active and passive nights from *The Ascent of Mount Carmel* and *The Dark Night*, ultimately leading to the glory of resurrection shared through unitive contemplation, primarily discussed in *The Living Flame of Love*. In the summer of 1942, the Nazis arrested Edith, and her profound manuscript was found open in her room. After fleeing to Holland for safety, she faced renewed danger with the Nazi invasion. Her superiors assigned her the study of St. John of the Cross to distract her from the looming threat. Given her circumstances, the theme of the cross became central to her work, allowing her to explore John's unity of being as reflected in his life and writings. Through her phenomenological training, she elucidates the symbolic differences between the cross and night, emphasizing that detachment is a necessary night for the soul's union with God. She describes the spiritual marriage as a surrender of the inmost regions of both God and the soul, where mortal existence is consumed by eternal love, guiding the spirit from the cross of Christ to the glory of resurrection.

"Any state exists only for the benefit of human beings. this basic tenet of Edith Stein's political thought rests on her conviction that humanity is fundamentally one community, precious beyond measure. Differences of race, culture, and language offer us means to grasp the values of life uniquely so that we may share them universally, reaching across all such social boundaries. ..... " [from back cover]

Edith Stein comes alive through these warm, totally attentive letters. She joins a deeply sensitive heart with her keen intelligence, revealing herself to be a wise mentor and a caring friend available to anyone who approached her. Here we learn what was truly important to her: the total well-being of those who treasured her letters enough to preserve them even while suffering the havoc of war and oppression. This volume offers the first English translation of the majority of her surviving letters, with 4 photos and an index of recipients.

Edith Steins Lebensweg, geprägt von jüdischen Wurzeln, führte sie über eine atheistische Studienzeit und philosophische Ausbildung zum christlichen Glauben und Ordensleben. Ihre Texte vereinen zeitgenössische Spiritualität, Kreuzesmystik und aktives Handeln, selbst in extremen Situationen. Sie verbindet einzigartig jüdischen und christlichen Glauben.

Die drei gewichtigen BeitrAge von Edith Stein fA1/4r Husserls JahrbA1/4cher werden hier in einem Band vereinigt und auf diese Weise gesondert zugAnglich gemacht. In der Abhandlung A1/4ber APsychische KausalitAtA verdient besonders Edith Steins Begriff der doppelten, AsinnlichenA und Ageistigen LebenskraftA Beachtung, denn hier zeigt sich das Individuum eingegliedert in den grAAeren natA1/4rlichen und geistigen Zusammenhang des sozialen Lebens, aus und in dem es lebt und seine KrAfte nimmt. Dieser Gedanke enthAlt schon den Ansatz der zweiten Abhandlung A1/4ber AIndividuum und GemeinschaftA. Die Gemeinschaft als reale Lebensgemeinschaft der Individuen hat AA1/4berindividuelle ErlebnisstrAmeA, AA1/4berindividuelle MotivationenA und ein Agemeinsames DenkenA und wird darin fA1/4r die Aichlichen GehalteA konstitutiv. Die AUntersuchung A1/4ber den StaatA zieht diese Linien weiter aus. Der Staat wird als ein soziales Gebilde begriffen, in dem das Zusammenleben sich in objektiven, von verschiedenen Individuen nacheinander A1/4bernehmbaren Formen organisiert. Zentral fA1/4r Edith Steins Interpretation ist die SouverAnitAt des Staates, der sich selber konstituiert und durch eine ihn reprAsentierende Staatsgewalt als Aletzter Urheber aller seiner Aktionen sowie alles in ihm geltenden RechtsA beweist.