Theocentrism in Edith Stein’s (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross’s) Late Anthropology

Abstract

This article proposes the thesis that Edith Stein’s late anthropology has a theocentric orientation. The threefold structure of a human being consisting of a body, soul and spirit is examined in order to validate the thesis. First of all, the finitude of a human being points out to the eternal being and – consequently – human beings are not conceivable by themselves, without the context of God. Moreover, the hylomorphic union of the body and soul adopted from Aristotelian and Thomistic philosophy is enriched in Stein’s anthropology by the concept of spirit. This results in a threefold structure and is reason enough to suggest man’s iconic similarity to the Trinity. Furthermore, Stein takes over St. Teresa of Avila’s concept of an internal center of the soul, which can be a meeting point between a person and God. The analysis of the soul’s center supports the main thesis.