Volume 4, Issue Part 1, 2007
Selected Essays from Northern Europe Part 1
Jonna Bornemark
Pages 121-151
Alterity in the Philosophy of Edith Stein
Empathy and God
In this article I will examine Stein’s discussions on alterity. In her early writings Stein develops the theme of alterity mainly in relation to the concept of empathy (Einfuhlung) and thus in relation to the other person. In her later writings the theme of alterity mainly relates to God. I will discuss the continuity and discontinuity between these two areas. I will claim that alterity in her early writings can be understood as invisibility within visibility whereas alterity in her later writings can be understood as visibility within invisibility.