Consciousness and temporality in Edith Stein:

dialogue with m. Heidegger

Abstract

The theme of consciousness and temporality is common to phenomenological and hermeneutic philosophy. In this article we intend to present Edith Stein’s theory of time, based on her fundamental work: Finite and Eternal Being. It’s built in the wake of Husserl’s phenomenology, and as a reaction to Heidegger’s Sein und Zeit; and also relies on the theory of the act and potency of Thomas Aquinas. Stein constructs a theory of time centered on the present. Applying phenomenology to ‘units of experience’, and the concepts of ‘act’ and ‘potency’ of Thomist origin, the concept of ‘actuality’ is created, which comprises the three temporal dimensions. Criticizing Heidegger, the author emphasizes that the ‘being of the finite being’ is ‘a being received’, which constitutes the relationship of ‘openness’ to ‘eternal being’. In conclusion we propose the possibility of reencounter with the past (Heidegger) as a preparatory analysis for the ‘opening’ to the eternal being.