One (Un)Like the Other responds to the question, "What are the conditions of possibility that make genuine knowledge of other persons—and, therefore, love—possible?" By providing an original interpretive framework for exploring ethics in relation to empathy and transcendence from multiple perspectives in continental philosophy, empathy is described as a trace of what remains essentially and irreducibly "other" in every act of givenness. The use of the phenomenological method places "Einfühlung theory" in its rich historical context, beginning with Husserl and the early phenomenologists and extending to contemporary issues that explore "otherness" in light of consciousness, gender, embodiment, community, intentionality, emotions, intersubjectivity, values, language, and apophatic discourse. The implications of recasting "empathy" in an interpretive and dialogical model of reciprocity envision new paradigms of understanding ethics as an infinite playing field. No longer subservient to metaphysics and ontology, empathy is described as an act of infinite concern, a "hermeneutics of suspicion" that transcends epistemological theory and ethical command. Drawing on Husserl, Scheler, Stein, Heidegger, Levinas, Derrida, and others, this study presents an examination and expansion of empathy as an encounter with otherness in its most radical and transcendent forms.

In addition to exploring and dialoging with others in the history of philosophy as well as her contemporaries, Edith Stein—Teresa Benedicta of the Cross— (1891-1942) has added her own voice to some of the fundamental questions that have been taken up by great minds over the centuries, from Aristotle to Aquinas and beyond. Stein did not simply bring together the work of the various great philosophers and theologians; rather, she delved into their work after having first wrestled with the topics themselves. These fifteen essays by leading international Stein scholars demonstrate the breadth and depth Stein’s writings offer: a wide terrain for scholarly exploration as well as for the general reader seeking to glean St. Edith Stein’s wisdom on prayer, renewal and feminism. This newest Carmelite Studies volume offers a unique opportunity to “listen” to the voice and wisdom of this 20th century philosopher, convert, Carmelite and martyr. Includes a comprehensive index, a complete list of all editions of Edith Stein’s works in both German and English, and biographical sketches of the contributors.

Having been out of print for half a century, the original text is here re-edited and enhanced by scholarly perspectives and updated and corrected in the light of knowledge which was not available to the author at the time. Book includes 9 photos. More Information Enriched by a broader range of contemporary literature about the philosopher, educator, spiritual writer, and victim of the catastrophe that engulfed her as part of her Jewish people, this new presentation of the biography everyone cites so frequently brings the reader closer to the real Edith Stein. The editors have avoided weighing down this engaging life story with intrusive scholarly notes and commentaries. Instead they have relegated such material to a separate section of “Gleanings.” This gives the reader the option of enjoying the biography unencumbered by supplementary matter or delving into the Gleanings when desired. The three editors/translators are close to the Stein family as well as to her Carmelite family which she entered in 1933. Susanne Batzdorff is Edith Stein’s niece, who has known her in person. Josephine Koeppel and John Sullivan are both Carmelites who have occupied themselves with the life and work of the saint and have talked with several Carmelite religious who lived with Edith Stein. Complementing their notes and comments that deepen the knowledge of the famous phenomenologist and Carmelite is an insightful “Foreword” contributed by Sr. Amata Neyer, OCD, who knew Posselt personally. She has served as prioress of the Cologne Carmel and as archivist for its Edith Stein Archive.

Overview: To help celebrate the fourth centenary of the birth of St. John of the Cross in 1542, Edith Stein received the task of preparing a study of his writings. She uses her skill as a philosopher to enter into an illuminating reflection on the difference between the two symbols of cross and night. Pointing out how entering the night is synonymous with carrying the cross, she provides a condensed presentation of John's thought on the active and passive nights, as discussed in The Ascent of Mount Carmel and The Dark Night. All of this leads Edith to speak of the glory of resurrection that the soul shares, through a unitive contemplation described chiefly in The Living Flame of Love. In the summer of 1942, the Nazis without warrant took Edith away. The nuns found the manuscript of this profound study lying open in her room. Because of the Nazis' merciless persecution of Jews in Germany, Edith Stein traveled discreetly across the border into Holland to find safe harbor in the Carmel of Echt. But the Nazi invasion of Holland in 1940 again put Edith in danger. The cross weighed down heavily as those of Jewish birth were harassed. Sr. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross's superiors then assigned her a task they thought would take her mind off the threatening situation. The fourth centenary of the birth, of St. John of the Cross (1542) was approaching, and Edith could surely contribute a valuable study for the celebration. It is no surprise that in view of her circumstances she discovered in the subject of the cross a central viewpoint for her study. A subject like this enabled her to grasp John's unity of being as expressed in his life and works. Using her training in phenomenology, she helps the reader apprehend the difference in the symbolic character of cross and night and why the night-symbol prevails in John. She clarifies that detachment is designated by him as a night through which the soul must pass to reach union with God and points out how entering the night is equivalent to carrying the cross. Finally, in a fascinating way Edith speaks of how the heart or fountainhead of personal life, an inmost region, is present in both God and the soul and that in the spiritual marriage this inmost region is surrendered by each to the other. She observes that in the soul seized by God in contemplation all that is mortal is consumed in the fire of eternal love. The spirit as spirit is destined for immortal being, to move through fire along a path from the cross of Christ to the glory of his resurrection.

In a world dominated by half-truths, illogic, and intellectual laziness, Think Better helps readers understand what reason is and how to use it well. Reason is a powerful tool not only for finding our way in an increasingly complex world but also for growing intellectually and emotionally. This short, accessible volume unlocks the dynamics of human reason, helping readers to think critically and to use reason confidently to solve problems. It enables readers to think more clearly and precisely about the world, and it tackles a number of profound philosophical questions without getting bogged down with jargon. Topics include knowledge, identity, leadership, creativity, and empathy. Written in an accessible style that integrates philosophy, illustrations, personal anecdotes, and statistical data, this book is well suited for use in undergraduate, classical school, and home school contexts. It is an invaluable guide for anyone interested in gaining better reasoning skills and a more rational approach to life.

Both Newman and Stein present a mature response to the challenges of their eras. In like manner they reflect splendid examples of genuine persons in the grip of disrupting cultural trends. They show the primacy of individual conscience and the importance of individual integrity even at the expense of social ostracism and extermination. Newman and Stein are outstanding witnesses of individual freedom vis-à-vis social and political systems. This book uniquely combines the biographies of these two figures in order to show that no matter what kind of circumstances we may live in, loyalty to one’s own self is the most significant part of life. "In a penetrating account of Newman and Edith Stein, Jan Kłos explores the spirituality of two saints, each of them 'speaking to our time'. By explorations of their life and work, the author provides a wealth of insights for the twenty-first century. At once sensitive and learned, Jan Kłos's Heart Speaks unto Heart is a volume to be treasured and read again." - Prof. Andrew Breeze, Universidad de Navarra, Spain "In this profound and stimulating study, Kłos invites the reader to think, not so much about Newman and Stein as with them, and thus join them in their unique but mutually illuminating efforts to make sense of their faith, their times (still very much our times), themselves, and, ultimately, the mystery of the truth in whose grasp they both lived and died. In translating Newman’s work, Stein discovered herself in communion with him. Heart Speaks unto Heart beautifully explores this communion, and in doing so shows us why it matters." - Prof. Paul Wojda, University of St. Thomas, U.S.A.

A National Book Critics Circle Finalist for Criticism A deeply Malcolmian volume on painters, photographers, writers, and critics. Janet Malcolm's In the Freud Archives and The Journalist and the Murderer, as well as her books about Sylvia Plath and Gertrude Stein, are canonical in the realm of nonfiction—as is the title essay of this collection, with its forty-one "false starts," or serial attempts to capture the essence of the painter David Salle, which becomes a dazzling portrait of an artist. Malcolm is "among the most intellectually provocative of authors," writes David Lehman in The Boston Globe, "able to turn epiphanies of perception into explosions of insight." Here, in Forty-one False Starts, Malcolm brings together essays published over the course of several decades (largely in The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books) that reflect her preoccupation with artists and their work. Her subjects are painters, photographers, writers, and critics. She explores Bloomsbury's obsessive desire to create things visual and literary; the "passionate collaborations" behind Edward Weston's nudes; and the character of the German art photographer Thomas Struth, who is "haunted by the Nazi past," yet whose photographs have "a lightness of spirit." In "The Woman Who Hated Women," Malcolm delves beneath the "onyx surface" of Edith Wharton's fiction, while in "Advanced Placement" she relishes the black comedy of the Gossip Girl novels of Cecily von Zeigesar. In "Salinger's Cigarettes," Malcolm writes that "the pettiness, vulgarity, banality, and vanity that few of us are free of, and thus can tolerate in others, are like ragweed for Salinger's helplessly uncontaminated heroes and heroines." "Over and over," as Ian Frazier writes in his introduction, "she has demonstrated that nonfiction—a book of reporting, an article in a magazine, something we see every day—can rise to the highest level of literature." One of Publishers Weekly's Best Nonfiction Books of 2013

This issue of Carmelite Studies presents new insights into the lives and writings of individuals who knew Teresa of Ávila in life and who, after her death in 1582, worked to propagate and defend her legacy, including the illustrious nuns Ana de San Bartolomé, Ana de Jesús, María de San José, and Ana de San Agustín, and her close male confidant and collaborator, Jerónimo Gracián de la Madre de Dios. A further focus of the essays is the reception of the Teresian heritage by individuals outside the order, as mediated by these early Discalced Carmelites and by Teresa's published writings. More Information The essays were originally presented at the 2004 symposium "The Heirs of St. Teresa" at Georgetown University. That year marked the 400th anniversary of a pivotal moment in Discalced Carmelite history: the arrival in France of a group of six nuns, some of Teresa's most favored protégées, including Ana de Jesús and Ana de San Bartolomé, who traveled from Spain to inaugurate the order's first French convent. Motivated by devotion to their Founding Mother, amidst success and setbacks, these and other of Teresa's heirs strove to carry out her will with a resolute determination and to extend her reputation for sanctity throughout the world. ICS Publications is pleased to issue this volume in its series Carmelite Studies conjointly with the Institutum Carmelitanum of the Carmelites of the Ancient Observance in Rome.

'What does it mean to be a human being?' Given this perennial question, Alasdair MacIntyre, one of America's preeminent philosophers, presents a compelling argument on the necessity and importance of philosophy. Because of a need to better understand Catholic philosophical thought, especially in the context of its historical development and realizing that philosophers interact within particular social and cultural situations, MacIntyre offers this brief history of Catholic philosophy. Tracing the idea of God through different philosophers' engagement of God and how this engagement has played out in universities, MacIntyre provides a valuable, lively, and insightful study of the disintegration of academic disciplines with knowledge. MacIntyre then demonstrates the dangerous implications of this happening and how universities can and ought to renew a shared understanding of knowledge in their mission. This engaging work will be a benefit and a delight to all readers.