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

anusz Korczak’s ideas and practical pedagogical achievements permanently went down in the history of Polish and world pedagogy. They have become a unique source of knowledge, ideas and inspiration in the quest for new educational solutions. His rich literary works, especially the pedagogical trilogy entitled How to Love a Child, is both a source of knowledge and inspiration for further reflection and research in the field of pedagogic sciences and an encyclopaedia of practical knowledge in the area of care, upbringing and education. The purpose of this article is to depict Korczak as a person, tutor, guardian, researcher-clinician and show his moral credibility confirmed with testimony to love. Not only does it present the topicality and importance of his pedagogical message but it also indicates the possibility of being a role model for many of today’s tutors and teachers.

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.