Phenomenology and Thomism
John R. Betz, James Orr
Oxford University Press eBooks November 10, 2026 DOI: 10.1093/9780191880933.003.0016 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Key points | Argues that early twentieth-century Catholic thinkers Erich Przywara and Edith Stein engaged productively with phenomenology's promise of metaphysical realism, but generally concluded that phenomenology, despite its promising genesis in Husserl's early thinking, degenerated into transcendental idealism and even nihilism and failed to secure the metaphysical realism they required for Christian theology. |
Abstract
Abstract This chapter explores the relationship between phenomenology and Thomism, two seemingly disparate intellectual traditions that fruitfully interacted in early twentieth-century Germany. Philosophical phenomenology, associated above all with Edmund Husserl but also subsequently with Max Scheler and Martin Heidegger, enacted a return ‘to the things themselves’ that suggested a possible reproachment with the metaphysical realism that Catholic theology had long taken for granted. Catholic thinkers such as Erich Przywara and Edith Stein explored these possibilities in generative ways but generally concluded that phenomenology, despite its promising genesis in Husserl’s early thinking, degenerated into transcendental idealism and even nihilism, ultimately failing to secure the kind of metaphysical realism adequate to their understanding of the Christian theological tradition.
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