Edith Stein’s Theological Concept of Vocation as an Alternative to Heidegger’s Authenticity

Building on the work of scholars who see the theological dimensions of Edith Stein’s work as important, this essay helps advance a fuller understanding of her mature response to Heidegger, especially as captured both in the body of Finite and Eternal Being and in the appendix on Heidegger. Whereas Heidegger’s ontology without God shapes his view and provides an ultimately unsatisfactory ideal for the person, Stein’s theocentric ontology shapes her concept of vocation and provides a more robust alternative.