Phenomenology and “female nature”
from Edith Stein to Simone de Beauvoir
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26512/rfmc.v13i1.59064Keywords:
Simone de Beauvoir. Edith Stein. Phenomenology. Feminine nature.Abstract
Phenomenology is the philosophical discipline that has addressed the concept of nature, emphasising the limitations of viewing it as a specific set of organic and psychological characteristics. In response to this issue, phenomenology has established itself as an anti-naturalist philosophical stance, aiming to preserve the experiential aspects of nature that cannot be explained by organic processes alone. Against this backdrop, this article explores the dissonances and convergences in the theoretical approaches of Stein and Beauvoir. Both authors sought to articulate the notion of 'feminine nature' phenomenologically, based on its existential conditions. Despite their shared motivation to develop a phenomenology of the 'feminine condition' based on 'sexual difference', their philosophical conclusions differ irreconcilably. These incompatibilities are linked to the ways in which each author articulated the concepts of nature, immanence, becoming, and intersubjetivity.
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