Title: The Metaphysics of Time in Edith Stein’s Finite and Eternal Being

Abstract: Finite and Eternal Being is Edith Stein’s final work in systematic metaphysics. It is the culmination of her attempt to reconcile the insights of phenomenology with the metaphysics of the medieval scholastics, and as such is filled with intriguing arguments and remarkable insights.  In this paper, I focus on one part of her grand philosophical system: her metaphysics of time.  Stein has novel and intriguing answers to these questions: is the present moment in some way metaphysically distinguished, and if so, how? How do objects in time relate to time, and do different kinds of objects in time relate to time in different ways? Do beings in time enjoy a different way of being than beings outside time? These are live questions in contemporary metaphysics, and so I expect that contemporary metaphysicians will be delighted to consider Stein’s answers to them.  To facilitate this, I contrast Stein’s answers with some contemporary ones. But doing this also serves my primary goal, which is to get clearer about Stein’s answers.

Short bio: Kris McDaniel is William J. and Dorothy K. O’Neill Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame.  He works on metaphysics, ethics, and the history of philosophy.