This article begins with the presentation of three versions of phenomenology of religion shown as a maieutic turn in phenomenology: in case of Martin Heidegger,a Dasein as an enactment, in case of Max Scheler, a Person as an act. The second part of this work depicts Stein’s way towards God and tries to reconstruct her account of mysticalexperience based on her encounter with the thought of Saint John of the Cross. From a theoretical point of view, Edith Stein’s purpose seems to be limited, yet not in the merits of the case. Testimonial stays the only real way of experiencing God and reporting on His presence.
From the theologian Wilhelm Herrmann, who influenced both Rudolf Bultmann and Martin Heidegger comes the formulation that we can say about the God only as much as He did to and with us. In the article above I try to show that the same can be said about the human being and its idea: all we can atribute to it is what we have experienced. It means: a theologia experientiae implies an antropologia experientiae, a certain anthropology of experience and from an experience. I try to describe it in relation to the existential maieutics of Kierkegaard. What I claim is: a reliable idea of man is without such an existential maieutics not possible.