Francesc Torralba, academician of the RAED, obtains his third doctorate with a complete analysis on Bildung

Edith Stein

Edith Stein at the Carmel of Cologne, before traveling to Echt, The Netherlands, ca. December 1938 or 1939

Francesc Torralba, full academician of the Royal European Academy of Doctors-Barcelona 1914 (RAED), defended his third doctorate at the Blanquerna Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences and Sports of the Ramon Llull University with the thesis “La  Bildung como teología de la educación. Análisis hermenéutico de la obra de Edith Stein (1891-1942)” (Bildung as theology of education: hermeneutic analysis of the work of Edith Stein (1891-1942)). The work was rated with the highest grade by the court, which awarded him a doctorate in Pedagogy. A degree that adds to the one of Philosophy by the University of Barcelona (1992) and to the one of Theology by the Faculty of Theology of Catalonia (1997).

In his work, the academician reflects on the contribution of Edith Stein‘s thinking in the field of education sciences. A hermeneutic approach to the concept of training, Bildung, which goes beyond simple teaching and the same education process. According to Torralba, the training proposed by Edith Stein is an integral action that addresses the spirit, the soul and the intimate self. For Stein, a self held in God and by God. In this context, training isn’t directed only to knowledge, nor is it limited to knowing how to be, but it includes knowing how to be, the construction of one’s own personality.

The thesis committee was chaired by Conrad Vilanou, from the University of Barcelona, ​​and formed by Ignasi Boada, from the Ramon Llull University, and Urbano Santos, from the University of Murcia. The thesis has been directed by Anna Pagès. The event was attended by academicians and professors and cardinal Lluís Martínez Sistach, academician of honour of RAED.