Complementary feminine and masculine characteristics in the writings of St. Edith Stein and St. Pope John Paul II corroborated by neuropsychology

Abstract

The terms ‘genius of women and man’ describe the wonder of God’s creation in an integrated anthropology. This research seeks first to show how the earlier writings of Edith Stein (St. Benedicta of the Cross) and her understanding of woman and man influence the later writings of Karol Wojtyla (St. John Paul II). As there is a unity of truth, these characteristics have a material basis in contemporary neuropsychological gender studies, especially when seen in the complementarity between the sexes demonstrated in marriage. While there are no simple explanations for phenomena as complex as sex differences and similarities, the latest studies in brain structure, discoveries in gene, hormone, and environment interaction corroborate the characteristics of the feminine and masculine genius. This research, in turn, challenges the relativized contemporary thinking of gender as a mere social construct.