Genevieve Buono successfully defended her doctoral dissertation on March 19, focusing on “Edith Stein’s Contributions to Aesthetic Realism” at The Catholic University of America. Her dissertation was directed by Michele Averchi, Associate Professor of Philosophy.
Buono’s research explores the philosophical ideas of Edith Stein, particularly regarding the nature of art and artistic activity. The topic is significant as it examines how artists engage with meaning and creativity through a realist perspective, contributing to ongoing discussions in aesthetics and philosophy.
In her work, Buono analyzes Stein’s final book, The Science of the Cross, where Stein presents the artist as someone whose life is shaped by a receptive form of realism. This approach emphasizes trust in one’s impressions and the need to express internal experiences. Although Stein does not directly answer certain questions about artistic realism in this text, Buono argues that her remarks outline a positive claim about art’s nature and truth.
The dissertation synthesizes Stein’s writings on aesthetics to provide a systematic account of her contributions. According to Buono, “Stein articulates a vision of artistic creativity, the metaphysical structure of the work of art, and artistic meaning that is distinctively realist in this sense: it highlights the receptive, personal, and embodied engagement with meaning that occurs through artistic activity, and in doing so it implicitly (and, at times, explicitly) affirms the metaphysical, epistemological, and anthropological realism that Stein goes to great lengths to defend.”
Buono was born in Kansas City and holds degrees from both the University of Dallas and The Catholic University of America. She currently lives in Front Royal with her family.
