by Nathan Turowsky
This week we will be discussing Simone Weil, the early twentieth-century French philosopher best known for her combination of Christian (or almost Christian) mysticism with direct political action, her 'comic and terrible'--to quote Flannery O'Connor, an admirer of sorts--life story, her pacifism to a greater or lesser extent attenuated by the demands of the unfortunate time in which she lived, her attempts to apply Platonic idealism to everyday life, her at times impenetrable personal dictionary*, and her highly original thought on the nature of time, suffering, and loneliness. Weil's method of doing philosophy was unusual and at times troubling, as was her attitude towards the material conditions of her own existence, and her tempestuous relationships with Judaism and Catholicism make her good reading for Good Friday.
The presentation will focus on Gravity and Grace, the collection and arrangement of Weil's unpublished notebooks released after her death by her close friend, the farmer and sometime philosopher Gustave Thibon. Gravity and Grace is the source of most of Weil's recorded thought on such perennial philosophical subjects as aesthetics and metaphysics as well as such perennial human subjects as longing, absence, chance, and fairy tales. We will read several chapters from the book (they're very short and photocopied handouts will, God willing, be provided) and discuss key ideas such as metaxu--'every separation is a link'--and their relation to other philosophical and religious notions. If we have time we may get into Simone's Cave, Weil's adaptation of the allegory of the cave to the idea, which was relatively new in her lifetime, of most features of human consciousness as products of social forces rather than either biology or the true core of the personality or soul. Her interpretation of Plato has both religious and political implications beyond what other Christian Platonists have historically countenanced as well as having implications for the psychological function of fiction. We may also touch on the broader theme of kenosis, a religious 'emptying' of one's will, and its various sources and incarnations outside of Weil.
Attendees of this meeting will be encouraged to take Weil's thought personally to a greater degree than usual, because her thought exists to be taken personally. If a subject in or way of doing philosophy, science, or art does not act in some way upon the human personality Weil does not consider it worthy of her attention, and thus Simone Weil's attention was a rare and precious thing to attract. Only Jesus Christ, some of the flotsam and jetsam of other religions, and Provençal viticulture really managed it for extended periods of time.
*'Imagination' is a particularly loaded term for Weil, and she throws around the phrase 'great beast' more than the average reader is necessarily comfortable with.
The presentation will focus on Gravity and Grace, the collection and arrangement of Weil's unpublished notebooks released after her death by her close friend, the farmer and sometime philosopher Gustave Thibon. Gravity and Grace is the source of most of Weil's recorded thought on such perennial philosophical subjects as aesthetics and metaphysics as well as such perennial human subjects as longing, absence, chance, and fairy tales. We will read several chapters from the book (they're very short and photocopied handouts will, God willing, be provided) and discuss key ideas such as metaxu--'every separation is a link'--and their relation to other philosophical and religious notions. If we have time we may get into Simone's Cave, Weil's adaptation of the allegory of the cave to the idea, which was relatively new in her lifetime, of most features of human consciousness as products of social forces rather than either biology or the true core of the personality or soul. Her interpretation of Plato has both religious and political implications beyond what other Christian Platonists have historically countenanced as well as having implications for the psychological function of fiction. We may also touch on the broader theme of kenosis, a religious 'emptying' of one's will, and its various sources and incarnations outside of Weil.
Attendees of this meeting will be encouraged to take Weil's thought personally to a greater degree than usual, because her thought exists to be taken personally. If a subject in or way of doing philosophy, science, or art does not act in some way upon the human personality Weil does not consider it worthy of her attention, and thus Simone Weil's attention was a rare and precious thing to attract. Only Jesus Christ, some of the flotsam and jetsam of other religions, and Provençal viticulture really managed it for extended periods of time.
*'Imagination' is a particularly loaded term for Weil, and she throws around the phrase 'great beast' more than the average reader is necessarily comfortable with.
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