Synopsis
Emerging from the thought-provoking discussions and correspondence Simone Weil had with the Reverend Father Perrin, this classic collection of essays contains the renowned philosopher and social activist's most profound meditations on the relationship of human life to the realm of the transcendent. An enduring masterwork and "one of the most neglected resources of our century" (Adrienne Rich), Waiting for God will continue to influence spiritual and political thought for centuries to come.
Review
Simone Weil is an outsider's saint. The daughter of an agnostic French family of Jewish descent, Weil was never baptized ("God does not want me in the Church," she wrote), and her conversion to Christianity at the age of 23 took her by surprise. Until then, she had been a solemn, committed leftist intellectual. Now she was moving toward a life of divine encounters whose desolate ecstasy, as described by the journals, letters, and essays excerpted in Waiting for God, bear comparison to St. John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila. As Leslie Fiedler writes in her introduction to Weil's book, "She speaks of the problems of belief in the vocabulary of the unbeliever, of the doctrines of the Church in the words of the unchurched." The book is most notable for Weil's lengthy letter titled "Spiritual Autobiography" and for her "Meditation on the Pater Noster," which is the discursive record of a spiritual process that led to her almost daily attainment of a mystical vision of God. This is not pretty writing; it is an agonized record of amazement. --Michael Joseph Gross"In an age of inspirational books without inspiration, her writing is unmatched for surprising, sometimes shocking, spiritual insight."--New York Times "Almost too important to be included in one's list of preferred reading for one year only."--T. S. Eliot
Waiting for God
'You cannot get far in these essays without sensing yourself in the presence of a writer of immense intellectual power and fierce independence of mind.' - Janet Soskice, from the Introduction to the Routledge Classics edition Simone Weil (1909–1943) is one of the most brilliant and unorthodox religious and philosophical thinkers of the twentieth century. She was also a political activist who worked in the Renault car factory in France in the 1930s and fought briefly as an anarchist in the Spanish Civil War. Hailed by Albert Camus as 'the only great spirit of our times,' her work spans an astonishing variety of subjects, from ancient Greek philosophy and Christianity to oppression, political freedom and French national identity. Waiting for God is one of her most remarkable books, full of piercing spiritual and moral insight. The first part comprises letters she wrote in 1942 to Jean-Marie Perrin, a Dominican priest, and demonstrate the intense inner conflict Weil experienced as she wrestled with the demands of Christian belief and commitment. She then explores the 'just balance' of the world, arguing that we should regard God as providing two forms of guidance: our ability as human beings to think for ourselves; and our need for both physical and emotional 'matter.' She also argues for the concept of a 'sacred longing'; that humanity's search for beauty, both in the world and within each other, is driven by our underlying desire for a tangible god. Eloquent and inspiring, Waiting for God asks profound questions about the nature of faith, doubt and morality that continue to resonate today. This Routledge Classics edition includes a new Introduction by Janet Soskice and retains the Foreword to the 1979 edition by Malcolm Muggeridge.
'You cannot get far in these essays without sensing yourself in the presence of a writer of immense intellectual power and fierce independence of mind."
Simone Weil
The present book reflects on the life, work, and legacy of an exceptional and enigmatic woman: the philosopher and French Jewish mystic Simone Weil. It constitutes a testimony so unique that it is impossible to ignore. In a Europe where authoritarian regimes were dominant and heading, in a sinister manner, toward World War II, this woman of fragile health but indomitable spirit denounced the contradictions of the capitalist system, the brutality of Nazism, and the paradox of bourgeois thought. At the same time, her spiritual journey was one of zeal and sorrow--that of a true mystic--but her radical intransigence and passion for freedom kept her from actually approaching the institutional church. Curious and insatiable, she wanted to experience, in the flesh, the suffering of society's least fortunate and the truths of other religions. The reader will need to develop a discerning empathy for Simone Weil's sensibility, beyond her particular passion and zeal, in order to appreciate her in depth. But undeniable are this truly singular woman's authenticity, her capacity to suffer, her identification with the other, her inner passion, her almost magical perception of the depths of the human spirit. And that is why her story merits being told as one of the great witnesses of our age.
The present book reflects on the life, work, and legacy of an exceptional and enigmatic woman: the philosopher and French Jewish mystic Simone Weil."
The Religious Philosophy of Simone Weil
The French philosopher Simone Weil (1909-1943), a contemporary of Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre, remains in every way a thinker for our times. She was an outsider, in multiple senses, defying the usual religious categories: at once atheistic and religious; mystic and realist; sceptic and believer. She speaks therefore to the complex sensibilities of a rationalist age. Yet despite her continuing relevance, and the attention she attracts from philosophy, cultural studies, feminist studies, spirituality and beyond, Weil's reflections can still be difficult to grasp, since they were expressed in often inscrutable and fragmentary form. Lissa McCullough here offers a reliable guide to the key concepts of Weil's religious philosophy: good and evil, the void, gravity, grace, beauty, suffering and waiting for God. In addressing such distinctively contemporary concerns as depression, loneliness and isolation, and in writing hauntingly of God's voluntary 'nothingness', Weil's existential paradoxes continue to challenge and provoke. This is the first introductory book to show the essential coherence of her enigmatic but remarkable ideas about religion.
This is the first introductory book to show the essential coherence of her enigmatic but remarkable ideas about religion."
Simone Weil and The Suffering of Love
Simone Weil is one of the few spiritual thinkers to give an adequate account for the place of suffering in our world. We traditionally view suffering as that which thwarts our most profound longings and happiness. Simone Weil insists that suffering is not a problem to overcome. Suffering, as it arises in the sacrifices of divine and human love is a fact of life, neither to be rejected nor invited, but also something that can shape human life by opening itself to the divine love. Here again is Springsted's comprehensive treatment of Simone Weil's religious insights, unique is her understanding of the scientific modern age without cynicism, meanwhile embracing much of traditional Christian spirituality without naivete. In her unusual approach that is new and yet draws on ancient thought, Weil supports a radical theology, insisting that the oppressed - with whom she identified - are not assisted by a transfer of power, but they must, like those in power, view suffering as a way of overcoming the human penchant for self-centeredness, and as a way of drawing closer to the world in love and as a whole.
Here again is Springsted's comprehensive treatment of Simone Weil's religious insights, unique is her understanding of the scientific modern age without cynicism, meanwhile embracing much of traditional Christian spirituality without ..."
Awaiting God
Awaiting God (218 pages) combines a fresh translation (by Weil scholar, Brad Jersak) of Simone Weil's 'Waiting for God' and 'Letter to a Priest' (Attente de Dieu and Lettre un Religieux) in one volume. These works are considered Weil's primary essays and letters. In addition, Simone Weil's niece has contributed an introductory article entitled, 'Simone Weil and the Rabbi's: Compassion and Tsedekah,' which puts Weil's relationship with Jewish thought into perspective. She includes source material from the Rabbis that put Weil (however reluctantly) in line with rabbinical thought throughout her major themes.The book is the ideal English introduction to the works and thought of Simone Weil, including important preface material (by Jersak) on how to read her work, as well as her relationship to Roman Catholicism and Judaism. The book includes:Part 1 - Essays1. Reflections on the Right Use of School Studiesin View of the Love of God2. The Love of God and Affliction3. Forms of the Implicit Love of Goda. Love of Neighbor b. Love of the Order of the World c. Love of Religious Practicesd. Friendship e. Implicit and Explicit Love / 994. Concerning the Our Father Part 2 - LettersPreface to her letters: Weil on Catholicism and Judaism5. Hesitations Prior to Baptism / Jan 1942 - Fr. Perrin 6. Hesitations Prior to Baptism / 1942 - Fr. Perrin7. Departure from France / Apl 1942 - Fr. Perrin 8. Spiritual Autobiography / May 1942 - Fr. Perrin 9. Intellectual Vocation / May 1942 - S. 10. Last Thoughts / May 1942 - Fr. Perrin 11. Letter to a Priest / Nov 1942 - Fr. Couturier
These works are considered Weil's primary essays and letters."
At Home with André and Simone Weil
Translated from the French by Benjamin Ivry, Simone Weil was one of the twentieth century's most original philosopher-critics, and as a result her legacy has been claimed by many. This memoir by Weil's niece is strong-willed and incisive and as close as we are likely to get to the real Simone Weil. Born into a freethinking Jewish family, Weil contributed many articles to Socialist and Communist journals and was active in the Spanish Civil War until her health failed. In 1940 she became strongly attracted to Roman Catholicism and the Passion of Christ. Most of her works, published posthumously, continue to inform debates in ethics, philosophy, and spirituality surrounding questions of sacrifice, asceticism, and the virtues of manual labor. Massively influential, Weil's writings were widely praised by such readers as Albert Camus, T. S. Eliot, Simone de Beauvoir, Pope John XXIII, Czeslaw Milosz, and Susan Sontag. Sylvie Weil recovers the deeply Jewish nature of Simone's thinking and details how her preoccupations with charity and justice were fully in the tradition of tzedakah, the Jewish religious obligation toward these actions. Using previously unpublished family correspondence and conversations, Sylvie Weil offers a more authentically personal portrait of her aunt than previous biographers have provided. At Home with Andr and Simone Weil illuminates Simone's relationship to her family, especially to her brother, the great Princeton mathematician Andr Weil. A clear-eyed and uncompromising memoir of her family, At Home with Andr and Simone Weil is a fresh look at the noted French philosopher, mystic, and social activist.
Most of her works, published posthumously, continue to inform debates in ethics, philosophy, and spirituality surrounding questions of sacrifice, asceticism, and the virtues of manual labor."
Simone Weil: "The Just Balance"
This book examines the religious, social, and political thought of Simone Weil in the context of the rigorous philosophical thinking out of which it grew. It also explores illuminating parallels between these ideas and ideas that were simultaneously being developed by Ludwig Wittgenstein. Simone Weil developed a conception of the relation between human beings and nature which made it difficult for her to explain mutual understanding and justice. Her wrestling with this difficulty coincided with a considerable sharpening of her religious sensibility, and led to a new concept of the natural and social orders involving a supernatural dimension, within which the concepts of beauty and justice are paramount. Professor Winch provides a fresh perspective on the complete span of Simone Weil's work, and discusses the fundamental difficulties of tracing the dividing line between philosophy and religion.
This book examines the religious, social, and political thought of Simone Weil in the context of the rigorous philosophical thinking out of which it grew."
Simone Weil as we knew her
Simone Weil (1909-1943) was a defining figure of the twentieth century; a philosopher, Christian (although never baptised), resistance fighter, Labour activist and teacher, described by Albert Camus as 'the only great spirit of our time'. In 1941 Weil was introduced to Father Joseph-Marie Perrin, a Dominican priest whose friendship became a key influence on her life. When Weil asked Perrin for work as a farm hand he sent her to Gustave Thibon, a farmer and Christian philosopher. Weil stayed with the Thibon family, working in the fields and writing the notebooks which became Gravity and Grace and other posthumous works. Perrin and Thibon met Weil at a time when her spiritual life and creative genius were at their height. During the short but deep period of their acquaintance with her, they came to know her as she actually was. First published in English in 1953, and now introduced by J.P. Little, this unique portrait depicts Weil through the eyes of her friends, not as a strange and unaccountable genius but as an ardent and human person in search of truth and knowledge.
In 1941 Weil was introduced to Father Joseph-Marie Perrin, a Dominican priest whose friendship became a key influence on her life."
Simone Weil and Continental Philosophy
Offering new insight into the pertinence of Simone Weil’s thought, this volume situates her in the Continental discourses which constituted her philosophical background, her milieu, and which frequently reflected her departures from her contemporaries.
Offering new insight into the pertinence of Simone Weil’s thought, this volume situates her in the Continental discourses which constituted her philosophical background, her milieu, and which frequently reflected her departures from her ..."
The Subversive Simone Weil
Known as the “patron saint of all outsiders,” Simone Weil (1909–43) was one of the twentieth century’s most remarkable thinkers, a philosopher who truly lived by her political and ethical ideals. In a short life framed by the two world wars, Weil taught philosophy to lycée students and organized union workers, fought alongside anarchists during the Spanish Civil War and labored alongside workers on assembly lines, joined the Free French movement in London and died in despair because she was not sent to France to help the Resistance. Though Weil published little during her life, after her death, thanks largely to the efforts of Albert Camus, hundreds of pages of her manuscripts were published to critical and popular acclaim. While many seekers have been attracted to Weil’s religious thought, Robert Zaretsky gives us a different Weil, exploring her insights into politics and ethics, and showing us a new side of Weil that balances her contradictions—the rigorous rationalist who also had her own brand of Catholic mysticism; the revolutionary with a soft spot for anarchism yet who believed in the hierarchy of labor; and the humanitarian who emphasized human needs and obligations over human rights. Reflecting on the relationship between thought and action in Weil’s life, The Subversive Simone Weil honors the complexity of Weil’s thought and speaks to why it matters and continues to fascinate readers today.
Reflecting on the relationship between thought and action in Weil’s life, The Subversive Simone Weil honors the complexity of Weil’s thought and speaks to why it matters and continues to fascinate readers today."
Simone Weil; a Sketch for a Portrait
Simone Weil was a remarkable woman: a teacher, a factory worker, a field hand, a traveler, and a frontline volunteer in the Spanish Civil War; yet she found time to write and to philosophize about life and religion. Her short life (1909–43) spanned two world wars, al\u00adthough she did not live to see the end of the second one. The reac\u00adtions of this French Jewish woman to some of the facets of these conflicts may seem surprising; her sympathies and affirmations were perhaps too extreme, but she did think for herself in an un\u00adorthodox and challenging way and had a passionate sense of justice. Mr. Rees believes that this book may contain more illumina\u00adtion for the present world’s spiritual needs than any other twentieth-\u00adcentury commentary. Some of Simone Weil’s proposals concerning patriotism, obligations, freedom of expression, and the needs of the soul may seem Utopian, but they would not be unreasonable in a society adopting her moral code. Simone Weil was an intellectual with an essentially tragic view of life, but she was not removed from the everyday life. Her thought was unique and cannot be classified. She was neither a re\u00adactionary nor a progressive but a great soul and a brilliant mind, as T. S. Eliot expressed it, “with a kind of genius akin to that of the saints.” Since she explored problems which confront modern man, the reader will find thoughtful stimulation in her work. In a previ\u00adous book, Brave Men, the author likened her to D. H. Lawrence—both lonely visionaries suffering from a devouring spiritual hunger. This book gives a condensed but penetrating account of Miss Weil’s interests. Since her writings cover more than philosophy and religion, the reader will feel compelled to become more familiar with her work.
Mr. Rees believes that this book may contain more illumina\u00adtion for the present world’s spiritual needs than any other twentieth-\u00adcentury commentary."
The Simone Weil Reader
The immediate and guiding aim of this book is to introduce the contemporary reader to the work and thought of Simone Weil.
The immediate and guiding aim of this book is to introduce the contemporary reader to the work and thought of Simone Weil."
Spiritual Guides for Today
Biographical and critical interpretations of six contemporary women and men who can be spiritual guides for us as we struggle to live a faith that challenges us to discover God in our own hearts, in others, and in the world. With notes and bibliographies for each chapter.
Biographical and critical interpretations of six contemporary women and men who can be spiritual guides for us as we struggle to live a faith that challenges us to discover God in our own hearts, in others, and in the world."
Waiting For God Reissue
Philosopher, theologian, social critic, and political activist, Simone Well has become a legend of modern spiritual and political thought. Waiting for God contains her most profound thoughts on the relationship of human life to the eternal -- especially as it relates to obedience, surrender, spiritual poverty, readiness to bear suffering, and the love of God. For many of us who try to figure out how to live our lives -- what values and beliefs to uphold, what actions to pursue -- Weil's example, achievements, and frustrations serve to focus the mind and stir the soul. New York Times The writings of this left-wing mystic are unmatched for surprising, sometimes shocking, spiritual insight.
"In an age of inspirational books without inspiration, her writing is unmatched for surprising, sometimes shocking, spiritual insight."
The Continuing Legacy of Simone Weil
The Continuing Legacy of Simone Weil analyzes the core work of Simone Weil and her views on the nature of the human condition, humanity’s relationship with God, and the objective state of our world.
people lacked, as they perhaps did not in times past, the capacity to contemplate the reality of the world of God . They had also lost sight of their own vocation to wait and listen and allow that world in."
The Power of Words
'There are certain words which possess in themselves, when properly used, a virtue which illumines and lifts up towards the good.' The philosopher and activist Simone Weil was one of the most courageous thinkers of the twentieth century. Here she writes, with honesty and moral clarity, about the manipulation of language by the powerful, the obligations of individuals to one another and the needs for order, equality, liberty and truth, that make us human.
Provocative, eloquent and deeply moral, these are essays to untangle the intangible, nourish the spirit and inspire thought. GREAT IDEAS. Throughout history, some books have changed the world."
Red Tory, Red Virgin
Simone Weil and George P. Grant were among the 20th century's top political theologians. Weil, a philosopher-activist-mystic from France, was the Christian mystic who refused to join the Church but nevertheless, influenced the Vatican II popes with her radical openness. George Grant, one of Canada's top three thinkers, once said that next to the four Gospels, Weil was his highest authority. This book is a series of essays in political theology, exploring some of their key themes and how their work inter-relates. This book explores in depth, for the first time, how their 'theology of consent' informs their political philosophy and a public ethic of the Cross. Table of Contents Preface / 1 Part 1 - SIMONE WEIL: RED VIRGIN 1. Simone Weil: George Grant's Diotima / 5 2. Stages of Weil's Mystical Ascent / 19 3. Competing Conceptions of God in Biblical Religion / 49 Part 2 - GEORGE GRANT: RED TORY 4. Grant and the Matrix: Complex of Ideologies / 71 5. Grant and the Matrix: Dialogue Partners / 75 6. Finding His Voice: Conversion to Lament / 83 Part 3 - DIVINE CONSENT 7. Wrath and Love as Divine Consent / 109 Abbreviations / 123 Bibliography of Sources Consulted / 127
This book explores in depth, for the first time, how their 'theology of consent' informs their political philosophy and a public ethic of the Cross.Table of ContentsPreface / 1Part 1 - SIMONE WEIL: RED VIRGIN1."
Simone Weil, Beyond Ideology?
In the last decade, interest in the writings of French philosopher Simone Weil (1909-1943) has surged. Weil is admired for her militant syndicalism, her factory experience and participation in the French resistance, but it is above all the eclectic and rich character of her work that has increasingly attracted scholarly attention. Weil reflected on subjects as diverse as quantum physics, Greek tragedy, bankruptcy, colonialism, technology, education, and religious metaphysics, but perhaps most interesting is the way that her work seems to defy any clear ideological labelling: Marxist, anarchist, liberal, conservative and republican all seem to fall short in describing the complexity of Weil’s thinking. Adding to the interpretive difficulty is the fact that Weil often expressed biting criticisms of most things political. What this edited volume argues is that it is precisely Weil’s unclassifiable nature, combined with her sharp and sometimes ambivalent criticisms of politics, that make her work a most timely and fascinating object of study for contemporary political philosophy. It proposes a two-pronged approach to her thought: first, via a series of conversations set up between Weil and key authors in modern and contemporary political theory (e.g. Sandel, Rawls, Ahmed, Agamben, Orwell); and secondly, via a close study of Weil’s reflections on various ideologies. The goal of this book is not to position Simone Weil squarely within a single ideological tradition but rather to propose that her thought might allow us to critically engage with various ideologies in the history of political ideas.
The goal of this book is not to position Simone Weil squarely within a single ideological tradition but rather to propose that her thought might allow us to critically engage with various ideologies in the history of political ideas."
Intimations of Christianity Among the Ancient Greeks
In Intimations of Christianity Among the Ancient Greeks Weil apply her unique, piercing intellect to early Greek thought, where she finds precursors to Christianity. This Routledge Classics edition includes a new Foreword by Christopher Hamilton.
This Routledge Classics edition includes a new Foreword by Christopher Hamilton."
The Palgrave Handbook of Mimetic Theory and Religion
The Palgrave Handbook of Mimetic Theory and Religion draws on the expertise of leading scholars and thinkers to explore the violent origins of culture, the meaning of ritual, and the conjunction of theology and anthropology, as well as secularization, science, and terrorism. Authors assess the contributions of René Girard’s mimetic theory to our understanding of sacrifice, ancient tragedy, and post-modernity, and apply its insights to religious cinema and the global economy. This handbook serves as introduction and guide to a theory of religion and human behavior that has established itself as fertile terrain for scholarly research and intellectual reflection.
Mary Baker (East Lansing, Mich.: Michigan State University Press, 2010), 196. Simone Weil , Gravity and Grace, trans. Arthur Wills (1947; New York: G. P. Putnam's, 1952), 218. Weil , Waiting for God , 122. Weil ..."
Callings
SIMONE WEIL Reflections on the Right Use of School Studies with a View to the Love of God Simone Weil ( 1909-1943 ) ... If we have no aptitude or natural taste for geometry , this does not mean Simone Weil , Waiting on God , trans ."
Religion and European Philosophy
Religion and European Philosophy: Key Thinkers from Kant to Žižek draws together a diverse group of scholars in theology, religious studies, and philosophy to discuss the role that religion plays among key figures in the European philosophical tradition. Designed for accessibility, each of the thirty-four chapters includes background information on the key thinker, an overview of the main themes, concepts, and concerns that occupy his or her attention, and a discussion of the religious and theological elements present in his or her thought, in light of contemporary issues. Given the scope of the volume, Religion and European Philosophy will be the go-to guide for understanding the religious and theological dimensions of European philosophy, for both students and established researchers alike.
Utopian Pessimist: The Life and Thought of Simone Weil . New York, NY: Poseidon Press. ... Weil , Simone . 1977. Waiting on God . Translated by Emma Crawford. London, UK: HarperCollins. Weil , Simone . 1986. Simone Weil : An Anthology."
The Year of Our Lord 1943
By early 1943, it had become increasingly clear that the Allies would win the Second World War. Around the same time, it also became increasingly clear to many Christian intellectuals on both sides of the Atlantic that the soon-to-be-victorious nations were not culturally or morally prepared for their success. A war won by technological superiority merely laid the groundwork for a post-war society governed by technocrats. These Christian intellectuals-Jacques Maritain, T. S. Eliot, C. S. Lewis, W. H. Auden, and Simone Weil, among others-sought both to articulate a sober and reflective critique of their own culture and to outline a plan for the moral and spiritual regeneration of their countries in the post-war world. In this book, Alan Jacobs explores the poems, novels, essays, reviews, and lectures of these five central figures, in which they presented, with great imaginative energy and force, pictures of the very different paths now set before the Western democracies. Working mostly separately and in ignorance of one another's ideas, the five developed a strikingly consistent argument that the only means by which democratic societies could be prepared for their world-wide economic and political dominance was through a renewal of education that was grounded in a Christian understanding of the power and limitations of human beings. The Year of Our Lord 1943 is the first book to weave together the ideas of these five intellectuals and shows why, in a time of unprecedented total war, they all thought it vital to restore Christianity to a leading role in the renewal of the Western democracies.
The damned in Dante's Hell never complain that their suffering is repetitive, only that it is eternal, which is not the same thing. Eliot, “East Coker,” The Poems of T. S. Eliot, p. 188. Weil , Waiting for God , p. 50."
Dying to Self and Detachment
Exploring the religious category of dying to self, this book aims to resolve contemporary issues that relate to detachment. Beginning with an examination of humility in its general notion and as a religious virtue that detachment presupposes, Kellenberger draws on a range of ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary sources that address the main characteristics of detachment, including the work of Meister Eckhart, St. Teresa, and Simone Weil, as well as writers as varied as Gregory of Nyssa, Rabi'a al-Adawiyya, Søren Kierkegaard, Andrew Newberg, John Hick and Keiji Nishitani. Kellenberger explores the key issues that arise for detachment, including the place of the individual's will in detachment, the relationship of detachment to desire, to attachment to persons, and to self-love and self-respect, and issues of contemporary secular detachment such as inducement via chemicals. This book heeds the relevance of the religious virtue of detachment for those living in the twenty-first century.
Weil , Simone , Waiting on God , trans. EmmaCrawford (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1951). Weil , Simone , Gravity and Grace, trans. EmmaCrawford and Mario von derRuhr (London and New York: Routledge, 1952). Weil , Simone , The Simone Weil ..."
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