Simone Weil: A Brief Introduction

by Stephen Plant

This book offers an accessible introduction to Simone Weil, one of the most original and intriguing Christian thinkers of the twentieth century. A French philosopher, activist, and mystic, she repeatedly sought to enter into the world of the workers and the poor. Though her mystical experiences brought her to the threshold of the Church, she chose not to enter. Yet many consider her one of the most significant religious witnesses of our time. Stephen Plant explores her life and the paradoxes of her work from a sympathetic, but not uncritical perspective. Her value lies not simply in the content of her thought but, as she would say, in the amount of illumination thrown upon the things of this world.

Genres: Biography, Philosophy, Religion

108 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2008

Reviews

[Peter Landau · Rating 4 out of 5]

SIMONE WEIL: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION by Stephen Plant outlines the theological thinking of this complex and insightful thinker, which creates a decent frame by which to picture this woman who gave up her Judaism for a Catholicism of her own making. While Plant doesn’t consider her views against say baptism as heretical, others do. But that’s what makes Weil so fascinating. She’s smarter than the rest of us and accepts contradictions as natural and necessary. Her mystical roots are the foundation for not only her religious convictions, but the progressive politics and philosophy (she was a Greek classicist who believed there was no greater mind than Plato’s) that are the three pillars of her intellectual foundation. It’s weird that she can take bloody Greek myths like that of Prometheus and connect it to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to show how the truth of God existed prior to Christianity and can be found in many faiths, but declares nothing in the vengeful and warlike God of the Hebrew Bible is of value. The asexual, possibly anorexic and masochistic martyr who died young in the midst of World War II, the conflict that turned her away from pacifism, is a riddle who demands reading.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

gave me a more comprehensive view of her bio/life events and the influences behind each of her writings.
the author's criticisms of her are unfounded and unsupported. especially wondering why she rarely mentioned joy and instead focused on affliction? i'd wager to guess he's never suffered from migraines. just because she didn't write letters/essays about joy doesn't mean she didn't experience it. anyway she remains my Matron Saint.