The Religious Metaphysics of Simone Weil: (SUNY series, Simone Weil Studies)

Simone Weil is one of the major religious writers of the twentieth century. Hers is a unique blend of spiritual experience, social concern, and philosophical theory. She had marvelous command of the Western philosophical tradition, yet she also had profound insights into Oriental philosophies. Since its publication in France, Veto's book has been considered by most scholars as the standard work on Simone Weil. Now this important book is available in English. It is the only available reconstruction of the entire philosophy of Simone Weil. It operates out of the perspective of the spiritual concerns of her maturity, yet it never fails to return to the issues and the positions of the early texts. It carries out the reconstruction according to some major philosophical themes, but gives its due share to the French thinkers' social and political preoccupations as well. The book is erudite, yet simple, written in a clear, concise and yet often eloquent language.

Table of Contents:
Series Editor's Preface Preface to the American Edition Acknowledgments Translator's Note Abbreviations Introduction 1. The Notion of Decreation 2. Attention and Desire 3. Energy, Motives, and the Void 4. Suffering and Affliction 5. The Experience of the Beautiful 6. Time and the Self 7. Non-Acting Action Conclusion Notes Chronological Table Suggested Reading Author Index Subject Index

About the Author :
Joan Dargan is Associate Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures at St. Lawrence University.

Review :
"This is a clear, well-written survey of Simone Weil's philosophy, which is faithful to her spirit and should serve as a valuable guide. Time is already showing how many crossing points of modern ideas there are in her work, and how many places where the future may open up out of her ideas. From the standpoint of contemporary religious thought, there is no more significant topic. This book has something of the standing of a good cornerstone or a likely standard work for any set of publications having to do with Simone Weil." - Henry Le Roy Finch, City University and Graduate Center "It makes available a classic study of Simone Weil's religious philosophy. It will substantially advance English-language scholarship on one of the great thinkers of our century. Simone Weil offers the only significant Christian Platonist mystical speculation in the twentieth century. The author presents her thought carefully and sensitively , but critically too, constantly asking whether she is being fully Christian, for example, in downplaying the historicity as opposed to the eternity of Christ, or his Resurrection in contrast with his Passion." - Martin Andic, The University of Massachusetts at Boston