Beyond the Personal: Weil’s Critique of Maritain

Publication Type

Journal Article

Year of Publication

2005

Author

Springsted, Eric O.

Journal

Harvard Theological Review

Volume

98

Number

2

Pages

209-218

Language

English

Publish Dates

April

section

209

Keywords

Maritain, Jacques
obligations
personal/impersonal
rights

Annotation

This article examines Simone Weil’s disagreement with Jacques Maritain’s thought especially in the discussion of rights and obligations. It notes Weil rejection of Maritain’s argument that rights trump obligations, even, or perhaps especially, in relation to the divine. Weil’s rejection of this view is presented through an examination of her argument that Maritain’s view is rooted in an erroneous concept of the ‘person’ and a problematic use of language.

Notes

Reviewed by E. Jane Doering in Cahiers Simone Weil 31, no. 1 (2008):86-91