Contradiction, Mystery and the Use of Words in Simone Weil
Publication Type |
Book Chapter |
Year of Publication |
1996 |
Author |
|
Editor |
Dunaway, John M. Springsted, Eric O. |
Book |
The Beauty That Saves: Essays on Aesthetics and Language in Simone Weil |
Pages |
13-29 |
Publisher |
Mercer University Press |
Place Published |
Macon, Georgia |
Language |
English |
Keywords |
affliction (malheur) |
Annotation |
This essay focuses on what ‘mystery’ meant for Simone Weil both in terms of her understanding of it as well as its use in her work. Springsted begins by examining Weil’s use of contradiction going on to identify “three basic ways in which thoughts for Weil can be in opposition to each other: paradox, incommensuration, and mystery”(p. 14). He discusses these ways in some depth, paying particular attention to mystery., especially the ‘criteria for legitimate and illegitimate ways’ it might be invoked (p. 18). Springsted goes on to identify three reasons for the importance of contradiction in Weil’s thought and its use as a tool or method in the development of one’s spirituality. Understanding such use, he says, involves understanding Weil’s concept of reading and its connection to contradiction and mystery. Here he gives two examples of Weil’s application of this method: her work on affliction and her reflections on Zen koans. He goes on to identify problems with the use of the latter, turning instead to two areas of western culture he says lend themselves to “this sort of spiritual use of words” (p. 24). They are first philosophy and theology and second, literature. The essay concludes with an in-depth discussion of Weil’s thought in relation to literature. |
Notes |
Previously published in Religion and Literature 17 2 (1985): 1-16. Significant content is available through Google Books |