Devoured by God: Cannibalism, Mysticism, and Ethics in Simone Weil
Publication Type |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication |
2001 |
Author |
|
Journal |
Crosscurrents |
Volume |
51 |
Number |
2 |
Pages |
257-272 |
Language |
English |
Publish Dates |
Summer |
Keywords |
asceticism |
Annotation |
The article begins with a brief overview of Weil’s complex relation to food, moving on to engage with the notions of hunger, eating and devouring as they appear in her philosophical and religious thought. Concepts of a violent and devouring God are central to the discussion with a suggestion that Weil’s use of food imagery forces her readers to confront the violence inherent in the presentations of God as ‘eating and being eaten’. The centrality of these notions of ‘eating and being eaten’ for Weil’s moral theory is argued, especially the role of hunger, both human and divine, in morality and moral behavior. Weil’s focus on food as metaphorically and literally transformative is next presented. The article concludes with a discussion of the dangerous aspects of Weil’s thought especially with the troubling possibility of a valorization of female self-sacrifice and passivity. |