Postmodern with a Difference: Simone Weil’s Ethico-Theological Critique of Totalitarianism in L’enracinement

Publication Type

Journal Article

Year of Publication

1999

Author

McKeever, Martin J.

Journal

Studia Moralia

Volume

37

Number

1

Pages

185-214

Language

English

Keywords

politics
postmodernism
roots (uprootedness)
social (societal)

Annotation

McKeever draws on Weil's work in L'Enracinement (The Need for Roots), as a resource in his quest to discover "what particular aspects of the postmodern critique of totalitarianism are valuable to Christian ethics". (p. 187). After a fairly in-depth overview of Weil's thought in L'enracinement, McKeever ultimately argues although it precedes postmodern thought, Weil's work is in line with much of it. However, he goes on to assert, Weil's work also differs from postmodern writing in numerous ways and thus provides a valuable source for critiquing and offering correctives to it.