Simone Weil: The Mystical Ascetic

Publication Type

Journal Article

Year of Publication

2010

Author

Nagy, Endre J.

Journal

European Journal of Mental Health

Volume

5

Number

2

Pages

167-185

Language

English

Keywords

antisemitism
baptism
Catholic church
Christianity
equality
gravity
'Great Beast'
Judaism
Weber, Max
obligations
rights
asceticism

Annotation

Nagy argues in this essay that Simone Weil’s life and work challenges Max Weber’s “theory of the impossibility of any ethics of brotherliness in modernity” (p. 171). He begins with a brief overview of Weil’s life and then turns to discuss a number of her religious and political ideas in some more detail. He is particularly interested in Weil’s refusal to become an official member of the Roman Catholic Church.