Simone Weil’s Spiritual Critique of Modern Science: An Historical-Critical Assessment

Publication Type

Journal Article

Year of Publication

2008

Author

Cosgrove, Joseph K.

Journal

Zygon

Volume

43

Number

2

Pages

353-370

Language

English

Keywords

attention
necessity
science
work

Annotation

Cosgrove describes his article as a sympathetic attempt to critically assess Weil's work on science. In some sense, he can be seen as critically reflecting on Weil's critique of classical and contemporary (early twentieth century) science, especially relativity and quantum mechanics. Although he finds much of value in Weil's critique, particularly the importance of manual labour in keeping us attentive to the reality of the world, he provides a careful and thorough refutation of her almost wholesale dismissal of relativity and quantum mechanics. Ultimately he argues, if Weil had lived longer, she might have developed a more nuanced and appreciative view of modern physics, albeit while still rejecting its tendency to a reification of method.

url

http://digitalcommons.providence.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=philosophy_fac