The Hands of Simone Weil
Publication Type |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication |
2001 |
Author |
|
Journal |
Critical Inquiry |
Volume |
27 |
Number |
4 |
Pages |
611-628 |
Language |
English |
Publish Dates |
Summer |
Keywords |
attention |
Annotation |
This article looks at the religious and Marxist elements of Simone Weil’s thought through her understanding of labour, arguing these two seemingly disparate elements are reconciled in Weil’s understanding. The author goes on to identify and examine some of the problems arising in Weil’s thought for Marxists, theologians and philosophers. Meltzer argues Marxists will have problems with Weil’s incorporation of the supernatural into her discussion of work, her rejection of revolution and her insistence that human life necessitates suffering. Theologians, will struggle with Weil’s rejection of Hebrew scripture and her refusal to be baptized arising out of her criticism of the church’s censorship of intellectual thought in the declaration of anathema sit. Philosophers will be distrustful of Weil’s elision of the boundaries between religion, philosophy and political activism. Finally, the hand is discussed as an apt metaphor for Weil’s understanding of work and what might be considered, in an anachronistic way, the postmodern nature of her thought. |