The Temporal and the Eternal

Publication Type

Book Chapter

Year of Publication

2000

Author

Rhees, Rush

Editor

Phillips, D. Z. (Dewi Zephaniah)

Book

Discussions of Simone Weil

Pages

139-153

Publisher

State University of New York Press

Place Published

Albany, NY

Language

English

Chapter

11

Keywords

attention
action
beauty
freedom
purity
thought
time
will

Annotation

Rhees again takes up Weil’s notion of obedience in this chapter, raising even further questions about the term especially in relation to necessity as something that reflects perfect obedience. He is also concerned with her idea that the limitations on force do not represent another form of force but are, in fact, an operation of love. He goes on to look at Weil’s ideas about time, pointing out a number of problems he sees with her ideas about it, especially in relation to freedom. He is particularly interested in how Weil connects her ideas about freedom to the relationship between thought and action; mind and body and will and thought, including attention. He concludes with a reflection on Weil’s writing about beauty, again discussing it in relation to her notions of attention and purity.