“Thou hast given me room” : Simone Weil’s Retheologization of the Political

Publication Type

Journal Article

Year of Publication

1997

Author

Springsted, Eric O.

Journal

Cahiers Simone Weil

Volume

20

Number

2

Pages

87-98

Language

English

Keywords

Augustine
political philosophy
space
Theology

Annotation

In this essay, Springsted examines the political thought or political aspects of Weil’s thought in her work written towards the end of her life. He begins by examining the delineation of space into public and private, which is at the heart of modern liberal thinking. In doing so he argues how we think about or the assumptions we have about such space in fact determines it. Making a comparison to Augustine’s thought, Springsted goes on to argue Weil’s later political philosophy reflects an endeavor on her part to radically challenge or reconceptualise our understanding of “the space in which we dwell”, an endeavor grounded in both the political and the theological.