Simone Weil's philosophical and social thought during her short life (1909-1943) was intimately engaged with the nature of power and force, both human and natural, and the problems inherent in the use of force. Weil argued vehemently for pacifism, then moved toward a guarded acceptance of the use of force under very specific circumstances, in the context of the rise of Nazism. Ultimately she came to a nuanced and unique perspective on force and on the preservation of human dignity, in the aftermath of several profound mystical experiences during the last years of her life. E. Jane Doering carefully examines and analyzes the material in Weil's notebooks and lesser-known essays to illuminate her evolving thought on violence, war, and injustice. In addition, Doering addresses Weil's engagement with the Bhagavad Gita during her final years, a text that reoriented and enlightened Weil's activist and intellectual search for moral value in a violent world. Apart from small excerpts, none of the four volumes of Weil's notebooks, only recently published in French, have been translated into English. Simone Weil and the Specter of Self-Perpetuating Force contains Doering's expert translations of numerous notebook entries. The book will interest Weil scholars, those in French studies, and those who explore interdisciplinary topics in philosophy, religious studies, history, and political science.
"Simone Weil and the Specter of Self-Perpetuating Force is a definitive contribution not only to Weil studies, but to any effort to understand the problem of violence and the sources of peace. The study seamlessly blends narratives of Weil's life and thought during the early twentieth century with those of people, political movements, and events pivoting on the world stage. E. Jane Doering helps to frame a plausible case for the optimism Weil forged in the fire of her own suffering: there is a counterforce to violence, and it is available when we attend to life beyond the delusions we habitually cultivate." -- Ann Pirruccello, University of San Diego
"E. Jane Doering's book provides us a new, more penetrating focus on the central message of Simone Weil. The 'mine of pure gold' that Weil referred to in her last days is sharply delineated here: the possibility of grace as the countervailing power that may efficaciously oppose oppressive force. Doering's research is impeccable and opens new perspectives for Weil scholars for years to come." --John Marson Dunaway, Mercer University
"E. Jane Doering deals in a novel and insightful way with the concept of force (and self-perpetuating violence) in the thought of Simone Weil particularly as this was elaborated in the anguished writings of the last years of her life (1938-43) after her mystical experience and her renunciation of pacifism." --Lawrence Schmidt, University of Toronto
"Jane Doering has done a great service in bringing to light many of Weil's writings that have received scant attention. These especially include numerous untranslated early works on the degenerating political situation in Europe in the 1930s, works that have been left aside as having narrow historical interest. But Prof. Doering in bringing them to light has done us all in our present situation an even greater service in using these work to expose Weil's eternally valid insights into the empire of force, and its alternatives to it." -- The Rev. Dr. Eric O. Springsted, President of the American Weil Society
"Doering reveals the evolution of our French philosopher's thought concerning the 'spirit of justice' as the fruit of meditation on classical texts from different civilizations as well as purely philosophical reflection. The author of this work brings together in an innovative way the thought of Albert Camus and Simone Weil on force and justice. Doering persuasively shows that Simone Weil offers a spiritual and political key to resolving some of the thor
Simone Weil's philosophical and social thought during her short life (1909-1943) was intimately engaged with the nature of power and force, both human and natural, and the problems inherent in the use of force. Weil argued vehemently for pacifism, then moved toward a guarded acceptance of the use of force under very specific circumstances, in the context of the rise of Nazism. Ultimately she came to a nuanced and unique perspective on force and on the preservation of human dignity, in the aftermath of several profound mystical experiences during the last years of her life. E. Jane Doering carefully examines and analyzes the material in Weil's notebooks and lesser-known essays to illuminate her evolving thought on violence, war, and injustice. In addition, Doering addresses Weil's engagement with the Bhagavad Gita during her final years, a text that reoriented and enlightened Weil's activist and intellectual search for moral value in a violent world. Apart from small excerpts, none of the four volumes of Weil's notebooks, only recently published in French, have been translated into English. Simone Weil and the Specter of Self-Perpetuating Force contains Doering's expert translations of numerous notebook entries. The book will interest Weil scholars, those in French studies, and those who explore interdisciplinary topics in philosophy, religious studies, history, and political science.
"Simone Weil and the Specter of Self-Perpetuating Force is a definitive contribution not only to Weil studies, but to any effort to understand the problem of violence and the sources of peace. The study seamlessly blends narratives of Weil's life and thought during the early twentieth century with those of people, political movements, and events pivoting on the world stage. E. Jane Doering helps to frame a plausible case for the optimism Weil forged in the fire of her own suffering: there is a counterforce to violence, and it is available when we attend to life beyond the delusions we habitually cultivate." -- Ann Pirruccello, University of San Diego
"E. Jane Doering's book provides us a new, more penetrating focus on the central message of Simone Weil. The 'mine of pure gold' that Weil referred to in her last days is sharply delineated here: the possibility of grace as the countervailing power that may efficaciously oppose oppressive force. Doering's research is impeccable and opens new perspectives for Weil scholars for years to come." --John Marson Dunaway, Mercer University
"E. Jane Doering deals in a novel and insightful way with the concept of force (and self-perpetuating violence) in the thought of Simone Weil particularly as this was elaborated in the anguished writings of the last years of her life (1938-43) after her mystical experience and her renunciation of pacifism." --Lawrence Schmidt, University of Toronto
"Jane Doering has done a great service in bringing to light many of Weil's writings that have received scant attention. These especially include numerous untranslated early works on the degenerating political situation in Europe in the 1930s, works that have been left aside as having narrow historical interest. But Prof. Doering in bringing them to light has done us all in our present situation an even greater service in using these work to expose Weil's eternally valid insights into the empire of force, and its alternatives to it." -- The Rev. Dr. Eric O. Springsted, President of the American Weil Society
"Doering reveals the evolution of our French philosopher's thought concerning the 'spirit of justice' as the fruit of meditation on classical texts from different civilizations as well as purely philosophical reflection. The author of this work brings together in an innovative way the thought of Albert Camus and Simone Weil on force and justice. Doering persuasively shows that Simone Weil offers a spiritual and political key to resolving some of the thor
E. Jane Doering is a professor and the executive coordinator of the Teachers as Scholars Program in the College of Arts and Letters, University of Notre Dame. She is the co-editor of The Christian Platonism of Simone Weil (University of Notre Dame Press, 2004).
“Simone Weil and the Specter of Self-Perpetuating Force is a
practice in attention that, in revealing so painstakingly the
nuances of a person’s thought in contact with a violent world,
unveils and illuminates our own present crises and asks us not to
look away.” —Ars Disputandi
“Simone Weil’s earliest published essays from the 1930s advocate an
uncompromising pacifism she gradually abandoned in the aftermath of
Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia. E. Jane Doering takes these
writings as a starting point for a compelling account of the
development of Weil’s thought. The result is a valuable study of a
central preoccupation of Weil’s, and also an admirable and
illuminating introduction to her thought as a whole.” —Journal for
Peace and Justice Studies
“. . . readers can appreciate the work of a notably eclectic,
experimental and perplexing person who lived and died in one of the
most shameful periods of Europe in the twentieth century. . . .
Weil’s insights are crucial to our self-understanding and our
capacity to confront our self-made miseries, not least that of
war.” —Theology
“Doering counters that the most compelling explanatory account for
continued interest in Weil’s life and work is (or ought to be
acknowledged to be) the profundity of her thinking. Weil had a gift
for expressing universal truths in an aphoristic form that invites
continued meditation. This is especially true with respect to the
focus on Doering’s meticulous study: the development, expression,
and, ultimately, the tragic relevance of Weil’s insights on the
nature of force.” —Theological Studies
“The idea of force underpins much of Simone Weil’s thinking . . . .
E. Jane Doering gives a nuanced account of the way in which this
concept is fundamental to an understanding of Weil’s life and
thought.” —French Studies
“This book, at once carefully organized and explanatory, makes
lucid Simone Weil’s relevance to studies of the problem of violence
and the sources of peace. . . . Probing questions of gravity and
grace, Doering illuminates Weil’s deep interest in ‘the mystery of
transferring energy toward good ends’ posing a counterforce to the
Empire of Force.” —Choice
“E. Jane Doering’s book provides us a new, more penetrating focus
on the central message of Simone Weil. The ‘mine of pure gold’ that
Weil referred to in her last days is sharply delineated here: the
possibility of grace as the countervailing power that may
efficaciously oppose oppressive force. Doering’s research is
impeccable and opens new perspectives for Weil scholars for years
to come.” —John Marson Dunaway, Mercer University
In Simone Weil and the Specter of Self-perpetuating Force, Jane
Doering deftly examines some of the most difficult ethical issues
that peace researchers ever face, particularly the need to confront
perpetrators of ruthless violence without engaging in immoral acts
oneself. Doering skillfully portrays Weil’s analysis of how the
abuse of force arises and how the exercise of military force
contaminates victor and victim. Readers will find an original
perspective on just war thinking, one that highlights the
obligation to respect human dignity at all times.” —Robert C.
Johansen, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies,
University of Notre Dame
"Jane Doering has done a great service in bringing to light many of
Weil's writings that have received scant attention. These
especially include numerous untranslated early works on the
degenerating political situation in Europe in the 1930s, works that
have been left aside as having narrow historical interest. But
Prof. Doering in bringing them to light has done us all in our
present situation an even greater service in using these work to
expose Weil's eternally valid insights into the empire of force,
and its alternatives to it." —The Rev. Dr. Eric O. Springsted,
President of the American Weil Society
"Jane Doering's seminal and meticulously researched work may well
bring Simone Weil into the central currents of intellectual
discourse—a voice from the mid-twentieth century that speaks to our
increasingly fraught planet. Weil is presented in her full
complexity: not only a relentless, rigorous mind with an abiding
faith in reason, but a person of incarnational spirituality."
—Peter Walshe, University of Notre Dame
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