Discussions of Simone Weil (Suny Series, Simone Weil Studies) [Paperback]

Rush Rhees (Author), D. Z. Phillips (Author, Editor), Mario Von Der Ruhr (Author, Editor)

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: State Univ of New York Pr (June 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791444287
• ISBN-13: 978-0791444283
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #840,490 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book which repays study, February 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Discussions of Simone Weil (Suny Series, Simone Weil Studies) (Paperback)

I felt I had to reply to the first review as a one star rating seems woefully unfair for this deeply reflective, meditative work of philosophy. Rhees is no one's uncritical acolyte and Weil has been ill served by some her subsequent "supporters." I think she herself would welcome this kind of critical engagement with her work. It is not an introduction to her thought but for all that it is accessible and provokes the reader to think for herself. Read it!

3 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Avoid this interpretation of Weil, December 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Discussions of Simone Weil (Suny Series, Simone Weil Studies) (Paperback)

Weil's appropriation by this odd tribe of neo-Wittgenstinians is an unfortunate thing. Weil was herself profoundly influenced by Pythagoras and Plato, and her writings--while not systematic--assuredly depend upon the rich metaphysical tradition of Christian Platonism. (Indeed, Herbert and the other Cambridge Platonists were among her favorite poets).

This particular book--a compendium of Rhees's musings on Weil--seems to have been assembled in slapdash fashion by Phillips, and it is clear that, while Rhees admired Weil immensely, his devotion to a peculiarly unintelligible brand of Anglophone analytic philosophy prevented him from accessing most of Weil's exceptional insights. He is far too quick to categorize Weil's metaphysical framework as mere rhetoric.

For a truly balanced (and far more clearly written) interpretation of Weil, I suggest Miklos Vetoe's Religious Metaphysics of Simone Weil (sadly out of print in its translated form, but readily available used).