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Attention: The Life and Legacy of Simone Weil
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2008

Beyond Power: Simone Weil and the Notion of Authority

Desmond Avery read

Beyond Power draws on the writings of Simone Weil (b. Paris, France, 1909, d. Ashford, UK, 1943) to construct a theory of authority that challenges conventional assumptions. Avery argues that neither science nor religion nor a political mandate can provide an adequate rationale for authority. Simone Weil’s electrifying insights, derived from her experience as a social activist, factory worker, and philosophy teacher, provide ways in which to think about the essential element of authority and take it into account more fully than usually seems possible. By focusing unflinchingly on what was sacred to herself and others in religion, politics, science, work, justice, and education, she achieved a kind of authority of her own. Avery devotes a chapter to each of these six subjects, as well as to an overview of the question of authority and a short account of Simone Weil’s life.

Beyond Power will be ideal for students and teachers of philosophy, politics, religion, and history, and the humanities. Those who admire the philosophy of Simone Weil will find a compelling overview of her work, while those interested in religious questions will find a fresh approach to thinking and talking about what makes human life meaningful. Avery offers new ways to examine the burning political, religious, and scientific issues of our time.

Lexington Books, 2008

Education Justice Philosophy Political Philosophy Political-Social Philosophy Religion Science Work   Recommend
October 2021

Inside Issue 3: New and Forthcoming

Ronald KL Collins read
Affliction Attention Commentaries Gravity & Grace Israel/Judaism Judaism Love Mathematics Morality Peter Winch Philosophy Spirituality The Need for Roots Weil & Other Thinkers Weil & Wittgenstein 7 Recommendations
January 25, 2025

Attentive Pedagogy: Essays on Simone Weil’s “Reflections on the Good Use of School Studies with a View to the Love of God”

Kathryn Lawson read
Affliction Attention Education Humility Philosophy Reading Spirituality Waiting 2 Recommendations
January 25, 2025

Slowness and Delight: Learning from Weil in the First-Year University English Classroom

Cynthia R. Wallace read
Attention Education Humility Reading Spirituality 2 Recommendations
January 25, 2025

The Value of “Failed Experiments” in School Studies

Ronald K.L. Collins read
Attention Education Humility Reading Spirituality Waiting   Recommend
January 25, 2025

Weil, Attention and Humility

Sophie Bourgault read
Attention Education Humility Philosophy Spirituality Waiting   Recommend
May 2024

From Italy: Translation as a Metaxù and a Play as an “Evocation” of Simone’s Life — An Interview with Maura Del Serra

Michela Dianetti read
Human Needs Metaxu Poetry Rootedness The Need for Roots Translating Weil Weil & Other Thinkers Weil News in Italy 6 Recommendations
May 2024

Inside Issue 11: New and Forthcoming

Ronald KL Collins read
Labor Mathematics Philosophy Pythagorean Weil & Other Thinkers Weil News in Italy 1 Recommendation
January-December 2024

Weil’s Vision for a Post-War France . . . and the Very Different France that Took Form

Christine Evans read
Biographical France History Political Parties 5 Recommendations
December 2023

The Waves of Weil Books: 1951-2024 — New and Forthcoming Books

read
Biographical Essays Philosophy Political-Social Philosophy Spirituality Weil & Other Thinkers 1 Recommendation
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