The Subversive Simone Weil: A Life in Five Ideas

Historian Zaretsky (A Life Worth Living: Albert Camus) delivers an unconventional study of French philosopher Simone Weil. “A pacifist who fought in the Spanish Civil War, a saint who refused baptism,” Weil (1909–1943) contained “a series of contradictions,” Zaretsky writes, and here he sets out to explore five key themes in Weil’s work “that still resonate today”: affliction, attention, rootedness, resistance, and goodness. “Affliction” is a translation of Weil’s concept of le malheur and consists of “psychological degradation”—the chapter dedicated to it puts a spotlight on Weil leaving her job as a professor to work in a factory in 1934. “Resistance” touches upon her brief involvement in the Spanish Civil War in 1936, a decision she made, Zaretsky writes, because she felt that “to do anything less was a betrayal of oneself and one’s fellow human beings.” Zaretsky keenly brings Weil’s thinking up to the present: her ideas on paying attention, he writes, apply to social media, and he ties the lessons she learned from working in the factory to today’s Amazon workers. This memorable survey delivers a rich portrait of the intellectual currents that shaped a one-of-a-kind thinker. Those curious about Weil’s work will find this to be a welcome place to start. (Mar.)