BASC70194 - Simone Weil: Selected Essays and Notes

Course Description

Instructors: Amy Thomas Elder and Charles Thomas Elder.  French philosopher, mystic, and political activist, Simone Weil has come to be recognized as one of the most brilliant and original thinkers of the 20th century—and, for some, the image of a new kind of sainthood. Camus described her as “the only great spirit of our time.” Iris Murdoch famously remarked: “To read her is to be reminded of a standard.” We will do a close reading of several of Simone Weil’s most original and challenging essays, including “God in Plato,” “The Iliad or The Poem of Force,” “Draft for a Statement of Human Obligations,” “Essay on the Concept of Reading,” and “Human Personality.” Course code: BASC70194 Philosophy