Simone Weil

Simone Weil wrote on factory work, politics, war and God, and those who come to her from any of those directions often find her philosophy the hardest part to grasp. Eric O. Springsted's selection puts that philosophy at the centre, gathering essays written mostly during her time in Marseille between 1940 and 1942, along with one written from London. All are newly translated, most have long been out of print, and three appear here for the first time.

The concerns are the nature of value, moral thought and the relation between faith and reason, and the selection makes plain how much Weil's sense of what philosophy is shares with Wittgenstein and Kierkegaard. It is a serious, illuminating volume for anyone who has admired Weil's mystical and political writing and wants to meet the rigorous thinker underneath.