Simone Weil was a French philosopher who worked in factories to learn about working-class life and fought in the Spanish Civil War. After mystical experiences, she drew close to Christianity without ever being baptized. She died young in England, and her notebooks, collected after her death, revealed an original and intense thinker.
Core ideas
Pure attention to others is the highest form of love and of prayer
Human beings need roots in a community, a land, and a culture
Force reduces people to things, both those who suffer it and those who wield it
The tradition: Christian mystic
Christian mysticism seeks direct encounter with God through contemplation, attention, and surrender. Simone Weil lived this path joined to a strong social commitment.
