Simone Weil: Late Philosophical Writings

Springsted (cofounder, the American Weil Soc.; The Christian Platonism of Simone Weil) edits this collection of Simone Weil's works on her conception of philosophy, consisting of a short introduction and ten translated essays. The collection is eclectic in both topic and presentation; although some of the essays are complete, many are left unfinished or are makeshift compilations of Weil's notes on a topic. Though unpolished, these pieces offer substantive analysis and insight into key topics in philosophy, such as the nature of the discipline, value, personal identity, character, and morality. Unfortunately, they don't give a full account of Weil's philosophy for two reasons. First, because of their fragmentary nature, many of the entries constructed from unfinished notes lack a refined stance by Weil—positions are stated but not defended. Second, several consist of Weil's notes on the work of others, rather than a presentation of her own views.