By Bernard E. Harcourt “I was able to realize a project that preoccupied me for several years now and that you, you must understand: to work in a factory.” — Simone Weil, Letter to Nicolas Lazarévitch (1935) Simone Weil pioneered… Continue Reading →

As Benjamin Davis discusses in his book, Simone Weil’s Political Philosophy (Chapter 5, pp. 93-94), Simone Weil escaped to New York City in July 1942 from Marseilles, France, and lived in an apartment at 549 Riverside Drive in Morningside Heights. She… Continue Reading →

By William E. Scheuerman Commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Institute for Social Research—the Frankfurt School—have taken place around the world this year, many of them at prestigious universities and featuring key contemporary representatives. My general… Continue Reading →

By Benjamin P. Davis Simone Weil’s personal notebooks contained several references to the soldier and historian Thucydides, whom she returned to in 1939. It is from his History of the Peloponnesian War that we can start to gain a sense… Continue Reading →

By Bernard E. Harcourt “One cannot disregard the fact that all the political currents which now affect the masses, whether they style themselves fascist, socialist, or communist, tend towards the same form of State capitalism.”      — Simone Weil,… Continue Reading →

By Bernard E. Harcourt “Simone Weil’s critical relationship to collectivity and unyielding criticism of social life in her oppressive context stems not from genius, saintliness, or illness but from the fact that she was a philosopher.”      — Benjamin… Continue Reading →