The Need for Roots

Simone Weil

ISBN 10: 0241467977 / ISBN 13: 9780241467978

Published by Penguin Books Ltd, GB, 2023

About this Item

A new translation of Simone Weil's best-known work: a political, philosophical and spiritual treatise on what human life could beWhat do humans require to be truly nourished? Simone Weil, one of the foremost philosophers of the last century, envisaged us all as being bound by unconditional, eternal obligations towards every other human being. In The Need for Roots, her most famous work, she argued that our greatest need was to be rooted: in a community, a place, a shared past and collective future hopes. Written for the Free French movement while she was exiled in London during the Second World War, Weil's visionary combination of philosophy, politics and mysticism is her answer to the question of what life without occupation - and oppression - might be.'The patron saint of all outsiders' Andre Gide'The only great spirit of our time' Albert Camus Translated by Ros Schwartz, with an introduction by Kate Kirkpatrick.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780241467978

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Need for Roots
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd, GB
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0241467977
• ISBN 13: 9780241467978
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Dimensions: 12.85W x 1.7H x 19.69D centimeters 12.85 centimeters width by 1.7 centimeters height by 19.69 centimeters depth
• Weight: 213 grams

About this title

Synopsis

French philosopher Simone Weil's best known work that promotes mindful living and instructs readers how they can once again feel rooted, in a cultural and spiritual sense, to their environment
 
A Penguin Classic

One of the foremost French philosophers of the last century, Simone Weil has been described by André Gide as "the patron saint of all outsiders" and by Albert Camus as "the only great spirit of our time." In this, her most famous work, she diagnoses the malaise at the heart of modern life: uprootedness, from the past and from community. Written towards the end of World War II for the Free French Army, Weil's work is an indispensable and perpetually intriguing text for readers and students of philosophy everywhere. The book discusses the political, cultural and spiritual currents that ought to be nurtured so that people have access to sources of energy which will help them lead fulfilling, joyful and morally good lives.

About the Author

Simone Weil Simone Weil (1909-1943) was a French political activist, mystic, and a singular figure in French philosophy. She studied at the elite École Normale Supérieure, obtained her agrégation (teaching diploma) in philosophy in 1931, worked at Renault from 1934 to 1935, enlisted in the International Brigades in 1936 and worked as a farm laborer in 1941. She left France in 1942 for New York and then London, where she worked for General de Gaulle's Free French movement. Most of her works, published posthumously, consist of some notebooks and a collection of religious essays. They include, in English, Waiting for God (1951), Gravity and Grace (1952), The Need for Roots (1952), Notebooks (2 vol., 1956), Oppression and Liberty (1958), and Selected Essays, 1934-1943 (1962).