📓 Philosophy is Interesting! (15) Simone Weil - Gravity and Grace, Empathy for the Suffering Other
A person who philosophized with her body, a thinker who lived with the workers
Today's Theme (Introduction)
In 1934, a 25-year-old woman who was teaching philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris suddenly resigned from her teaching position. Simone Weil chose to work in a factory herself in order to understand the suffering of the workers.
Working as a press operator at the Alsthom factory, she experienced firsthand the machine-like repetitive work, harsh labor conditions, and the humiliation of having one's humanity stripped away. While suffering from severe headaches, she wrote in her diary: 'When I left the factory, the mark of a slave was stamped upon my soul.'
Today, through the thought of this Simone Weil (1909-1943), we will explore another answer to the question, 'Why must we not kill?' It is an answer derived from empathy for suffering, attention to the unfortunate, and the unique concept of 'gravity and grace.'
⏳ Skim in one minute (Summary)
Simone Weil is a rare thinker who lived philosophy with her body rather than just thinking about it in her head. She experienced the suffering of workers, the violence of war, and the pain of illness firsthand, and spun her unique ethical philosophy from those experiences.
'Gravity' refers to the force that drags humans downward, violence, power, and self-centeredness. 'Grace' is the supernatural force that resists this gravity, the longing for love, beauty, and justice. Killing is the ultimate gravity, and attention to the unfortunate is the path to grace.
According to Weil, true morality begins with 'looking at the unfortunate.' Paying attention to those who are socially invisible and those in the midst of suffering, and sharing that anguish through imagination, is the first step toward preventing violence.
Main Text
The Life of Simone Weil: 34 Years Lived to the Limit
From Prodigy to Worker
Simone Weil was born in 1909 into a Jewish middle-class family in Paris. Her brother, André, would later become a renowned mathematician, but Simone also showed prodigious intelligence from a young age.
At the École Normale Supérieure, she was a classmate of Sartre and topped him in the philosophy agrégation exam. However, her interest lay not in abstract philosophy, but in real-world suffering. From her student days, she participated in labor movements, joined demonstrations for the unemployed, and always stood on the side of the socially vulnerable.
The 1934 factory experience became a turning point in her thought. Having experienced not only physical pain but also the humiliation of having one's human dignity stripped away, and the exhaustion that robs one of the time and energy to think, she began to place the concept of 'malheur' (affliction) at the center of her philosophy.
From the Spanish Civil War to Mystical Experience
In 1936, Weil participated in the Spanish Civil War as a volunteer soldier. However, she suffered severe burns in an accident and was sent back to France. From this period, she began to suffer from intense headaches, which would continue for the rest of her life.
In 1938, while visiting Solesmes Abbey while suffering from headaches, she had a mystical experience. She later wrote that while listening to Gregorian chants, 'Christ came down and took possession of me.' It was a turning point that led her, born a Jew and raised an atheist, toward Christian mysticism.
However, she never received baptism until the end. She chose to remain with those outside the church, with the pagans and the atheists.
Solidarity Maintained to the End
During World War II, the Weil family, being Jewish, fled to the United States, but Simone traveled to London and worked for the Free French Forces. She wished to infiltrate occupied France, but her health did not permit it.
In 1943, while hospitalized with tuberculosis, she decided to eat only the same rations as the people in occupied France. Despite the pleas of her doctors, she continued to refuse food and passed away on August 24th at the age of 34. Until the very end, she maintained her solidarity with those who suffer.
Gravity and Grace: Weil's Fundamental Philosophy
The Law of Gravity
For Weil, 'gravity' is both a physical force and a moral and spiritual one. It is a force that drags humans downward, to a lower place.
Just as physical gravity pulls objects down, spiritual gravity drags humans toward violence, domination, and self-centeredness. When those in power oppress the weak, or the strong despise the weak, they are following this law of gravity.
War, torture, and genocide—these are all the extremes of gravity. Humans treating other humans like objects and destroying them. Weil witnessed the horror of this gravity in the midst of World War II.
The Intervention of Grace
However, there are moments when humans resist gravity. When helping the weak, when moved by something beautiful, when standing up for justice. It is 'grace' that is at work in these moments.
Grace cannot be acquired through human will or effort. It is like a gift that comes from elsewhere. However, there is something humans can do: prepare themselves to receive grace and maintain a stance of resisting gravity.
Weil says, 'It is easy to follow gravity. It is easier to become a stone than to try to become a saint.' But humans are given the possibility to reject this easy path.
Attention to Affliction: Attention
What is Affliction (malheur)?
Weil distinguishes 'affliction' from mere pain or sadness. Affliction is a total experience that combines physical pain, mental anguish, and social humiliation.
The affliction of a factory worker is not just that the work is hard. It is a state where all these things are combined: being treated as less than human, being deprived of the capacity to think, and having no hope for the future.
The victims of war, refugees, the homeless, the terminally ill—the affliction they experience cannot be understood from a single perspective. It is an experience that involves their entire existence.
The Ethics of Attention
For Weil, true moral action begins with 'attention.' Truly seeing the afflicted, turning one's attention to their suffering—this is the beginning of love.
We usually look away from the afflicted. We pretend not to see the homeless, we quickly forget the news of war, and we isolate the sick and the elderly in facilities. This 'not seeing' is what makes violence possible.
Attention is not mere observation. It is looking at the other with one's whole being. To see them as they are, without adding judgment or interpretation. In this pure attention, the suffering of the other enters into oneself.
The Imagination of Suffering: Beyond Empathy
Imagining the Suffering of Others
Weil considers the imagination to be the foundation of morality. However, this is not romantic fantasy, but the power to concretely imagine the suffering of others.
Try to imagine the hunger of a starving person. Not just 'being hungry,' but the pain in the stomach, the loss of concentration, the anxiety about tomorrow, the loss of human dignity—imagine all of these.
Try to imagine the sorrow of someone who has lost their family in war. Not just 'being sad,' but waking up in an empty house, the pain every time you see a keepsake, the despair of never meeting again—imagine these concretely.
This imagination becomes the most powerful force for preventing violence. People can kill others because they do not imagine that person's suffering, their family's grief, or the future that will be lost. A lack of imagination makes violence possible.
The Decreation of the Self
Weil's unique concept is 'decreation' (décréation). By emptying the self, one creates a space for the suffering of others to enter.
This is not self-denial. Rather, it is being liberated from the gravity of egocentrism. Only when the voice of 'I, I' is silenced can the voices of others be heard.
It is similar to meditation or mindfulness, but Weil's decreation is more ethical. It is about making space for others, becoming a vessel that accepts the suffering of others.
The Illusion of Force and the Essence of Violence
Reading 'The Iliad'
In her representative essay, 'The Iliad, or the Poem of Force,' she analyzes the essence of violence through Homer's epic.
In war, human beings become things. Both the killer and the killed are nothing but things in the face of force. The victor is intoxicated by force, and the defeated are crushed by it. Both lose their humanity.
Hector, the hero of Troy, and Achilles, the hero of Greece, both ultimately become victims of force. Homer coldly depicts that those who wield force will eventually be destroyed by force themselves.
The Chain of Violence
Weil points out the chain-like nature of violence. Those who have been subjected to violence inflict it upon those who are even weaker. Those who have been humiliated try to restore balance by humiliating others.
Domestic violence, bullying, and discrimination all share the same structure. It is the law of gravity, passing the pressure received from above down to those below. To break this chain, the intervention of grace is necessary.
There are people who break the chain of violence. Parents who do not abuse their children even though they were abused, people who do not discriminate even though they have been discriminated against, and those who forgive even when they have the opportunity for revenge. They defy gravity and embody grace.
Beauty and Goodness: Another Path
The Ethical Power of Beauty
For Weil, beauty is not merely decoration. Beauty is a path to the good and a counterforce to violence.
When listening to beautiful music or observing beautiful nature, one cannot be violent. Beauty makes a person pause, pay attention, and open themselves to something beyond the self.
Weil herself experienced a mystical encounter when she listened to Gregorian chants amidst intense headaches and opened her soul to their beauty. Beauty is a conduit for grace.
The Dignity of Labor
Weil finds the possibility of beauty and goodness even within labor. However, this is only true for human labor.
When a craftsman puts their heart into making something, or a farmer cultivates crops while engaging in a dialogue with the earth, there is beauty. But in the mechanical labor of a factory, where humans are treated as parts, there is neither beauty nor goodness.
Just as killing a person is the ultimate evil, treating a person as an object is also evil. Weil accuses much of modern labor of stripping away human dignity and becoming a slow form of spiritual murder.
A Message for the Modern Age: Learning from Weil
A Warning Against a Society of Inequality
Weil's philosophy casts a sharp critique on today's society of inequality. The divide between the wealthy and the poor, and the gap between regular and non-regular employment, are not merely economic issues.
Inequality divides people into the 'seen' and the 'unseen.' The wealthy do not see the poor, and regular employees do not imagine the suffering of non-regular employees. This act of 'not seeing' sustains structural violence.
Attention in the Digital Age
In the age of social media, our attention is fragmented. Countless pieces of information flow by, and we have no time to pay attention to each one. Even tragic news is swept away by the next post in a matter of seconds.
Weil's 'ethics of attention' is necessary precisely in an age like this. It is not the quantity of information, but the quality of attention that matters. Paying deep attention to the suffering of one person is more valuable than looking at statistics.
Resonance with the Ethics of Care
Weil's philosophy resonates deeply with the modern ethics of care. In the fields of medicine, nursing, and welfare, the importance of 'attention' is being recognized once again.
Seeing a patient not as a disease, but as a whole human being who is suffering. Valuing not just efficiency, but presence. These can be called modern developments of Weil's philosophy.
Practical Exercise: Attention to Misfortune
Today's Practical Task
Let's practice Weil's "attention" for today.
First, notice the "unfortunate" people you usually overlook. A colleague with a tired expression, someone eating lunch alone, someone shivering in the cold on a street corner. Start by noticing their existence.
Next, try to pay deep attention to one of them. Without judging or analyzing, simply try to imagine their situation. What kind of morning did they have, what anxieties are they carrying, what are they hoping for?
Finally, notice the gravity within yourself. The urge to look away, the feeling of not wanting to get involved, feelings of superiority or indifference. Notice these forces of gravity and try to resist them.
You don't need to be perfect. Just try to resist gravity a little bit and open a path to grace.
✨ Today's Discovery
Simone Weil offered a unique answer to the question, "Why must we not kill?"
Killing is the ultimate gravity, the extreme of treating a human being as an object. It is born from a lack of imagination and is made possible by not seeing the unfortunate. Conversely, attention to the unfortunate, imagination for their suffering, and resistance to gravity become the path to preventing violence.
Weil's philosophy is not merely theory. She philosophized with her own body, lived with those who suffered, and maintained solidarity until the end. That way of life itself was proof of grace resisting gravity.
🔜 Next Time Preview
Having finished the third week of learning, next week (the fourth week) we will enter a new theme: "Can money buy happiness?"
This week's study, which explored the foundations of morality, will serve as an important basis for thinking about theories of happiness. Kant's deontological view of happiness, utilitarian pleasure calculation, Levinas's fulfillment in relationships with others, and Weil's transcendence through suffering will all serve as clues to thinking about the essence of happiness.
Starting tomorrow, we will explore what happiness is from multiple perspectives, beginning with Aristotle's concept of "Eudaimonia (happiness)" and moving through to contemporary happiness research.
📘 Glossary
Gravity (pesanteur): The physical, mental, and moral force that drags humans downward
Grace (grâce): The supernatural force that resists gravity, the upward force toward love, beauty, and justice
Affliction (malheur): A total experience combining physical pain, mental suffering, and social humiliation
Attention (attention): Looking at the other with one's whole being, without adding judgment
Decreation (décréation): Emptying the self to create space for the other
Force (force): The violent action that turns humans into objects
❓ Dealing with Common Questions and Confusion - Reader Support FAQ
Q1: Weil's way of life is too extreme; I cannot imitate it.
A1: That is true. There is no need to completely imitate Weil's way of life, and she herself likely would not have wanted that. What is important is the direction she pointed toward. You do not need to become a factory worker, but you can exercise your imagination regarding the suffering of workers. You do not need to fast, but you can think of those who are starving while you eat. It is important to learn from the spirit, not just the extreme practices.
Q2: If following 'gravity' is natural, why is it bad?
A2: It is certainly natural and an easy path to follow gravity. However, humans are given the possibility to resist nature. That is also human dignity. It is easy to let yourself be carried by the flow of a river, but sometimes it is necessary to swim against the current. Especially when that current is heading in a direction that harms others. In your daily life, what kind of 'gravity' have you resisted?
Q3: It is impossible to pay attention to every unhappy person.
A3: That is absolutely true. Weil also admits that it is impossible to pay attention to all suffering at once. What is important is to truly see at least one unhappy person. By looking deeply at one person, you can also begin to imagine the suffering of many others who are unseen. Deep attention to one person can sometimes have more ethical power than a statistical understanding.
Q4: Even if we see beautiful things, won't violence still exist?
A4: Beauty does not directly stop violence. However, beauty opens up other possibilities within humans. Those who have experienced beauty know the foolishness of destruction. A heart that loves beauty makes one hesitate to commit ugly acts. Even if it is not a complete solution, beauty certainly has the power to keep humans away from barbarism.
Q5: Why didn't Weil receive baptism until the end?
A5: That is a deep question. By entering the church, Weil feared losing her solidarity with those on the outside. She chose to be with pagans, atheists, and those excluded by the church. This does not mean she denied religion, but rather that she tried to live the essence of religion—universal love—outside of institutions. Have you ever felt the dilemma of belonging versus solidarity?
🌟 Encouragement and Support
On the final day of the third week, it has been a week of facing heavy subjects. To the question 'Why must we not kill?', Kant, Utilitarianism, Levinas, and Weil each provided different answers.
It is not about which answer is correct. Rather, by having these diverse perspectives, we become capable of richer ethical judgments. Sometimes we uphold principles like Kant, sometimes we calculate results like a Utilitarian, sometimes we look at the face of the other like Levinas, and sometimes we pay attention to suffering like Weil.
Has anything changed within you over this past week? Has your thinking about morality deepened? Or have you become more confused? Both are normal results of philosophical inquiry.
The important thing is to keep thinking. Do not be satisfied with easy answers, and always seek a deeper understanding. That may be the way to live humanely in a world full of violence and injustice.
📞 Support Information
Questions in the comments section or on X are welcome
Continuous support in the next article as well
As we finish the third week, please share any questions or thoughts you have. Questions that lead into next week's new theme, 'The Theory of Happiness,' are also welcome.
🎉 Request for Sharing
Weil's concept of 'Gravity and Grace' may be the key to understanding many of the problems in modern society. I would be happy if this deep insight could be shared with many people.
#PhilosophyIsInteresting #SimoneWeil #GravityAndGrace #Labor #AttentionToMisfortune #EthicsOfImagination
Recommended Reading
Works by Simone Weil:
Simone Weil, 'Gravity and Grace' (Chikuma Gakugei Bunko, 1995)
Simone Weil, 'Factory Journal' (Misuzu Shobo, 2021)
Simone Weil, 'The Need for Roots' (Iwanami Bunko, 2010)
Introductory Books and Biographies:
Mayumi Tomihara, 'Simone Weil' (Iwanami Shinsho, 2014)
Junko Imamura, 'The Poetics of Simone Weil' (Keio University Press, 2010)
Related Books:
Kiyokazu Washida, 'The Power of Listening' (Chikuma Gakugei Bunko, 2015)
Ethics of Care Research Group (ed.), 'Ethics of Care' (Yuhikaku, 2019)
References
Simone Weil, "La Pesanteur et la Grâce" (1947)
Simone Weil, "L'Iliade ou le poème de la force" (1940)
Simone Weil, "L'Enracinement" (1949)
Robert Chenavier, "Simone Weil: Une philosophie du travail" (Cerf, 2001)
Miklos Vetö, "La Métaphysique religieuse de Simone Weil" (L'Harmattan, 2014)
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: "Simone Weil" https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/simone-weil/
License: CC BY-SA 4.0