Summer Series No.4 - Human Personality by Simone Weil

Simone Weil — Human Personality
Wed 15 & 22 July
A late essay by Simone Weil, written in 1943 in the last months of her life, arguing against the modern language of "rights" and "personality" and in favour of a much older idea: that what is sacred in a human being is precisely what is impersonal. It's a short text - around 25 pages - but unusually dense, and it sits at the intersection of her political thought, her religious mysticism, and her reading of Plato (which makes it a useful bridge between our Symposium weeks and the rest of the summer). We'll take two weeks to give due respect to its depth & complexity.

Who are we?
We're a reading group that welcomes all - young, old, completely new to philosophy or well versed, from keen students to those who've never darkened the door of a lecture room. We read both long & short texts, but you don't need to join at the very start of our longer reads - you can come along at any stage of the journey. Our conversations are lively, wide-ranging & respectful.

We usually head to the pub to continue the discussion after our meetings.