Philosopher's Hat Club - The Attentiveness of Simone Weil

### 'The attentiveness of Simone Weil: What did she find?

#simoneweil #dignity #suffering #affliction

Simone Weil is a complex but rewarding contemporary thinker. While her concepts are highly developed they also have a certain paradoxical quality, which defeats easy categorisation. For Weil, thinking and experience are closely bound up. This talk by our special guest, Mark Garavan, will seek to explore her work with a particular focus on how she grounds the dignity of the human person, her claims for the meaning of suffering and affliction, and the mystical direction of her final ideas.

Our special guest:
Dr Mark Garavan is a retired senior lecturer in the Atlantic Technological University. He is the author of Care (2024) (https://www.corkuniversitypress.com/9781782056119/care/) and Compassionate Activism: An Exploration of Integral Social Care (2012). He studied philosophy in the Milltown Institute of Philosophy and Theology in Dublin. His most recent writing was published in Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review (https://www.studiesirishreview.ie/product/care-and-contemplation-pathways-to-recovery/)

The Philosopher’s Hat Club invites you to don your thinking cap and join a fun, facilitated online conversation about our world and interesting ideas. We meet monthly to make philosophy accessible and engaging — no prior knowledge is needed, just curiosity!

Membership gives free access to all online events. Sign up with a free trial and learn more about us at Creative Together.

About Us
The Club is run by Lukasz Krzywon (Creative Together) and Brid Conroy (Tertulia Bookshop Like No Other), both passionate about making philosophy accessible to all. This initiative was created thanks to the support of the Spot Lit EU and the Western Development Commission.
Event Info
The event is on Zoom. Please ensure you have a working camera, microphone, and internet connection. Adults 16+ welcome!

#### Code of conduct

• We are all co-creating a safe space for thinking together on interesting topics.
• Participation is voluntary.
• Our meetings are not debates. We are not here to win in the discussion but to enjoy it.
• Our meetings are not opinion forums. Support your claims with arguments that can be challenged by anyone in the group.
• Respect all participants. Listen attentively. Speak respectfully.
• Try to be concise and to the point. Make space for others.
• No verbal or written (chat) abuse will be tolerated.
• If anyone breaks the rules, the facilitators hold the right to block the person or ask the person to leave the meeting.