Weaving the World

Vance G. Morgan

Description

Weaving the World uses Simone Weil’s philosophy of science and mathematics as an introduction to the thought of one of the most powerful philosophical and theological minds of the twentieth century. Weil held that, for the ancient Greeks, the ultimate purpose of science and mathematics was the knowledge and love of the divine. Her creative assimilation of this vision led her to a conception of science and mathematics that connects the human person with not only the physical world but also the spiritual and aesthetic aspects of human existence.

Vance G. Morgan investigates Weil’s earliest texts on science, in which she lays the foundation for a conception of science rooted in basic human concerns and activities. He then tracks Weil’s analysis of the development of science, particularly of the mathematics and science of the ancient Greeks. He especially explores Weil's interpretation of the Pythagoreans and their mathematical discoveries, giving special attention to the mathematical foundations of musical harmonies. Morgan pays particular attention to Weil’s analysis of Greek geometry, which she believed reveals the importance of mediation between incommensurates in both geometry and the larger scope of human existence.

Morgan’s study not only challenges the metaphysical and spiritual poverty of contemporary scientific paradigms, but also sketches an outline of an alternative metaphysical foundation for mathematics and science that, according to Weil, opens the door to a reinvigorated dialogue between science, philosophy, art, and religion.

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Philosophie de la religion
• Religious
• PHILOSOPHY
• Philosophie et théologie
• Pythagoreanism
• Greeks

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 30 septembre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268201128
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 8 Mo

Extrait

w w eaving the orld

w w eaving the orld

Simone Weil

on Science,

Mathematics,

and Love

v a n c e g . m o r g a n

University of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame, Indiana

Copyright ©2005by University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, Indiana46556 www.undpress.nd.edu All Rights Reserved

This ebook has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this book do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Morgan, Vance G. Weaving the world : Simone Weil on science, mathematics, and love / Vance G. Morgan. p.cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0268034869(hardcover : alk. paper) isbn 0268034877(pbk. : alk.paper) 1. Weil, Simone,1909–1943.2. Science—Philosophy. 3.Mathematics—Philosophy.4. Love—Title.Philosophy. I. b2430.w474m67 2005 194—dc22 2005019662

∞This book is printed on acidfree paper.

Eternal mathematics . . . is the very stuff

of which the order of the world is woven.

—Simone Weil,The Need for Roots

For Caleb and Justin

Sons are a heritage from the Lord. . . . Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons of one’s youth. —Psalm127:3, 4(RSV)

Contents

i n t r o d u c t i o n

c h a p t e r o n e

c h a p t e r t w o

c h a p t e r t h r e e

c h a p t e r f o u r

c h a p t e r f i v e

c h a p t e r s i x

c o n c l u s i o n

Preface

Abbreviations

Kosmosand Crisis

Science and Work

Classical and Contemporary Science

Monochords and Bridges

The Divine Poetry of Mathematics

“All Geometry Proceeds from the Cross”

“Our Country Is the Cross”

“A Preparation for Deliverance”

Notes

Bibliography

Index

ix

xi

1

11

37

67

97

127

157

187

195

217

219

Preface

M y interest in Simone Weil began over a decade ago when, at a silent retreat, I came across a collection of her letters and essays entitled Waiting for God.I was in my second year of teaching philosophy after gradu ate school and, as many new professors, wondered whether I was having any impact on my students, whether they were learning anything, and whether I knew what I was doing in the first place. I read Weil’s essay “Reflections on the Right Use of School Studies with a View to the Love of God,” and I was hooked; I read the rest of that beautiful volume in one sitting. The thought and life of this strange and profound woman has, over the past decade, im pacted my life intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually in ways I often find difficult to comprehend. In many ways, Weil and I are unlikely friends. She was a mystic; I am not. She was an agnostic Jew attracted later in life toward Catholic Chris tianity; I was raised in Protestantism. She tended toward pessimism; I tend toward optimism. Philosophically, her mentor was Plato; my philosophical orientation is guided more by Aristotle. She was a philosophical idealist; I am more of a philosophical realist. Yet she embodies for me what I have always sought as a philosopher, a person who was unafraid to shine the light of her considerable intellectual powers into all corners of her life and reality around her, including finally the mystical experiences that changed her life profoundly in her final years. Simone Weil is a shining example of how reason and faith, intellect and spirit, can and should interact in a person’s search for meaning and truth. Those aware of Simone Weil’s life and work are likely to be most fa miliar with her political activism or her later religious thought. My hope in this book is to bring to the reader’s attention a largely unknown aspect of her

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