Plato

Simone Weil read Plato not as a scholar seeking objective understanding but as a fellow mystic. She believed Plato's philosophy described a mystical ascent toward the divine, a path uniquely framed by Greek thought. Weil found numerous connections between Plato's search for mediation and the activity of Christ, the central mediating figure in the Christian narrative that shaped her own mystical experiences.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Of all of the major figures in the Western philosophical tradition, none was more influential on Simone Weil or more ubiquitous in her writings than Plato. Weil uses Plato's thought to frame her considerations of matters ranging from science and mathematics to divine creation and the relationship of human beings to what is greater than us. Yet Weil makes no attempt to read Plato objectively or dispassionately and does not seek to understand and explicate Plato's philosophy in its own right. Rather, she reads Plato through her own unique interpretive lenses. In Plato, Weil found a kindred spirit, a fellow mystic seeking to describe and participate in a mystical ascent toward the divine, a path that she believed was uniquely framed by the Greeks. Weil finds a multitude of connections between Plato's search for mediation and the activity of Christ, the central mediating figure in the Christian narrative to which Weil was so closely connected through her own mystical experiences.