Simone Weil: Difference between revisions

Weil was a precocious student, and was proficient in [[Ancient Greek]] by age 12. She later learned [[Sanskrit]] so that she could read the [[Bhagavad Gita]] in the original.<ref name=":0"/> Like the Renaissance thinker [[Pico della Mirandola]], her interests in other religions were universal, and she attempted to understand each religious tradition as an expression of transcendent wisdom.{{cn}}

As a teenager, Weil studied at the Lycée Henri IV under the tutelage of her admired teacher [[Émile Chartier]], more commonly known as "Alain".<ref>{{cite book | last=Hellman | first=John | title=Simone Weil: An Introduction to her Thought | publisher=Wilrid Laurier University Press | year=1982}}</ref> In June 1927 her first attempt at the entrance examination for the prestigious [[École Normale Supérieure]] (ENS) ended in failure, due to her low marks in history. In 1928 Weil successfully enrolled at the ENS, the only female student admitted that year, where she studied philosophy, .

During these years, Weil attracted much attention at the Lycée Henri IV with her radical opinions and actions such as organizingorganising against the military draft.<ref name=":7" /> For these reasons she was called the "Red Virgin", and even "The Martian" by her mentor.<ref name="bandw">{{cite web |last=Liukkonen |first=Petri |title=Simone Weil |url=http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/weil.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070424181411/http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/weil.htm |archive-date=24 April 2007 |website=Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi) |publisher=[[Kuusankoski]] Public Library |location=Finland}}</ref> and even "The Martian" by her admired mentor.<ref>Alain, "Journal" (unpublished). Cited in Petrement, ''Weil'', 1:6.</ref> At the school Weil gained a reputation for her strict devotion to ethics, with classmates referring to her as the "[[categorical imperative]] in skirts".<ref name=":7" /> Officials at the school were outraged by her indifference to clothing, her refusal to participate in their traditions, and her breakingignoring a rule banning women from smoking with male students, for which she was suspended but not remorseful.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zaretsky |first=Robert |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226549477.001.0001 |title=The Subversive Simone Weil |date=2020 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-54933-0 |page=67|doi=10.7208/chicago/9780226549477.001.0001 }}</ref>

At ENS, Weil briefly met [[Simone de Beauvoir]], thoughand their meeting led to disagreement. Weil stated that, "one thing alone mattered in the world today: the revolution that would feed all people on earth," with a young Beauvoir statingreplying that the point of life was to find meaning, not happiness to which. Weil cut her off, stating that, "it's easy to see you've never gone hungry".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zaretsky |first=Robert |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226549477.001.0001 |title=The Subversive Simone Weil |date=2020 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-54933-0 |page=68|doi=10.7208/chicago/9780226549477.001.0001 }}</ref>

SheWeil finished first in the exam for the certificate of "General Philosophy and Logic" with Simone de Beauvoir finishing second.<ref name="bandw" /> In 1931 Weil earned her DES (''{{Interlanguage link|diplôme d'études supérieures|fr}}'', roughly equivalent to an [[Master of Arts|M.A.]]) in 1931, with a thesis under the titletitled, "Science et perception dans Descartes" ("Science and Perception in Descartes").<ref name="Schrift">{{cite book |title=Simone Weil: Complete Works I "Premieres Écrits Philosophiques" |publisher=Gallimard |year=1988 |page=161}}</ref> She received her ''[[agrégation]]'' that same year.<ref>{{cite web |author=André Chervel |title=Les agrégés de l'enseignement secondaire. Répertoire 1809-1950 |url=http://rhe.ish-lyon.cnrs.fr/?q=agregsecondaire |access-date=23 June 2014 |publisher=Laboratoire de recherche historique Rhône-Alpes}}</ref>