Postgraduate Course: Work, Justice, and Freedom: Simone Weil MSc (PHIL11261)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will study the philosophy and philosophical works of Simone Weil from her Cartesian roots to her later Platonic moral philosophy, as well as her impact on post-war, English-language philosophers. |
| Course description |
This course will study Simone Weil's philosophy, including her philosophies of labour and justice; and her conceptions of morality and moral personality. Study will proceed through a close reading of central essays or extracts from collected notes and notebooks. Discussion will focus on her texts, less so those of interpreters, so students will learn to read her work. The course will highlight the movement from earlier views oriented around action to later views oriented around attention. This course is oriented around a single philosopher and her work, but attention will also fall on the connections between Weil's philosophy and enduring difficulties in the philosophies of Descartes and Plato; as well as the impact on recent philosophers such as Iris Murdoch and Peter Winch. Limited consideration will be given to Weil's writings on spirituality. The focus is philosophical.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Students should have a background in philosophy |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
100 %,
Coursework
0 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Exam (100%) |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Grasp and analyze central themes in Weil's philosophy
- Improve core skills in philosophy, including the ability to interpret and engage with philosophical texts, evaluate arguments, and develop critical ideas in response
- Relate Weil's philosophy to that of historical and contemporary philosophers, including who influenced whom
- Understand conceptions of voluntariness, attention and action distant from the philosophical mainstream
- Locate the points of interaction between Weil's philosophical elaborations and familiar philosophical theories
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Reading List
Simone Weil: Basic Writings, ed. and trans.
D.K. Levy and M. Barabas, London: Routledge, 2024. (Available electronically in full through the UoE library.) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Enquiry and lifelong learning
Outlook and engagement
Research and enquiry
Personal and intellectual autonomy |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr David Levy
Tel: (0131 6)50 9943
Email: david.levy@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Olivia Coltman
Tel:
Email: ocoltman@ed.ac.uk |
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