508 - Christus Mediator. Platonic Mediation in the Thought of Simone Weil

Christus Mediator.
Platonic Mediation in the Thought of Simone Weil
By Eric O. Springsted
Chico, California, Scholars Press, 1983. 310 pp. $17.95.

Mediation is presented as the central theme in Simone Weil's thought, what holds her thought together and brings into harmony such disparate elements as her religious mysticism and social activism. The author treats the subject under four main headings. The first, "Mediation in the Early Years" deals with the period in Weil's life up to 1934, the period of agnosticism, in which the mind is seen as mediating between the transcendent and the world, "Christ the Mediator" discusses the theme of affliction, and Christ and the love of Christ are seen as mediating between the Supreme Good and the affliction of the world. The "Platonism of Mediation" deals with the role of science and mathematics as the intermediaries between divine and human in Greek thought, as Weil saw it, and this is in anticipation of Christianity. Finally, "Mediation in Daily Life" focuses on matters such as labor, the order of the world, and the needs of the soul in their roles as bridges to transcendence or from transcendence. Eric Springsted is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Illinois College and President of the American Simone Weil Society.

Henry Le Roy Finch
Hunter College, City University
New York, N.Y.