Panel: SIMONE WEIL: ANATHEMA - WRITING FROM THE MARGINS



241.3 - READING FROM A DISTANCE: SIMONE WEIL AND THE OUTSIDER'S PERSPECTIVE

AUTHORS:
Sojer T. (University of Erfurt ~ Erfurt ~ Germany)
Text:
Simone Weil integrates the concept of reading with the perspective of the outsider, portraying it as a radical act of attentiveness and openness intrinsic to those who dwell beyond societal and ideological boundaries. For Weil, reading transcends mere symbol interpretation; it becomes an act of self-effacement, a patient awaiting of truth in its unfolding. The outsider, free from conventional constraints, exemplifies this posture of unclouded receptivity. Through "non-reading"—a conscious renunciation of immediate interpretation—the outsider embodies a spiritual freedom unbound by predefined structures of meaning. In Weil's vision, reading becomes an ethical practice mediating the dual imperative of distance from worldly illusions and intimacy with truth. It is the outsider alone, unburdened by interpretation, who discerns the world's depth with clarity.