Disgrace, language and universality: variations on the concept of malheur in three moments of Simone Weil’s work

Abstract

In Weil’s political thought, the notion of malheur stands out significantly. It is a concept that operates as a privileged position from which coherently link the multiple dimensions of Weilian philosophy. It is also particularly fruitful for understanding the scope and validity of the French thinker’s political reflections. With the intent to test a link between Weilian studies and a prominent part of contemporary political philosophy, this article proposes three fundamental research topics: addressing the mismatch between language and disgrace; analytically delimiting the notion of malheur by establishing the coordinates for a distinction concerning victimhood; and examining the privilege of the disgraced-particular that Weil repeatedly mentions throughout her work. This article will try to show the extent to which Simone Weil thematizes with astonishing precision three issues of fundamental interest for understanding our present: disgrace, language, and universality.