Struggling with the Supernatural

Anyone even vaguely familiar with the works of Simone Weil knows that religious concerns are central to them and that terms such as “the supernatural” are not seldom employed. How is the relation of Simone Weil and Ludwig Wittgenstein to be understood in the light of this? Such a question can certainly not be given an exhaustive answer. The task in this chapter is mainly negative: taking issue with what may lead one to see a conflict or tension between Weil and Wittgenstein in this regard. This task is approached by way of Peter Winch’s Simone Weil: “The Just Balance.” In it, he compares the ways Weil and Wittgenstein conceived and approached philosophical questions, and one divergence between them precisely concerns the concept of the supernatural, Winch claims. This concept, from the first page of the book to the last one, is a source of trouble for Winch, and his struggles are not idiosyncratic but telling, especially for someone trying to approach Weil from a Wittgensteinian perspective. Taking a closer look at them might therefore be rewarding.