The Need For Roots

Unlike Whitman, who celebrated contradictions and made these explode like fireworks, Simone Weil tries to explain and fabricate a system out of the soul's contradictory "needs," (as distinct from wants), not as a form of celebration, but perhaps more in an attempt to provide calm. (We should probably remember that the author suffered from migraines.) Although the contradictions are many, and the reality of the described needs not always obvious, set forth by Weil these assume a tranquility that can only come from scientific precision and a truth that must be absolute. Here is the list: Order, Liberty, Obedience, Responsibility, Equality, Hierarchism, Honor, Punishment, Freedom of Opinion, Security, Risk, Private Property, Collective Property, and Truth. For additional detail on each, see inside.