Maria Villela-Petit

Questioning Greece with Heidegger and Simone Weil

In this book a long-time student of  phenomenology and of Greek art and philosophy stages a “loving quarrel” between two daring thinkers who loved Greece but had diametrically opposed interpretations of its legacy. Maria Villela-Petit brings out unsuspected strengths in Simone Weil’s readings of Homer, Plato, and Greek Tragedy and unsuspected weaknesses in Heidegger’s historical construction and the tradition of German philhellenism which shaped it.

Available from Amazon US, UK, JP, &c. Also available in e-book format for Apple and Kindle.

“An excellent resource for those interested in the growing literature on Heidegger’s Greeks, this volume’s central strength lies in the comparative analysis of the dramatically divergent mindsets of Weil and Heidegger, which yields many insights for critical Heidegger scholarship. However, the volume has a wider reach, owing more to Weil than to Heidegger, in its concern with the roots of violence.” —Maria Clara Bingemer

“Maria da Penha Villela-Petit has honorably represented Brazilian thought in Paris for six decades, winning recognition and respect in the institutions in which she has pursued her teaching and research. She is also a vibrant pres-ence in her native land where, on every visit, she is listened to with interest and admiration in academic circles. It is a joy for me and for my colleagues in Brazil to greet this book-length sample in English of her probing and challeng-ing philosophical reflections.” —Emile Alexandrov