‘Angry Angels’ as Guides to Ethics and Faith

Abstract

In a time of political and economic hyperreality, where there seems to be less and less interval between impulse and act, Simone Weil and Gillian Rose stand together, half a century apart, as politico-religious philosophers who fought for and staked themselves within this reflective interval. This article explores the creative parallels between their writings, drawing on Rose's critical and constructive engagement with Weil's essay on ‘Human Personality’. While Rose draws us towards a theology of dialogue rooted in the creative necessity of negotiation and law-making, Weil draws us towards a negative theology ofcounterbalance, carved not from divine speech but from divine silence.