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Zusatztext In this pioneering monograph! Kotva shows how philosophy as spiritual exercise plays a crucial part in one current of modern! as well as all of ancient philosophy. As a result! Simone Weil is elevated to a position of central importance: her Christian hesitation between revived ancient schools demonstrates how the philosophical question of correct attention to reality is an integrally existential as well as conceptual matter. This book brilliantly demonstrates how Weil's life and her thought continue to resonate with the deepest issues of our times. Informationen zum Autor Simone Kotva is Senior Lecturer in theology at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. She is the author of Effort and Grace: On the Spiritual Exercise of Philosophy (2020), also with Bloomsbury, and writes at the intersection of Christian theology and Continental philosophy and theory. She has published articles on French spiritualism, contemplation, spiritual exercises, decolonial theology and practices of attention in a more-than-human world.Simone Kotva contends that modern spiritual exercise has lost touch with its theological roots, and offers a radical rethinking of it according to French spiritualist philosophy. Zusammenfassung Philosophy and theology have long harboured contradictory views on spiritual practice. While philosophy advocates the therapeutic benefits of daily meditation, the theology of grace promotes an ideal of happiness bestowed with little effort. As such, the historical juxtaposition of effort and grace grounding modern spiritual exercise can be seen as the essential tension between the secular and sacred.In Effort and Grace , Simone Kotva explores an exciting new theory of spiritual endeavour from the tradition of French spiritualist philosophy. Spiritual exercise has largely been studied in relation to ancient philosophy and the Ignatian tradition, yet Kotva’s new engagement with its more recent forms has alerted her to an understanding of contemplative practice as rife with critical potential.Here, she offers an interdisciplinary text tracing the narrative of spiritual exertion through the work of seminal French thinkers such as Maine de Biran, Félix Ravaisson, Henri Bergson, Alain (Émile Chartier), Simone Weil and Gilles Deleuze. Her findings allow both secular philosophers and theologians to understand how the spiritual life can participate in the contemporary philosophical conversation. Inhaltsverzeichnis Preface1 The spiritual exercise of philosophy: two ideals 2 The spiritual life: Maine de Biran 3 Grace: Félix Ravaisson 4 Effort: Henri Bergson and Alain (Émile Chartier) 5 The paradox of attention: Simone Weil 6 Epilogue: Reclaiming attentionBibliographyIndex...