“Being Rooted in Love”: The Trinitarian Ontological Perspective of Simone Weil’s Notion of Rootedness

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the concept of rootedness in the final political reflections of Simone Weil. According to the French philosopher, rootedness represents “the most important and least recognized need of the human soul”. Weil goes beyond territorial aspects and considers the deep and authentic rootedness in one’s cultural heritage as an indispensable condition for the full development of human beings, both on individual and communal levels. Each culture originates from a unique and irreplaceable source of truth, shaping human environments in distinct ways. True rootedness fosters a genuine love for one’s place of origin and extends that sentiment to others, promoting a fraternal and solidarity-based relationship among diverse human communities worldwide. This political vision is grounded in an ontological reflection of being as a relation, which, from a Trinitarian perspective, can provide genuine meaning to human relationships.

Keywords

• Simone Weil
• rootedness
• uprooting
• love
• community
• relation