Weil’s mature political philosophy calls not just for solidarity with the oppressed but loving attention given to the afflicted. It’s one thing to say you stand by the afflicted. It’s another to look them in the eyes and ask them what they are going through.
It’s more important now than ever to be clear and deliberate about what we think is worth paying attention to. Because if we aren’t, there are others who will be more than happy to direct our attention for us.
When I try to picture what the determinist is telling me, I see myself in something like an x-ray view, a shadowy skull balanced on a skeleton, wiggling its jaw or moving about, but with the “person” absent.