What is the best thing that I love about my work?

For me, work is about building, crafting something, finding the language that suits the idea. In life, what I prefer to do is to think. With my students, I love it when an awakening occurs – an awakening of their immense abilities, an emotion around a text, something akin to revelation. Working a lot, but with a cheerful energy, truly the ‘gay science,’ to borrow the title of a major book by Nietzsche.

What is my idea of happiness?

I am the happiest when I know I am, as thinking about the love we experience provides, so to speak, a happiness equal to love itself. Happiness can be expressed in a representation: a metaphysical book on my worktable, the sound of the waves somewhere by the Mediterranean Sea; or in specific situations: the romance of a fine wine sipped on a terrace, all sorts of travel (in the desert, by train, walking in capitals…). In one single image: Matisse’s orange red.

Happiness is undoubtedly the least controversial question in philosophy. Regardless of the traditions, its principles have been stated: to want nothing, to live in the present, to follow reason. The fact is that most people don’t particularly want to be happy…

What is my greatest fear?

To no longer be able to read. To be unfair to someone.

What is the trait that I most deplore in myself?

Impulsiveness and arrogance. Lack of humility.

Which living persons in my profession do i most admire?

I don’t admire specific individuals because that feeling seems to me to be inappropriate towards living people. However, I do admire many intellectuals and colleagues’ rigor, work ethic, courage, erudition, and kindness.

What is my greatest extravagance?

Being a philosopher is an extravagance in this world, but it’s also the most obvious thing for me. Like poetry or art in general, being a philosopher is a lifestyle, a special relationship with the world that demands great attention and, if possible, a lot of generosity. By choosing philosophy and poetry, I feel like I’m doubling down on extravagance.

On what occasion would I lie?

When it is useful for the preservation of life and its embellishment. Many truths are useless.

What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work?

In philosophical writing, there is nothing that displeases me, but there is an element of effort which I feel more strongly than in poetry. One truly writes from one’s depths. The very same thing which allows us to live also kills us; or, the other way around, what kills us is what keeps us alive, at the same time and by the same act.

When and where was I the happiest, in my work?

I am the happiest with my students when we share a sort of state of grace, and thoughts flow very smoothly, when we think together and share a joy of the mind.

If I could, what would I change about myself?

To accept others as they are, one should fully accept oneself, which is challenging. Acceptance is to receive as a gift: the being received is a gift, and acceptance itself is something one gives. Every day is a disaster, every day is an ineffable joy.

What is my greatest achievement in work?

When I have said what I had to say, in the right form. What I truly meant is for others to know, to discover.

Where would I most like to live?

In a city where it’s still warm after 6 PM in November.

What is my most treasured possession?

Nothing can truly be possessed. However, I would say, my own body and my speech.

What is my most marked characteristic?

A certain vitality, I hope.

What is my most inspirational location, in my city?

Bars in grand Parisian hotels. They are very stimulating for any creative act. The garden in the ‘Maison de la Vie Romantique’ in Paris.

What is my favorite place to eat and drink, in my city?

Le Fumoir, near the Louvre. La Casa san Pablo in the Marais district, and the Cuba Compagnie Café. The Nemours near the Comédie Française.

What books influenced my life and how?

There are a great number of books that have profoundly affected my life. Hegel’s ‘Philosophy of Spirit’ (1805). I read it at the age of sixteen, not understanding much, but that first encounter was decisive. Spinoza’s ‘Ethics,’ for whom I have boundless admiration. I would also mention these authors: Rilke, Trakl, Gombrowicz, Woolf, Rabelais, Rousseau, Mallarmé, Morrison.

You Only Die Once. What music would I listen on my last day?

Simply Red’s ‘Heaven’ for the funeral ceremony. And during the day, Johann Sebastian Bach’s cello suites and American rap for dancing.

Who is my hero or heroine in fiction?

Kriemhild, in “The Song of the Nibelungs ».

Who are my heroes and heroines in real life?

Truly, all human beings – it’s not a pose. Living as a human being is difficult.

Which movie would i recommend to see once in a lifetime?

Wim Wenders’ Der Himmel über Berlin (Wings of desire).

What role play stories in my life and work?

Life has a narrative structure, sometimes even a novelistic content. Imagination and reality are much more intertwined than one might think. We live with symbols, images, and characters. Fiction has the same effects on us as reality. The very essence of reality is poetic.

What do the words ‘You are the storyteller of your own life’ to me?

I’m thinking about the Nietzschean theme of eternal recurrence: if I must be the storyteller of my own life, I must ensure that the story is of interest to everyone else. Life is a pure becoming, we pass, we return, civil identity doesn’t matter much.

Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime?

My children, Cléo, a cybersecurity specialist and professional dancer (Cameroonian dance), and Arthur, an actor.

May I add: my good enemies. A good adversary is always very dependable in the most critical moments.

Which people or companies would I like to work with ?

Dave Pen, Mick Hucknall, Wim Wenders, Vanessa Paradis, Virginie Despentes, Mia Hansen-Løve.

What project am I looking forward to work on?

I am currently working on a poetic performance that features texts from various authors, along with videos, dance, and music (cello and percussion) called Allegoria. In philosophy, I am working on several writing projects, including ones on disfigurement and speculation. Speculation, in several volumes, is my major project. Finally, I am working on a poetic text titled Jordania.

Where can you see me or my work?

A long poem, titled ‘Du dit d’autrefois’, (‘Of the Utterance of Yesteryear’), is published in issue 15 of the Cahiers de Tinbad in November 2023. ‘Présence de l’esprit’ (‘Presence of the Spirit’), is a forthcoming work to be published in 2024 by Lambert-Lucas, in which I uncover Hegel’s speculative hermeneutics; I introduce essential elements of my own speculative philosophy.

Here are various available articles :

« Apparat » :
https://www.cairn.info/revue-cites-2018-1-page-125.htm

« Herméneutique du poétique » :
https://philopsis.fr/archives-themes/le-langage/hermeneutique-du-poetique/

« Les hommes, les femmes, l’amour » (“Men, Women, Love”), published in a collective book which I co-directed:
https://www.editionsmimesis.fr/catalogue/simmel-philosophe/

This book, which is a condensed version of my doctoral thesis, anticipates all the speculative themes I have subsequently developed:
https://www.editions-harmattan.fr/livre-expression_et_speculation_dans_l_idealisme_hegelien_isabel_weiss-9782747549950-15179.html

Here is also my work dedicated to Gadamer’s philosophy:
https://www.vrin.fr/livre/9782711622405/gadamer

I have also presented various aspects of my work on my website:
isabel-weiss.com

What do the words ‘Passion Never Retires’ mean to me?

Passion brings forth the fertility of life, the energy of excess, because being is always more than itself. This is what I call speculative eros. Without passion, life suffocates, loses value, grows cold.

Which creative professionals should Peter invite to tell their story?

Pascal Boulanger, poet

Kader Benamer, Videographer and photographer

Shizuka Miyatsu, poet

Salim Mokaddem, philosopher and writer

Raluca Belandry, writer and editor

How can you contact me?

Facebook and Instagram : Isabel Natacha Weiss.

Website: isabel-weiss.com