The Moral Vision of Iris MurdochIris Murdoch's moral philosophy, although highly influential in 20th century moral theory, is somewhat unsystematic and inaccessible. In this work Widdows outlines the moral vision of Iris Murdoch in its entirety and draws out the implications of her thought for the contemporary ethical debate, discussing such aspects of Murdoch's work as the influence of Plato on her conception of The Good, the reality of the human moral experience, the attainment of knowledge of moral values and how art and religion inform the living of the moral life. Examining all of Murdoch's contributions to moral philosophy from her short papers to Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals, Heather Widdows provides an accessible and systematised account of Murdoch's moral concepts and offers a clear and critical exposition of her thought. By clarifying Murdoch's central themes, core ideas and her picture of the moral life, this book enables her work to be more easily understood and so utilised in current debates. |
Contents
The Inner Life of the Individual | |
Experiencing Morality | |
The Good | |
Living the Moral Life | |
Art and the Moral Life | |
Religion and the Moral Life | |
The Future of Iris Murdochs Moral Vision | |
Bibliography | |
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aesthetic Alasdair MacIntyre Antonaccio artist assertion attempt attention awareness beauty Cave chapter Christianity claims clearly concept Conradi consciousness consolation contemporaries context continue criticisms critique describes discussed divine command theories Don Cupitt Edith Hamilton example existentialism Existentialists and Mystics fact and value fact/value dichotomy Fairly Honourable Defeat false fantasy fundamental human condition Hume ibid idea illusion images imagination immanence important individual inner inspire Iris Murdoch Iris Murdoch's writings Kant Kantian Kerr knowledge language liberal democracies living means metaphor Metaphysics modern moral change moral philosophy moral pilgrim moral quest moral realism moral value Murdoch argues Murdoch believes Murdoch regards Murdoch suggests Murdoch wishes Murdoch's moral vision Murdoch's philosophy Murdoch's vision nature novels object ontological argument ordinary perfection pilgrimage Plato present realist reality recognize reductionist rejection religion religious Sartre sense spiritual starting-point structuralism structuralist theory transcendence true truth understanding virtue ethics Wittgenstein writings on Philosophy