Iris Murdoch may be best known for her works of fiction, but her philosophical contributions were equally significant. A moral realist influenced by Plato and Simone Weil, she developed theories in virtue ethics and care ethics. So what is the relationship between Murdoch's works of fiction and her philosophical writings? Why did she believe that "nothing in life is of any value except the attempt to be virtuous"? And given that, why did she think human life has no purpose? Josh and Ray explore Murdoch's life and thought with Eva-Maria Düringer from the University of Tübingen, author of Evaluating Emotions.
Part of our Wise Women series, generously supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Josh Landy
Why is it so hard to do the right thing?
Ray Briggs
Are we just too lazy and self-absorbed?
Josh Landy
How can we learn to really see each other?
Comments (3)
stridedude
Monday, April 7, 2025 -- 9:43 PM
If I am not mistaken, she wasIf I am not mistaken, she was a friend / ?lover of the late Stanford philosopher / mathematician Georg Kreisel, who was one of my teachers c 1979. The novel Accidental Man has a dedication to Prof Kreisel, and he was a model for several men in other novels.
Daniel
Thursday, April 10, 2025 -- 1:54 PM
Was her knowledge ofWas her knowledge of Professor Kreisel constituted by a thoroughgoing awareness of all aspects of that separately exhaustive internality, or was this from an epistemological perspective primarily a deceptive fantasy mitigated by self critique the contents of which are forgotten about under conditions of erotic attraction which attends upon the preservation of what the perceived characteristics predicate?
annshorter
Monday, April 14, 2025 -- 6:36 PM
The topics Iris MurdochThe topics Iris Murdoch discusses are complex and require a lot of thought. She has a remarkable and surprising intellect. https://flickingsoccer.org