Description

Immediate dispatch from Somerset. Dustcover has some wear and tear. Ex library with markings and wear and tear. Hardcover. English. See images for condition.

About the book >.>.> Iris Murdoch’s three papers present a reflective exploration with a unifying theme transitioning from negative criticism to positive suggestions. Murdoch begins by scrutinizing the existentialist and Kantian foundations prevalent in contemporary moral philosophy. She critiques the prevailing notion that morality is about personal liberation through the exercise of will leading to a realm of boundless free choice. Instead Murdoch proposes a more restrained and in her view more realistic conception of moral effort. She sees it as the struggle to dispel illusions and selfish fantasies to perceive and engage with the real world authentically. Murdoch argues that ‘transcendence’ does not lead to an abstract spiritual domain but rather to a tangible reality that selfishness typically obscures. She posits that moral growth along with the appreciation of art and beauty involves piercing through this veil of self-centeredness. This perspective on morality Murdoch contends is central to Plato’s philosophy and is also echoed in the Buddhist teachings of Zen. Through this analysis Murdoch advocates for a moral philosophy grounded in the recognition of and response to the actual world rather than an escape into abstract freedoms. (LL)