The Philosophy of Iris Murdoch

Date/Time

19/03/2016 (Saturday)

2.00 - 5.00 pm

Location
The Adelaide





Fauzia Rahman will present the Philosophy of Iris Murdoch (1919-1999).

Iris Murdoch’s philosophy was generally overlooked by her fellow academics during her lifetime. However, her moral philosophy and correlative metaphysics is inspiring a new generation.

Murdoch’s methodology is strikingly innovative, driven by her objections to moral theories which neglect the first-person perspective of ‘what it is like’ to engage with ethical dilemmas. According to Murdoch, moral judgement cannot be learned from a set of rules. Rather it requires careful attention to other persons in order to see and respond to them as they really are. For Murdoch, the moral task is to defeat ‘the fat relentless ego’.

Murdoch challenges the scientific conception of reality, claiming that the idea of objective reality undergoes important modifications when it is understood in relation to the progressing life of a person.

During this session we shall learn about Murdoch and the importance of her approach to both ethics and psychology.