Iris Murdoch and the Transcendent

Author:   Charles Taliaferro (St.Olaf College) ,  Jil Evans (Independent Scholar and American Artist)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
ISBN:  

9781009631594


Pages:   80
Publication Date:   26 February 2026
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
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Iris Murdoch and the Transcendent


Overview

Iris Murdoch challenged the intellectual climate of her day. She transcended the reductive, behavioristic view of consciousness, sought to transcend the theory of values that focuses on will and desire, and defended instead a transcendent understanding of goodness and the Good that can transform us, leading us to renounce our egocentric nature. Her positive view of individual freedom and value led her to oppose strict gender roles and structuralism. Murdoch proposed that, ideally, our lives may be a pilgrimage toward the Good. She believed that the experience of beauty and art can enhance the pursuit of the Good. And yet Murdoch shunned the quest to discover some meaningful, transcendent reality (God or an impersonal, purposive force) to understand ourselves and the cosmos. In her words, 'we are simply here.' The authors ask whether Murdoch's foregoing a search for a broader transcendent reality to understand why we are here is compelling.

Full Product Details

Author:   Charles Taliaferro (St.Olaf College) ,  Jil Evans (Independent Scholar and American Artist)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press
Weight:   0.131kg
ISBN:  

9781009631594


ISBN 10:   1009631594
Pages:   80
Publication Date:   26 February 2026
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

1. Iris Murdoch In Situ; 2. The importance of being conscious; 3. The transcendent, transformative power of goodness; 4. Beauty, truth, and good art; 5. Transcendence and the natural world; References.

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MRG 26 2

 

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