The Sovereignty of Good [Paperback]

Iris Murdoch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 23, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0415253993 | ISBN-13: 978-0415253994 | Edition: 2

Iris Murdoch once observed: 'philosophy is often a matter of finding occasions on which to say the obvious'. What was obvious to Murdoch, and to all those who read her work, is that Good transcends everything - even God. Throughout her distinguished and prolific writing career, she explored questions of Good and Bad, myth and morality. The framework for Murdoch's questions - and her own conclusions - can be found here.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'One of the very few modern books of philosophy which people outside academic philosophy find really useful.' - Mary Midgely

' ... Murdoch's attack is the fruit of a thorough professional involvement with the school of thought to which she is opposed.' - Anthony Quinton, Sunday Telegraph

'All three essays which make up this book, The Idea of Perfection, On `God' and `Good', and The Sovereignty of Good over Other Concepts, are superb.' - The Guardian

About the Author

Dame Iris Murdoch (1919-1999). Irish-born British novelist and philosopher. Recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including the Booker McConnell prize and the Whitbread prize.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 2 edition (May 23, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415253993
• ISBN-13: 978-0415253994
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #404,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Iris Murdoch was born in Dublin in 1919 of Anglo-Irish parents. She went to Badminton School, Bristol, and read classics at Somerville College, Oxford. In 1948 she returned to Oxford where she became a fellow of St Anne's college.

Her first published novel, Under the Net, was selected in 2001 by the editorial board of the American Modern Library as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

Awarded the CBE in 1976, Iris Murdoch was made a DBE in the 1987 New Year's Honours List. She died in February 1999.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The return of Platonic realism, March 6, 2005

By 

Kevin Davis (Charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sovereignty of Good (Paperback)

It might seem odd that the other review of this book ('Lucid and brilliant') describes her moral philosophy as "a kind of Anglican conservatism" since Dame Iris was an atheist. However, I have to agree that she could largely stand in the tradition of Bishop Joseph Butler (1692-1752), the great Anglican theologian and philosopher, who largely represents what might be considered traditional English or Anglican moral ethics. The similarities are due to the fact that Murdoch, while an atheist, was not a materialist by any means. She was a Platonist -- in about as pure a sense as you can imagine -- and Platonism was/is highly influential in Anglican (not to mention, Roman Catholic) thought. While she does tweak Plato a bit, her moral realism is amazingly congruent with that of Plato. For instance, she speaks much of the Good as that which we must direct our attention and even love towards. Naturally, she attacks the dominant moral theories of the modern era -- deontological/Kantian and utilitatarian ethics -- in much the same way that G.E.M. Anscombe did in her essay, "Modern Moral Philosophy" (1958), which revived virtue ethics. If you enjoy Miss Anscombe or other similar, pro-metaphysical moral philosophers of the 20th century (such as Simone Weil or Alasdair MacIntyre), then you will surely enjoy this book.

In 1992, Iris Murdoch (who mostly wrote novels) expanded her ideas on ethics in her book, 'Metaphysics As a Guide to Morals.' This is a much larger work and would greatly benefit from reading The Sovereignty of Good first. All of her essential moral concepts are found in The Sovereignty of Good, in a clear and succinct manner. However, her views, like all philosophies, are not without criticisms. The best collection of critical (both positive and negative) essays on her work is 'Iris Murdoch and the Search for Human Goodness,' which was born out of a conference on Iris Murdoch held at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago in 1994. It includes essays by some of today's leading moral philosophers and theologians, including Charles Taylor, Martha Nussbaum, Stanley Hauerwas, and William Schweiker. For a full treatment of Iris Murdoch's moral philosophy, see Maria Antonaccio's 'Picturing the Human: The Moral Thought of Iris Murdoch.' Both of these books are excellent and essential for anyone doing an academic study of Dame Iris.

44 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lucid and brilliant, August 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sovereignty of Good (Routledge Classics) (Paperback)

Murdoch's clarity and keenness as a thinker are everywhere evident in the three essays that comprise this short book. It is at once a kind of paean to common sense and an intricate philosophical working-through of fundamental human dillemmas.

In the subject of moral philosophy, Murdoch clearly comes down on the side of what many might feel to be a kind of Anglican conservatism, though a careful reading will, I think, reveal the deep sense of connectedness and love which inform her thinking. In particular, the book offers a fertile critique of central concepts in existential thought, and of the moral relativism which postmodern philosophy can sometimes engender.

Readers of her novels in particular will appreciate this glimpse of Murdoch's philosophical thought, and will notice how it informs her craft as an artist.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Difficult but Worthwhile, July 28, 2010

By 

James Henderson "Frugal Reviewer" (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sovereignty of Good (Paperback)

The nature of goodness is an issue today in the writings of Iris Murdoch. The Sovereignty of Good includes three essays by her. In reading her essay, "The Sovereignty of Good over other concepts", I found her returning to the allegory of the cave and the metaphor of the Sun that I first read in Plato. Murdoch claims that "'Good is a transcendent reality' means that virtue is the attempt to pierce the veil of selfish consciousness and join the world as it really is." (p 91) For Murdoch this is a claim that Art is the way that humans can reach this unity in that,
"The mind which has ascended to the vision of the Good can subsequently see concepts through which it has ascended (art, work, nature, people, ideas, institutions, situations, etc.) in their true nature and in their proper relationships to each other." (p 92)
The discussion of the good by Iris Murdoch reconsiders this and other themes found in Marcus Aurelius and Plato. It is a difficult but worthwhile read.