Iris Murdoch, Henry and Cato

Anne Rowe (Kingston University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1976

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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The Republic

, Plato's allegory of the cave represents the path to reality as a painstaking process that involves rejecting the familiar but illusory world of the cave, struggling outside into an unknown world, and focusing upon the sun. This feat is possible for only a very few – the philosopher kings. The core of Iris Murdoch's moral philosophy, the process of unselfing, involves just such an arduous and unnatural decentring of the self. She does not believe in a traditional God or an afterlife, and replaces God with the good in her hierarchy. By eliminating the idea of an afterlife, Murdoch removes the possibility of consolation or reward for behaviour: few expect to be good without a reward, and a life-long process of sublimation runs counter to natural human inclinations.…

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1811 words

Citation: Rowe, Anne. "Henry and Cato". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 July 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=10017, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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