Iris Murdoch and the Others: A Writer in Dialogue with Theology

Description

The ‘others’ examined by Fiddes are mainly those with whom Murdoch entered into explicit dialogue in her novels and philosophical writing - including Immanuel Kant, Simone Weil, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Rudolph Bultmann, Paul Tillich, Don Cupitt, Donald Mackinnon and Jacques Derrida. This ‘historic’ dialogue is, however, placed within a wider dialogue between literature and theology being conducted by the author, and ‘others’ are brought into relation with Murdoch in order to illuminate this more extensive conversation - notably the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins and the feminist philosopher Julia Kristeva. The book demonstrates that characteristic themes in Murdoch’s novels and philosophy - the love of the Good, the death of the ego, illusory consolations, the death of God, the modifying of the will by ‘waiting’, the sublime and the beautiful, and attention to other things and persons - all take on a greater meaning when placed in the context of her life-long conversation with theology. The exploration of this context is deepened in this volume by reference to annotations and notes that Murdoch made in a number of theological books in her personal library. Cover Half Title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgements Introduction: What kind of dialogue? Chapter 1 Iris Murdoch and love of the truth Chapter 2 Iris Murdoch on ‘God’ and ‘Good’: A dialogue with modern theology Chapter 3 The sublime and the beautiful: Bringing Murdoch and Gerard Manley Hopkins into conversation Chapter 4 The sublime, the conflicted self and attention to the other: Bringing Iris Murdoch and Julia Kristeva into conversation Chapter 5 Language and writing: Murdoch in dialogue with Jacques Derrida Chapter 6 The void and the passion: A dialogue with Simone Weil Coda: With and beyond Simone Weil: The dialogue between Murdoch and theology Bibliography Index