A Lesson of Moral Discipline from The Sovereignty of Good Presented on a Gray Background

Abstract

This article is devoted to the philosophy of morality presented by a British writer Iris Murdoch in her three texts from the 1960s, which make up the book The Sovereignty of Good. The author of the article recalls Murdoch’s proposal by presenting it against a certain social background. In his view, an environment of low public confidence and the conflict of systems of value (referred to in the title as “a gray background”) particularly highlights the merits of Murdoch’s normative ethics. Individual moral improvement in a situation of a crisis of confidence and in an atmosphere of hostility requires a combination of moral and cognitive effort. An integral part of moral work serving to improve the relationships with those towards whom we are reluctant should consist in a personal cognitive effort. Murdoch’s postulate for “looking with attention” seems to be nearly a recipe for the amendment of interpersonal relations in such conditions.