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Murdoch and the End of Ideology

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Murdoch on Truth and Love

Part of the book series: Philosophers in Depth ((PID))

Abstract

Iris Murdoch had a lifelong interest in politics and she reflected upon the nature of ideology throughout her career. What she had to say on the subject developed during her career and relates to general academic discussions on the nature of ideology. At the outset of her career she was a committed socialist. She recognised that political ideology was in retreat after the Second World War but sought to contribute to socialist ideology. Later in her career she became sceptical of radical utopian ideologies, including socialism and developed a theory of politics that prioritised safeguarding individual liberty and security. However, she imagined that political thought would continue to develop and offer new possibilities and so she did not call for the end of ideology but continued to value political ideas.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Murdoch is doubtless influenced by her conservative friend Michael Oakeshott, who warned against the dangers of radical politics. He claimed that there is no destination in politics other than pursuing the intimations of tradition. See Oakeshott (1962).

  2. 2.

    Murdoch’s early novels show the lives of a variety of migrants and she depicted survivors from the holocaust in later novels. For a discussion of the global treatment of politics in the contemporary world and in the preceding century, see Browning (2011).

  3. 3.

    She records her changing political views in letters to Philippa Foot. See, for instance, her reference to Communist China (Murdoch 1979). Also she remarks upon politics in her journals. See for instance, Murdoch (1990).

  4. 4.

    Fukuyama’s reading of Hegel is disputable, see my analysis of Hegel’s political philosophy (1999).

  5. 5.

    Oakeshott (1975) and MacIntyre (1981) see philosophy, ethics and politics as developing historically, but they both see the development as unending and lacking definitive resolution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK

    Gary Browning

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  1. Gary Browning
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  1. Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom

    Gary Browning

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Browning, G. (2018). Murdoch and the End of Ideology. In: Browning, G. (eds) Murdoch on Truth and Love. Philosophers in Depth. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76216-6_7

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