Sovereignty of Good (Routledge Classics)

Rating:
Summary: Lucid and brilliant
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Read this book before declaring a philosophy major PLEASE
Review: This book reaffirmed my belief that focusing on modern German philosophy was a bad idea. Unfortunately, I came to this conclusion and read this book in my senior year. After graduation and after rereading this book several times, I have realized that one of my main motivations in studying philosophy, to attain esoteric enlightenment, was a washout. After the painful and time consuming study of people like Hegel, my ethical stance is not any different than before I started college.

Thank you Iris Murdoch for telling me that my time has been frittered. Thank you also for being so terse.