ERIC Number: EJ1252088
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Apr
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0309-8249
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The Case of M and D in Context: Iris Murdoch, Stanley Cavell and Moral Teaching and Learning
Jamieson, Lesley
Journal of Philosophy of Education, v54 n2 p425-448 Apr 2020
Iris Murdoch's famous case of M and D illustrates the moral importance of learning to see others in a more favourable light through renewed attention. Yet if we do not read this case in the wider context of Murdoch's work, we are liable to overlook the attitudes and transformations involved in coming to change one's mind as M does. Stanley Cavell offers one such reading and denies that the case represents a change in M's sense of herself or the possibilities for her world of the kind exemplified by Nora in Ibsen's A Doll's House. In this essay, I challenge Cavell's reading, suggesting that the case, while it may not be an exemplar of the perfectionist outlook as described by Cavell, can and should be interpreted in perfectionist terms. To see this, I reflect on Murdoch's views on the endless perfectibility of language, the importance of humility, and the role of love and attention in moral learning. I conclude that Murdoch's work uniquely sheds light on how we might cultivate a perfectionist outlook in ourselves and others, and describes the distinctive role that some novels can play in moral education.
Descriptors: Moral Development, Novels, Ethical Instruction, Language Role, Learning Processes, Intimacy, Attention, Educational Philosophy, Role, Teaching Methods
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
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Language: English
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