Iris Murdoch, Philosopher Meets Novelist

Sofia de Melo Araújo · Fátima Vieira

May 2011 · Cambridge Scholars Publishing

About this ebook

Iris Murdoch, Philosopher Meets Novelist aims to gather some of the world’s present experts on Iris Murdoch, in an effort to promote dialogue between philosophy and literature. This is due not only to the nature of Iris Murdoch’s work itself, but also to our belief that within Humanistic Studies there is a constant need for breaking down disciplinarian barriers and reaching a deeper, fuller awareness of human thinking. Thus, the book brings together scholars from a variety of fields and places—Brazil, England, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Taiwan, and the United States—and testifies to the interest that the work of Murdoch continues to inspire.

The book is divided into two major sections: Part A, Reading Philosophies in Literature, includes articles focusing on Iris Murdoch’s philosophical concerns and their general influence in her work; Part B, Reading Literature through Philosophy, is intended as a sort of application ground, a series of case-studies wherein authors depart from novels to retrieve the underlying philosophical thinking.

About the author

Sofia de Melo Araújo is currently working on her PhD in Literature at the Universidade do Porto, Portugal, on a state-funded merit grant by FCT, under the supervision of Professors Maria de Fátima Marinho and Fátima Vieira. Her main areas of research include Comparative Literature, the novel, Ethics and Literature and Utopian Studies.

Fátima Vieira is Associate Professor of English at the University of Porto, where she has been teaching since 1986. She is the President of the Utopian Studies Society (Europe). Her research interests include Utopian Studies, Cultural Studies, Shakespearean Studies and Translation Studies. She has published widely and organized several conferences within these fields of study.