The Case of M and D in Context: Iris Murdoch, Stanley Cavell and Moral Teaching and Learning

Abstract

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.

Education for metaphysical animals

“…She observes that one can be perfectly competent in the linguistic use of the word for such a concept-that is, you know what 'generous' meansyet fail to appreciate what generosity demands of one, and in that sense not know what it means to be generous. Hence, our understanding of such concepts is something we must aspire to perfect, a process that expands and enhances our vision of life, of reality, of what matters (see Jamieson, 2020). 16 In her early writings, Murdoch writes as if talk of the inner is compatible with the view that the concepts we deploy to describe it are governed by public criteria.…”

Moral sensitivity: The central question of moral education

“…The importance of accuracy in the characterisation of a particular moral situation has recently been addressed by Lesley Jamieson, who draws attention to the fact that M in Murdoch's parable, ‘does not merely correct an error of judgment; she experiences a transformation at the level of her conceptual scheme’ (2020, p. 435). If the limits of my world are indeed dependent on those of my language, then Jamieson is correct in asserting that ‘the renewal of language transforms one's view of the world’ (p. 431).…”

Murdoch on ethical formation in a changing world

“…It is hardly surprising that Iris Murdoch's work has caught the interest of philosophers of education, and Murdochians have found it natural to give a central place to questions of learning and formation (see, e.g., Bakhurst, 2018; Jamieson, 2020; Laverty, 2007; Olsson, 2018). Her whole oeuvre is, in contrast to much of the work of her contemporaries, built around the idea of morality as a matter of development and learning, and she considers this moral learning as complexly intertwined with other forms of learning: of coming to see the world, and the people and things in it, in a richer, more perceptive, more complex manner.…”