Phenomenon of Modern Alienation in Iris Murdoch

Abstract

Taking its social and cultural context from Nineteenth Century, Modernism is a label used for artistic, literary and philosophical movements appeared during the first half of Twentieth Century. Modernist approach tends to prioritize 'the new'or 'making new,'which recalls a positive meaning. But its social reflections prove that the individuals of Modern society do not rely on the civilizational norms and have lost faith in religious and philosophical principles, and as a result, they are isolated and alienated from themselves and the society. Iris Murdoch is a British writer and philosopher of the Twentieth Century. She discusses the problems of loneliness and alienation of the Modern individual in her works. Her claim is that the problem of miscommunication and alienation stems from the lack of love and attention, and spurious and untrustable relationships. She maintains that healthy and long-term relationships of individuals could be achieved by attention for others, and that imagination, coincidence, contingency and transcendence are the concepts that might help to create love. For Murdoch, the Modern man has a problem of 'Modern alienation' because of ego-centric attitude. She discusses the importance of art, the role of love, and the functions of aiding concepts. This article aims to illustrate the reasons of 'Modern alienation' in Murdoch's Under the Net, The Nice and The Good, A Fairly Honorable Defeat and The Black Prince. © 2018 Cyprus International University. All Rights Reserved.