Murdoch and K. E. Løgstrup

This chapter considers the relation between Iris Murdoch’s position and that of the Danish philosopher and theologian K. E. Løgstrup. While neither knew of each other’s work, there are interesting points of comparison, both positively, but also negatively. On the positive side, for example, they have similar views on love and its obstacles, the significance of art, the need for social norms, and the barrenness of much analytic philosophy. But on the negative side, they have an important disagreement on the question of whether we can ‘make ourselves morally better’, as Murdoch puts it. On this issue, Løgstrup is much more pessimistic than Murdoch, which would lead him to be sceptical regarding her claims regarding the effectiveness of her ‘techniques of unselfing’, for reasons that are discussed and evaluated.