In my current research I am looking into Iris Murdoch’s critical reception of the 20^th century existential philosophy of Martin Heidegger and J.-P. Sartre. My particular interests are 1) to situate Murdoch as an existential philosopher, however as a modern Socratic-Platonic existential philosopher rather than an existential-phenomenologist (in the style developed from Heidegger and onwards), 2) to point out the benefits of a Murdochian alternative to the typical existentialist understanding og individual freedom and authenticity that can accommodate an ethical qualification of human existence (ethics as first philosophy). For Murdoch, freedom becomes a function of human intentionality as ‘Eros directed towards the Good’, which always already implies that human existence is ethically qualified, and authentic freedom is understood as an ethical ‘Seinsmodus’ of selfless love of the other.

Personal website: https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/persons/anne-eggert-stevns(b00d68f9-ab0e-4972-889c-e7059eecad1e).html

Contact: filaes@cas.au.dk or aestevns@gmail.com