Q0200
“Love is the extremely difficult realisation that something other than oneself is…” — Iris Murdoch (The Sublime and the Good (1959))
Verified English quotation. Primary source: The Sublime and the Good (1959). Theme: love.
English
Love is the extremely difficult realisation that something other than oneself is real.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to The Sublime and the Good (1959) and files it under Platonic Moral Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Iris Murdoch
Iris Murdoch (1919–1999) was an Irish-British philosopher and novelist who revived moral attention to the good against mid-century linguistic narrowness. A student at Oxford and briefly influenced by Sartre, she turned toward Plato.
How to read this passage
Greek distinctions among eros, philia, and agape, Confucian relational ethics, and modern debates about romantic love keep the theme philosophically precise rather than merely sentimental. This passage enters that discussion through love, otherness, morality.
Concepts in this quote
- Love
- Love in philosophy ranges from friendship and desire to care, justice, and the transformation of the self.
- Otherness
- Otherness appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat otherness as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
- Morality
- Morality in philosophy concerns right and wrong, obligation, and the standards by which we judge persons and acts.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Iris Murdoch. (n.d.). Love is the extremely difficult realisation that something other than oneself is real. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0200
MLA: Iris Murdoch. “Love is the extremely difficult realisation that something….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0200.
Chicago: Iris Murdoch. “Love is the extremely difficult realisation that something….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0200.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “Love is the extremely difficult realisation that something…”?
The passage is attributed to Iris Murdoch, The Sublime and the Good (1959). The archive attributes this English wording to The Sublime and the Good (1959) and files it under Platonic Moral Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Iris Murdoch mean by love?
Greek distinctions among eros, philia, and agape, Confucian relational ethics, and modern debates about romantic love keep the theme philosophically precise rather than merely sentimental. This passage enters that discussion through love, otherness, morality.