Q0521
“Moral change and moral achievement are slow; we are not loosely and…” — Iris Murdoch (The Sovereignty of Good (1970))
Verified English quotation. Primary source: The Sovereignty of Good (1970). Theme: morality.
English
Moral change and moral achievement are slow; we are not loosely and lightly attached to the world.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to The Sovereignty of Good (1970) 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
Moral philosophy asks whether morality is objective, how reasons bind us, and how character, rules, and consequences relate. Traditions differ on whether duty, virtue, or outcomes come first. This passage enters that discussion through morality, attention, being.
Concepts in this quote
- Morality
- Morality in philosophy concerns right and wrong, obligation, and the standards by which we judge persons and acts.
- Attention
- Attention appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat attention as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
- Being
- Being appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat being as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Iris Murdoch. (n.d.). Moral change and moral achievement are slow; we are not loosely and lightly attached to the world. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0521
MLA: Iris Murdoch. “Moral change and moral achievement are slow; we….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0521.
Chicago: Iris Murdoch. “Moral change and moral achievement are slow; we….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0521.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “Moral change and moral achievement are slow; we…”?
The passage is attributed to Iris Murdoch, The Sovereignty of Good (1970). The archive attributes this English wording to The Sovereignty of Good (1970) 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 morality?
Moral philosophy asks whether morality is objective, how reasons bind us, and how character, rules, and consequences relate. Traditions differ on whether duty, virtue, or outcomes come first. This passage enters that discussion through morality, attention, being.