Conference Program

This proposal aims to present an approach to Moral Education inspired by Iris Murdoch and apply it to Digital Education, suggesting that building a virtual image, strictly influenced by intersubjectivity and moral vocabulary, is not merely an escape, but rather an attempt to reconnect to the world through imagination, which might be defined as “digital realism”.

Indeed, Education plays a fundamental role in Iris Murdoch though, placing particular emphasis on the importance of context, in relation to which she focuses on the moral concept of vision, which, alongside imagination and attention, serves as an exploratory tool for engaging with reality. In this framework language plays a fundamental role in Iris Murdoch’s thought: every choice is linguistically oriented, as she stated, «words are where we live as human beings and as moral spiritual agents» (Murdoch, 1972). In this view, language functions as a moral medium because each use implies a value judgement and creativity from the agent. From a literary perspective, driven by imagination, writers navigate a network of meanings that directly impact reality. Literature’s urge towards completeness compensates philosophical language, by developing its moral vocabulary through a process of perfectionism. As “word-users” (Murdoch, 1978) we are constantly immersed in literature that we use to «make interesting forms out of experience» (Ibidem). Furthermore, language can modify ethical perspective, even before actions are taken.

Today, the pervasiveness of digital technologies transforms the way we express ourselves through ordinary language. According to Murdoch, «we are all story-tellers and in this sense we are all literary artists» (Murdoch, 1978). With our “digital stories” we are shaping our identity and defining our “conceptual life” (Diamond, 2006). However, a virtual-based identity necessarily raises the problem of “reality”. Similarly, the levels of attention and also learning methods, and language change. With our digital lives, we are exposed in our existential diary, previously relegated to the private sphere, the οἶκος, which now becomes public, becoming πόλις. Ordinary realism, through attention, allows us to essentially go beyond our own story. The use of digital technology, like all discussions on technique allows us to notice the vulnerability of others in a perspective of care and education “about” and “through” the digital.

Any contemporary discussion of education as a fundamental aspect of moral realism, from a Murdochian perspective, must necessarily take into account the digital dimension, which provides an opportunity to reflect on the concepts that shape our moral lives.