Owl of Minerva

One of the UK's foremost moral philosophers, Mary Midgley recounts her remarkable story in this elegiac and moving account of friendships found and lost, bitter philosophical battles and of a profound love of teaching. In spite of her many books and public profile, little is known about Mary's life. Part of a famous generation of women philosophers that includes Elizabeth Anscombe, Philippa Foot, Mary Warnock and Iris Murdoch, Midgley tells us in vivid and humorous fashion how they cut a swathe through the arid landscape of 1950s British Philosophy, writing and arguing about the grand themes of character, beauty and the meaning of rudeness. As the mother of three children, her journey during the 1950s and 1960s was one of a woman fighting to combine a professional career with raising a family. In startling contrast to many of the academic stars of her generation, we learn that Midgley nearly became a novelist and started writing philosophy only when in her fifties, suggesting that Minerva's owl really does fly at dusk. Charting the highs and lows of philosophy and academia in Britain, this publication sheds light on Mary's close friends, her moral philosophy and her meetings with major philosophers, including Wittgenstein and Isaiah Berlin.

Mary Midgley (1919-2018) was one of the most renowned moral philosophers of her generation and the author of many books, including Beast and Man, Wickedness and The Myths We Live By. She has taken part in many broadcast events, including The Moral Maze and Woman's Hour.

Foreword: Light, Darkness and Owls Part 1 Early Days, 1924-33 Greenford Rectory Starting School Moving On Greenford Growing Parental Activities Other Scrutton Relatives More Relatives - The Hays Ladies and Non-Ladies Part 2 Ancestors Thomas Urquhart and the Universal Language Early Scruttons The Lord Justice Part 3 At Downe House School, 1932-37 The Place Learning This And That Attending to History; Collingwood A World Apart Part 4 At Oxford, 1938-42 Preparations First Impressions Marxist Dreams Studying the Classics A Changing World Life in Wartime Marxism in Decline Starting Greats The Philosophical Scene What is Empiricism? Gender Queries What Iris Said Part 5 Wartime Jobs, 1942-45 In The Civil Service Interlude at Downe At Bedford School Part 6 In Oxford Again, 1945-9 On Boar's Hill Winter Interlude Not Doing the B.Phil. Part 7 At Reading, 1949-50 Dialectical Difficulties Part 8 At Newcastle, 1950 - 2004 Settling In Journalistic Ploys Newcastle University The Philosophy Department Writing About Beasts And Other Things Family Movements; Geoff's Activities Darker Weather; Survival Strategies