Metaphysical Animals: How Four Women Brought Philosophy Back to Life

by Clare Mac Cumhaill & Rachael Wiseman

The story of four mid-20th century philosophers based in Oxford—Elizabeth Anscombe, Iris Murdoch, Philippa Foot and Mary Midgley. With many men who typically dominated academic philosophy away fighting World War II, they were able to make their own mark, arguing for a greater place for metaphysics in philosophical discourse.

Recommendations from our site

“At the outset of World War II, a quartet of young women, Oxford students—Elizabeth Anscombe, Iris Murdoch, Philippa Foot, and Mary Midgley—were ‘bored of listening to men talk about books by men about men.’ As their male counterparts departed for the front lines, this brilliant group of women came together in their dining halls and shared lodging quarters to challenge the thinking of their male colleagues. In the shadows of the Holocaust and Hiroshima, these friends rejected the logical positivists who favoured empirical scientific questions. They didn’t really create a distinct philosophical approach as much as they shared an interest in the metaphysics of morals.” Read more...

The Best Biographies of 2023: The National Book Critics Circle Shortlist

Elizabeth Taylor, Biographer