The Sovereignty of Good

by Iris Murdoch

The book appeals to me because it is fundamentally about trust. She is making the case that, whereas there are many reasons not to trust people, we should have an active sense of whether we can trust people or not. And her book is re-emphasising that underneath all else there is goodness. And she is also talking about the fact that creativity comes when we allow the goodness to flow through us, when we let it come through our pen or through our voice or, if we are a violinist or a pianist, through our fingers. And that this is the prevailing fact of the universe, this sense of harmony, goodness and oneness for which we become the vessel.