Mysticism and morality. Iris Murdoch’s Platonic mysticism

The paper aims to investigate Iris Murdoch’s Platonic mysticism, setting
it in the context of the contemporary debate between perennialists and constructivists.
Like many perennialists, Murdoch believed in the existence of an
essential link between mysticism and morality: this clarifies why she was
fascinated by Plato’s philosophy. She conceived of mysticism and morality
as having the same essence, love intended as an eros purified from selfishness,
and viewed mysticism as the perfection of moral life. Like constructivists,
however, Murdoch rejected the idea that mystical experiences are essentially
unitive: she used Plato’s imagery of the eternal forms to emphasize
that complete unity with the mystical “You” can never be achieved, and that
this impossibility assures the existence of a relationship. Mysticism is essentially
this relationship, for Murdoch.