The argument of this essay is that G. E. Moore's 'The Refutation of Idealism' provided E. M. Forster with a philosophical argument about the perception of reality that he used to connect the central concerns of The Longest Journey. This use involved converting the refutation of epistemological Idealism into an ethical conclusion about accepting the objective reality of other people, of other loves, of other societies, of nature, and finally of time. From Moore's interest in arguments against the existence of objective reality Forster develops his own novelistic interest in the objective and subjective assumptions that his characters act upon in their lives. In his own fictional terms Forster 'refutes' their idealisms—both epistemological and altruistic—by showing their consequences especially in love. (pp. 52-3)

Forster's use of Moore will undoubtedly strike some philosophers and even some critics as hopelessly naïve. The Longest Journey will never rank...