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1. Dependent Rational Animals: Why Human Beings Need the Virtues (The Paul Carus Lectures) by Alasdair MacIntyre | |
Paperback: 180
Pages
(2001-05-18)
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Editorial Review Product Description Customer Reviews (7)
The Philosopher in Winter
Interesting but Incoherent
Philosophical account for the need of virtues as toanimals and humans
Unflinching attempt to address fundamental questions The way he argues that we need the virtues is quite startling in originality. Generally, ethicists take as their standard the autonomous, self-sufficient reasoner--where "reason" means something like "able to give a logically defensible verbal justification," usually in terms of some sort of universal rule. MacIntyre sees this as a mistake. The question, he thinks, is how any of us ever come to be independent practical reasoners and what it means to be such. We must, he thinks, understand that "reasons to act" have little to do with our linguistic ability or capacity to display verbally a syllogism that concludes with the action in question. Rather, "reasons to act" are more concrete, pragmatic, and instrumental. *Human practical resoning* begins in this aspect of our animal nature--our ability to learn in practice what we need to do in order to accomplish the things we need to accomplish if we are to flourish. Note that the issue here is learning in practice, and identifying correctly through our practice what we find to be needful for our flourishing. Reason, then, is grounded in the practice of flourishing. And rather than look at "autonomous" adults, MacIntyre points out the obvious fact, usually overlooked by ethical theorists, that we are actually always dependent on each other in myriad ways. Our mutual dependency dictates that we need communities of giving and receiving various things--including education, formal and otherwise--not only to flourish but to be able to know, and reason, about flourishing. Without the virtues, the conditions for practical reasoning *at all* cannot exist. The argument, then, is that our animality and dependency dictate what constitutes both flourishing and practical reason about flourishing, and that we can demonstrate that the virtues are necessary for being independent practical reasoners who flourish. Rather, that's the strategy of the argument. The argument itself is, of course, much more involved. In its entirety, does it work? I'm not sure. I don''t know that everyone would agree with his axiomatic/unargued starting point, that to flourish requires us to be independent rational thinkers, even in the sense of "rational" he's spelled out here. We of democratic mien see thing that way, of course--but so far as I know, MacIntyre doesn't provide an argument for the overriding necessity of independence. A couple of things are troubling--his apparent reliance on D.W. Winnicott's psychoanalytic account of child development, for instance. I'm not sure whether it really matters--so long as one accepts the notion that persons cannot develop into independent rational thinkers without the support of others, MacIntyre's affinity for Winnicott can be seen as a personal quirk, I think. But that does lead to one perplexity: a lot of what MacIntyre says about the necessities of human life--matters of our dependence--is empirical, in a fairly straightforward sense, more than philosophical. Does this matter? It seems so to me. At least some of his argument turns on empirical claims about conditions for human flourishing for which he provides no argument or evidence. Finally, MacIntyre sees current society as more or less beyond the pale ethically--according to him, neither our families nor our nation states promote virtue or independent practical rationality of the sort he has spelled out. One could conclude, of course, that we live in vicious ands heathen times, so to speak--and perhaps we do. Or one could wonder whether MacIntyre's empirical claims, and the philosophical argument he bases upon them, may not have more to do with his tastes than with the conditions of human flourishing. Is it really so obvious that in our culture we fail to flourish? Taken from the perspective of human history, our developed nation states have a few things going for them that resemble flourishing: the highest levels of material welfare, more equitably spread (in spite of the great distance we have to go in achieving equality); the most widespread education and highest rates of literacy; the lowest rates of infant mortality; the longest life spans; the greatest emphasis on human rights, including for women and minoeriites; the easiest access by non-elites to the arts; the cheapest books (relative to per capita income); the most efficient (if not yet ideal) institutions for international consultation and cooperation, and . . . I like MacIntyre''s version of how life ought to be. I recommend reading the book. But I suggest that one not fail to note that his empirical claims are less than obviously true, while some empirical facts about our flourishing seem to have escaped his notice--or at least been given less weight than many folks would give them. One other thing: This book is badly written.Never mind the needlessly poor sentence structure in which he so often indulges (and he obviously knows better, since he often writes clearly). But the structure of the argument and its exposition is generally less than transparent. (The reviewer who thought first that MacIntyre had gone soft reflects this fact.) For instance, on page 107, he tells us there are two ways that a certain thing is important, then spends twelve pages discussing the first--without ever getting around to identifying the second, so far as I can discern. That sort of sloppiness is not unusual in the book. Do you think maybe one of the minor virtues, one of the small obligations owed by people who write books for which they ask our money, is that they not be lazy about how they express themselves?
Okay, so I was wrong |
2. Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry: Encyclopaedia, Genealogy, and Tradition by Alasdair MacIntyre | |
Paperback: 241
Pages
(1991-08-31)
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Editorial Review Product Description The lectures focus on Aquinas's integration of Augustinian and Aristotelian modes of enquiry, the inability of the encyclopaedists' standpoint to withstand Thomistic or genealogical criticism, and the problems confronting the contemporary post-Nietzschean genealogist. MacIntyre concludes by considering the implications for education in universities and colleges. Customer Reviews (4)
Catholicism vying for a place at the table?
Clarifies the alternative streams of modern thought. In this book, MacIntryre argues that the three supposedly incommensurable approaches to moral life that are left on the table in modern moral philosophy ought to be acknowledged.The battle between the three approaches is too often papered over.A better method would be to acknowledge to students that the Universities themselves are at war over these approaches, and are in fact an arena for this conflict, rather than an equal and uninvolved home for all ways of thinking. He is right.Any student of philosophy recognizes quickly that the instructors are speaking within incommensurable theories, speaking past one another.This book explains why, and does not attempt to provide a solution, other than to recognize that a war is going on. A Thomist like MacIntrye argues that a child must be brought up within the traditions of the truth as preparation to learn the truth.Yet modern science and the 19th century encyclopedists argue that truth is progressive.And Nietzche argues that an exposition of truth is merely the will to state the truth as seen by the person, a form of the will to power. These incommensurable approaches can only be the source of conflict in learning.To win, MacIntyre argues, would require one to transcend the others by explaining the problems of the other modes of thinking, solving those problems for the other mode, and moving the debate on.None have as yet triumphed, although MacIntyre holds out hope for Thomistic arguments, based in Aristotle and moving from there. His discussion of the Augustine/Aristotle debates of the 14th Century Parisian university is rivetting (OK, I admit it, I am exaggerating).This is a difficult but worthwile compendium of lectures, informative and educational.A reader will understand modern philosophy better as a byproduct of reading this book.
Clarifies the alternative streams of modern thought. In this book, MacIntryre argues that the three supposedly incommensurable approaches to moral life that are left on the table in modern moral philosophy ought to be acknowledged.The battle between the three approaches is too often papered over.A better method would be to acknowledge to students that the Universities themselves are at war over these approaches, and are in fact an arena for this conflict, rather than an equal and uninvolved home for all ways of thinking. He is right.Any student of philosophy recognizes quickly that the instructors are speaking within incommensurable theories, speaking past one another.This book explains why, and does not attempt to provide a solution, other than to recognize that a war is going on. A Thomist like MacIntrye argues that a child must be brought up within the traditions of the truth as preparation to learn the truth.Yet modern science and the 19th century encyclopedists argue that truth is progressive.And Nietzche argues that an exposition of truth is merely the will to state the truth as seen by the person, a form of the will to power. These incommensurable approaches can only be the source of conflict in learning.To win, MacIntyre argues, would require one to transcend the others by explaining the problems of the other modes of thinking, solving those problems for the other mode, and moving the debate on.None have as yet triumphed, although MacIntyre holds out hope for Thomistic arguments, based in Aristotle and moving from there. His discussion of the Augustine/Aristotle debates of the 14th Century Parisian university is rivetting (OK, I admit it, I am exaggerating).This is a difficult but worthwile compendium of lectures, informative and educational.A reader will understand modern philosophy better as a byproduct of reading this book.
a essential text for those interested in moral philosophy |
3. The Macintyre Reader by Alasdair C. MacIntyre | |
Paperback: 300
Pages
(1998-12)
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Editorial Review Product Description Customer Reviews (2)
Excellent Entry to Alasdair MacIntyre
Lucid Presentation of MacIntyre |
4. Ethics and Politics: Volume 2: Selected Essays by Alasdair MacIntyre | |
Hardcover: 252
Pages
(2006-06-19)
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Editorial Review Product Description |
5. A Short History of Ethics: A History of Moral Philosophy from the Homeric Age to the Twentieth Century by Alasdair C. MacIntyre | |
Paperback: 280
Pages
(1998-02)
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Editorial Review Product Description "The second edition of this classic will be more widely read than the first, one expects, if only because in the intervening three decades the author has become perhaps the most important moral philosopher in the English-speaking world." —First Things "This brilliant and provocative book is not so much a history of ethics as it is an essay about the history of ethics, with numerous examples. . . ." —Philosophical Review ". . . MacIntyre is always provocative, and this book will continue to excite engagement with fundamental moral issues." —Choice Customer Reviews (9)
An unevenly engaging History of Ethics
Too much analysis, too little exposition, but it is a good read
Ethics
Excellent introduction
A Book on Moral Philosophy |
6. Whose Justice Which Rationality by Alasdair MacIntyre | |
Paperback:
Pages
(1989-12-31)
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Slightly dull sequel to AFTER VIRTUE The overarching thesis of the book is sound nonetheless.To give a very basic outline, MacIntyre traces several traditions, broadly being the predominant Hellenist and Christian ones, before moving on to establish liberalism as its owntradition.Not every philosopher is give exhaustive or detailed treatment.Aristotle, Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, and Hume are the real stars here.The Scottish Enlightenment is dwelt upon in much detail to explain Hume, so other important philosophical movements such as British Empiricism, German Idealism, etc. are marginalized.Despite these omissions [the book is long enough as it is], the central thesis coheres nicely and arrives at its conclusion in a most decisive manner. Though MacIntyre's thesis that liberalism itself constitutes a tradition may seem tame, taken into proper perspective, it is actually quite revolutionary.Considering that modernity [à la Descartes] rejected all appeal to tradition and sought to construct a purely rational account of the human and his society and to, thereby, construct a utopian future applicable to all times and places, to claim that it is itself a traditional is a smack on the face that effectively historicizes the Enlightenment tradition.Therefore, justice and rationality-in other words what is proper action and what are the proper reasons for acting-must be understood through the historicized lens of the context of a specific tradition that any ethical discourse plugs into for its legitimacy. The book concludes with a cogent discussion of the nature of traditions, their birth, evolution, death, and how we can understand the nature of our own beliefs as being a part of tradition.The key, determinant events in these narratives are `epistemological crises'.MacIntyre tries to makes the case that Thomism has hitherto best weathered the tests of time.
A major work of contemporary philosophy This is a very challenging book to read, but also one that will deepen your thinking about the world, whether you agree with it or not. We largely take it for granted that (1) people disagree significantly about a wide range of issues related to ethics, and that (2) people do not agree about enough standards of rationality to resolve these ethical disagreements.MacIntyre puts this by saying that "logical incompatibility and incommensurability" both obtain (p. 351).What conclusion should we draw from these facts?One common response is relativism, which is roughly the view that the truth or falsity of a claim depends on the perspective from which it is evaluated.However, MacIntyre argues against relativism based on a brilliant reinterpretation of several major Western philosophical traditions. The Western Englightenment (of which Descartes is paradigmatic), rejected appeals to tradition, canonical texts and authority, and attempted to put in their place the "appeal to principles undeniable by any rational person," and hence independent of culture, history, etc."Yet both the thinkers of the Enlightenment and their successors proved unable to agree as to what precisely those principles were which could be found undeniable by all rational persons" (p. 6).Since the Enlightenment, most Western thinkers have either (1) continued to search for principles that are universally acceptable to all minimally rational humans (and continued to fail in this quest), or (2) given up on the quest for universal principles of reason, but -- paradoxically -- continued to assume the Enlightenment prejudice that any rational justification would have to be universal, ahistorical, and acultural. MacIntyre suggests that neither approach has learned the lesson of the failure of the Enlightenment project, which is that any rational justification has to be parochial, historical and in a particular cultural context. Since rational justification must be historical, the bearers of justification are not "theories" in the abstract, but embodied traditions.MacIntyre examines four sample traditions in this book (although he admits there are many more):the Aristotelian-Thomistic, the Augustinean, and those of the "Scottish Enlightenment" and modern liberalism. Traditions like these can undergo "epistemological crises":situations in which a tradition, by its own standards, increasingly discloses "new inadequacies, hitherto unrecognized incoherences, and new problems for the solution of which there seem to be insufficient or no resources within the established fabric of belief" (p. 362).A tradition may find a way to survive such a crisis (as Thomas Aquinas helped Christianity to do by synthesizing Augustineanism and Aristotelianism), but it may also fail.And because the possibility of failure is there, relativism is false:a tradition can come to see that its claims are false even by its own standards. Even if my tradition is not in an obvious crisis, I can realize that I have a rational justification for rejecting or modifying it.Suppose I am confronted with an alien intellectual tradition which is both incompatible and incommensurable with my own.Because the two are incompatible, I cannot simply agree with both traditions.But because of incommensurability, I cannot directly convince the adherents of the rival tradition that they are wrong (nor can they directly convince me).I can, however, learn to be "bilingual" in the two traditions.The Aristotelian can learn, for example, to "speak Confucian," as it were.Having done so, he occupies a special perspective, from which he may conclude that the Confucian worldview offers a superior interpretation of the strengths and weaknesses of his own tradition.Or he may conclude the opposite.Or he may conclude that some sort of synthesis is possible, which is superior to either one individually.For this reason also, relativism is not true, despite the fact that traditions are, when speaking one to the other, incommensurable:someone occupying one tradition *can* see that his views are fundamentally mistaken. MacIntyre argues that, of the four traditions he considers in this book, three have entered inescapable epistemological crises, while one (the tradition of Thomas Aquinas) has answered all challenges so far.The bulk of the book is a history of the four traditions.If you want to get the outline of MacIntyre's view, I recommend chapters 1 (the intro), 7-8 (on Aristotle), 9 (on Augustine), 10-11 (on Aquinas's synthesis), 16 (on Hume), 17 (on liberalism), and 18-20 (MacIntyre's grand theory). This is, of course, an easier book to read if you have read some previous philosophy (Thomas Kuhn's _The Structure of Scientific Revolutions_ is in the background of much of what MacIntyre says, even though he doesn't cite Kuhn very often), but a bright, motivated non-philosopher can read and greatly enjoy this book too.
Almost more trouble than it was worth So how, in his mind, doeshis account of rationality and justice 'win?'It seems automatic to seeksome purely objective standard by which to weigh the arguments of each ofthese specific systems, but as MacIntyre points out, the mere idea of apurely objective standard is deeply embedded in the Enlightenmenttradition: a tradition which MacIntyre showed in "After Virtue"to be seriously flawed.Instead, the system first must be internallycoherent but second, and more importantly, must overcome epistimologicalcrises that it faces.A certain system gets into trouble if a rival systemcan better resolve the epistimological crises facing it.MacIntyre thinksthat the Aristotelian tradition, especially as embedded in Thomism, 'wins'by this account.While the sense of victory is not as obvious as in AfterVirtue, I think that MacIntyre has a coherent and reasonably compellingargument in his favor. This book can be read in isolation, but is bestread after reading After Virtue, giving you a clearer idea of the problemthat MacIntyre is addressing.
Whose JusticeMWhich Rationality?
a pivotal work |
7. After Virtue. A Study in Moral Theory. Second Edition. by Alasdair MacIntyre | |
Paperback:
Pages
(1987)
Asin: B00425W2DM Average Customer Review: Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan | |
Customer Reviews (24)
A mad genius?
Slow and rather painful reading--which is too bad because it's an interesting theory
Philosophy and History
A feeble effort to justify feudal aristocracy
A Must-Read Groundbreaking Treatise of Our Civilization's Thought |
8. Edith Stein: The Philosophical Background by Alasdair Macintyre | |
Paperback: 208
Pages
(2007-07-08)
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9. Intractable Disputes about the Natural Law: Alasdair MacIntyre and Critics | |
Paperback: 392
Pages
(2009-08-01)
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10. Edith Stein: A Philosophical Prologue, 1913D1922 by Alasdair MacIntyre | |
Paperback: 208
Pages
(2007-05-15)
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11. The Tasks of Philosophy: Volume 1: Selected Essays by Alasdair MacIntyre | |
Hardcover: 244
Pages
(2006-06-19)
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12. Alasdair MacIntyre (Contemporary Philosophy in Focus) | |
Hardcover: 238
Pages
(2003-06-30)
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13. Alasdair MacIntyre's Engagement with Marxism: Selected Writings, 1953-1974 (Historical Materialism Book Series) by Alasdair MacIntyre | |
Paperback: 448
Pages
(2009-09-01)
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14. The Unconscious: A Conceptual Analysis by Alasdair MacIntyre | |
Hardcover: 128
Pages
(2004-03-26)
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15. First Principles, Final Ends and Contemporary Philosophical Issues (Aquinas Lecture) by Alasdair C. MacIntyre | |
Paperback: 69
Pages
(1990-04)
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Customer Reviews (1)
Genealogical Narrative |
16. After MacIntyre: Critical Perspectives on the Work of Alasdair MacIntyre | |
Paperback: 336
Pages
(1995-04-28)
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17. Kierkegaard After MacIntyre: Essays on Freedom, Narrative, and Virtue | |
Paperback: 416
Pages
(2001-04-16)
list price: US$49.00 -- used & new: US$37.24 (price subject to change: see help) Asin: 0812694392 Average Customer Review: Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan | |
Editorial Review Product Description Customer Reviews (1)
Reclaiming Kierkegaard from the "irrational." The book is highly enjoyable with concise essays that make their points while citing the various passages of Kierkegaard. One can easily check their refences if one is skeptical of the context. And what I enjoyed most was the fairness of the book. MacIntyre himself ends the collection of essays, and has the last words in response to the book's claims that he has radically misunderstood Kierkegaard. A good read and a definite must for anyone who wants to stay on top of the issues at hand in Kierkegaardian scholarship. ... Read more |
18. Metaphysical Beliefs: Three Essays by Stephen Toulmin, Ronald W. Hepburn, Alasdair Macintyre | |
Hardcover: 216
Pages
(1970-03-17)
Isbn: 0334010039 Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan | |
19. The Religious Significance of Atheism (Bampton Lectures in America) by Alasdair Macintyre, Paul Ricoeur | |
Paperback: 98
Pages
(1986-10)
list price: US$16.00 Isbn: 0231063679 Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan | |
20. Marxism and Christianity by Alasdair Macintyre | |
Paperback: 184
Pages
(2010-01-29)
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Christian Criticism of Vulgar Marxism
Emphasis on Marx's social critique
Marxism from a master Hegelian Hebelieves Christianity and Marxism share a key objection tomodernliberalism, the dominantideology of our age. Liberalism systematicallyseparates fact from value: facts are one kind of thing, values are another,and there is no logical connection between them. Therefore, the individualis sovereign in deciding what to do and not do, because the world does notimply any one set of values to live by.For both Christians and Marxists,knowledge of the world and its order leads to self-knowledge and theability to avoid predictable frustrations. Knowledge thus becomes aprerquisite to formative action that is valid not just for one person(liberalism), but for all people. At its best Marxism, like Christianity,functions as a relentless critic of society's reigning illusions - aconclusion not uncongenial to Hegel's philosophy of spiritualprogression.Thus the author remains a leading Christian Hegelian in thiswork as well as in others. ... Read more |
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