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In three controversial books "After Virtue, Whose Justice?", "Which Rationality?" and "Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry" - Alasdair MacIntyre set out to convince us that modern society and modern thought were in a serious muddle. But what exactly is MacIntyre's position on those key themes which figure in his analysis of the modern muddle: virtues, rules, practices, traditions, good, reason, truth, incommensurability, fact, value? Why does he consider Aristotle, Aquinas and Nietzsche so important? Why does he pour scorn on the current revival in applied ethics? What exactly does he mean by the three rival frameworks of tradition, encyclopaedia and genealogy? It is only when we have gained an understanding of these matters that we are in a position to ask him some critical questions - questions like "Does your account of moral philosophy make sense?" and "Does your account make more sense than other accounts?" It is these questions that this book addresses. ... Read more

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Modern ethical theory has experienced a resurgence of interest in the virtues. Long relegated to the ancient and medieval past, virtue theory is now considered by many to be a viable alternative to the otherwise dominant Kantian and Utilitarian ethical theories. Alasdair MacIntyre is a central figure in this movement, whose work forms an expanding yet consistent and influential project to address fundamental issues in ethical theory and American culture. However, many of his ideas were anticipated by John Dewey, who also has a great deal to say about the virtues in a moral life. This book offers, as it were, a critique of MacIntyre by Dewey that allows these two philosophers to converse about the nature and origins of the virtues and their importance for living a good life. Stephen Carden argues that Dewey has the more comprehensive view of the virtues and that a close comparison of their ideas reveals several significant weaknesses in MacIntyre's position. ... Read more

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Aristotle is the most influential philosopher of practice, and Knight's new book explores the continuing importance of Aristotelian philosophy. First, it examines the theoretical bases of what Aristotle said about ethical, political and productive activity. It then traces ideas of practice through such figures as St Paul, Luther, Hegel, Heidegger and recent Aristotelian philosophers, and evaluates Alasdair MacIntyre's contribution. Knight argues that, whereas Aristotle's own thought legitimated oppression, MacIntyre's revision of Aristotelianism separates ethical excellence from social elitism and justifies resistance.

With MacIntyre, Aristotelianism becomes revolutionary. MacIntyre's case for the Thomistic Aristotelian tradition originates in his attempt to elaborate a Marxist ethics informed by analytic philosophy. He analyses social practices in teleological terms, opposing them to capitalist institutions and arguing for the cooperative defence of our moral agency. In condensing these ideas, Knight advances a theoretical argument for the reformation of Aristotelianism and an ethical argument for social change. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A welcome addition to college library and philosophical studies shelves.
Written by Kelvin Knight (senior lecturer in politics, London Metropolitan University), Aristotelian Philosophy: Ethics and Politics from Aristotle to MacIntyre is a scholarly intellectual history of Aristotelian philosophy, and its long-running importance up to the present day. Chapters explore the theoretical bases behind what Aristotle said about ethical, political and productive activity; Aristotle's practical philosophy as well as his theoretical philosophy; and applications of his ideas in settings ranging from medieval Christian times to Germany to revolutionary Aristotelianism in modern history including MacIntyre's Marxism. At times highly technical due to its depth and nuance of complex concepts, Aristotelian Philosophy is a welcome addition to college library and philosophical studies shelves.

outstanding study
Kelvin Knight puts his readers greatly in debt for this masterful and erudite study of the history of Aristotelian philosophy, with particular emphasis on MacIntyre's place in that history.Notwithstanding his disclaimers in the conclusion, Knight has in fact produced a clear account of "the conceptual subtleties and political implications" of MacIntyre's Aristotelianism elsewhere unmatched.And Knight really knows his MacIntyre, drawing on some 100 of his publications in this explication. An especially welcome element of the study is the manner in which Knight shows us the continuity of MacIntyre's early engagement with Marx and his latest work, an important corrective against political conservatives' misemployment of MacIntyre's work.Indeed, Knight finds MacIntyre's political philosophy to remain revolutionary.A great book on the most important ethical philosopher of our time. ... Read more

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First published in 1981this edition has a new final chapter which elaborates on the connections between philosophy/history and moral philosophy/theology. ... Read more

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A Short History of Ethics is a history of moral philosophy from the Greeks to the present day. It enables the reader to place specific texts in moral philosophy in a historical perspective by showing the debt moral philosophers owe to their predecessors and the historical development of changes in the moral concepts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Indispensible Classic For Students of Moral Philosophy
MacIntyre's now classic history of moral theory was written in the highly individualistic years of the mid-late sixties.Today, MacIntyre is regarded as one of the world's most significant moral philosophers, but when he wrote this book, few outside of the discipline had ever heard of him.No doubt, the book reflects MacIntyre's strong opinions, but they are well-considered, deeply thought, and generally well-argued.Further, the nature of the project keeps MacIntyre in the mainstream of his subject, and the book provides an extremely comprehensive and relatively concise (270 pages) survey of the peaks in the development of western moral theory (which, despite the many claims of post-modern pundits, is still at the heart of the philosophic project as a whole). A number of MacIntyre's arguments show a fascinating and appropriate application of Wittgenstein's ideas, which, at the time of this writing, still basked in the glow of the apotheosis they had undergone in the 1950's.

MacIntyre is strong on the Greeks.His sections on Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and the development of Greek moral thought fill the first 100 pages.Socrates' basic teachings are examined, and while MacIntyre is a bit too materialistic to really "get" Plato, he details the main strokes well, in a fairly thorough discussion of The Republic.His examination of Aristotle's moral theory is enlightening, one of the best available in brief.
The middle of the book deftly deals with the impact of Christian moral thought (see Max Weber for more), the development of early modernity (good on Hobbes; interesting on Spinoza), further developments in 18th century France and Britain (if you've ever wanted to know how the ideas of Locke, Mandeville, Shaftesbury, Hutchinson, Bishop Butler, Paley, Price, Reed, and Hume, et al. fit together in less than ten pages, look no further). Hume is discussed more deeply in other books of this sort (see Norman "The Moral Philosophers"). The discussion is followed by excellent summaries of Montesquieu and Rousseau. (For some reason Montaigne is ignored along with the rest of late 16th and early 17th century French thought).
Then comes what, in my opinion, is the gem of the book, his analysis of Kant. The final claim in the chapter, that the arbitrary nature ("the logical emptiness") of Kant's categorical imperative ironically did far more than any other philosophic claims to prepare the German psyche to rationalize the acceptance of totalitarian National Socialism, albeit controversial, deserves careful perusal.
The final third of the book includes informative sections on Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche (R. Soloman and K. Higgins are better in the brief style format on Nietzsche), Utilitarianism (R. Norman is stronger on Mill, but MacIntyre is sfficient) and ends about halfway through the 20th century, mostly discussing developments in British moral philosophy (Moore, et al).There's a few pages on Sarte (not nearly enough), Dewey, and less known figures such as Stevenson.All in all, better buy a seperate book which deals with this turbulant century all by itself.MacIntyre, however, provides enough of an intro.
The book is excellent in showing the interrelation and development of the most stimulating ideas which have arisen in Europe over two-and a-half thousand years in regard to how we ought to live, how we do, and the whys and wherefores of most of what matters most in philosophy.

Fascinating and difficult
Yes this book is difficult for a non-philosopher like myself. I found the initial chapter on Homeric values very interesting, but then got stranded when he discusses Plato: he assumes indirectly that the reader is familiar with the Gorgias and the Republic. So I didn't give up, and laid the book to the side for one year, and did a slow reading of both of those dialogues on an internet reading group. I then picked up the Short History, and continued: his account of Aristotle is crystal clear. Somewhat excessive detail on recent English philosophy perhaps. My next step, that I'm busy with now, is "After Virtue", much easier to read after having tackled his Short History, and that book is even more riveting and revolutionary.

Great for those with adequate background
This is a reissue of a 1964 work. MacIntyre provides a new introduction that critically reviews what he sees as the strength and weaknesses of the book. The book itself, however, is unchanged from the 1964 text.

Beginners will find this a difficult book to work through. MacIntyre presumes the reader has a basic understanding of the ideas and philosophers he discusses.

But for those with adequate background this is a wonderful book, full of many insights. Be warned, though, this book is not a neutral review of the subject matter. In this book MacIntyre lays the groundwork for his own particular version of ethics (developed most fully in After Virtue).

Much of the book is dense and part of it is, arguably, poorly written. But it is worth the work needed to get through it.

MacIntyre, Alasdair
short history of ethics A short history of ethics: A history of Moral Philosophy from The Homeric Age to The Twentieth Century

MacIntyre, Alasdair
short history of ethics A short history of ethics: A history of Moral Philosophy from The Homeric Age to The Twentieth Century ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Independent Review, published by Independent Institute on September 22, 2010. The length of the article is 10294 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Alasdair MacIntyre and F. A. Hayek on the abuse of reason.(Essay)
Author: Brandon Harnish
Publication: Independent Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2010
Publisher: Independent Institute
Volume: 15Issue: 2Page: 179(21)

Article Type: Essay

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This digital document is an article from Theological Studies, published by Theological Studies, Inc. on June 1, 2010. The length of the article is 803 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Intractable Disputes about the Natural Law: Alasdair MacIntyre and Critics.(Book review)
Author: Beth K. Haile
Publication: Theological Studies (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2010
Publisher: Theological Studies, Inc.
Volume: 71Issue: 2Page: 481(2)

Article Type: Book review

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This book is a study of Alasdair MacIntyre's virtueproject. MacIntyre is placed in the context of thevirtue tradition he seeks to recover; specialattention is paid to Aristotle and Aquinas, both ofwhom are important resources for MacIntyre. Thisstudy then highlights key developments in the historyof ethics and explains the rise of the Enlightenmentand the displacement of the virtue tradition.MacIntyre's influential critique of the Enlightenmentis outlined before a summary of his own virtueproject is detailed. The author then surveys andresponds to key critiques of MacIntyre's work andends with an examination of what MacIntyre'sprojectmeans to the church. This book provides a usefulintroduction and summary of MacIntyre's project whichwill be valuable to anyone interested in MacIntyre orthe revival of virtue ethics. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Global Virtue Ethics Review, published by Southern Public Administration Education Foundation, Inc. on July 1, 2003. The length of the article is 1081 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Dependent Rational Animals: Why Human Beings Need the Virtues. Alasdair Macintyre.(Book Review)
Author: Sharon Tracy
Publication: Global Virtue Ethics Review (Refereed)
Date: July 1, 2003
Publisher: Southern Public Administration Education Foundation, Inc.
Volume: 4Issue: 3-4Page: NA

Article Type: Book Review

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This digital document is an article from Humanitas, published by Thomson Gale on March 22, 2006. The length of the article is 11627 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Michael Polanyi, Alasdair MacIntyre, and the role of tradition.(Essay)
Author: Mark T. Mitchell
Publication: Humanitas (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 19Issue: 1-2Page: 97(29)

Article Type: Essay

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This digital document is an article from First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, published by Thomson Gale on October 1, 2007. The length of the article is 4777 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: The virtues of Alasdair MacIntyre.(Biography)
Author: Stanley Hauerwas
Publication: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Issue: 176Page: 35(6)

Article Type: Biography

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This digital document is an article from The Review of Metaphysics, published by Thomson Gale on March 1, 2007. The length of the article is 1899 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: MacIntyre, Alasdair. Edith Stein. A Philosophical Prologue 1913-1922.(Book review)
Author: Alice Ramos
Publication: The Review of Metaphysics (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 60Issue: 3Page: 670(4)

Article Type: Book review

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Les achats comprennent une adhésion à l'essai gratuite au club de livres de l'éditeur, dans lequel vous pouvez choisir parmi plus d'un million d'ouvrages, sans frais. Le livre consiste d'articles Wikipedia sur : Adam Smith, David Hume, Jean Duns Scot, Michael Scot, Alasdair Macintyre, Thomas Reid, James Frederick Ferrier, Marc Duncan, John Macquarrie, Hector Boece, Francis Hutcheson, Hugh Blair, John Millar, James Mill, Adam Ferguson, Thomas Davidson, Alexander Bain, John Abercrombie, Robert Balfour, Henry Home, Dugald Stewart, Thomas Brown, David Fordyce, André Baxter. Non illustré. Mises à jour gratuites en ligne. Extrait : David Hume, né David Home (26 avril 1711/ 7 mai 1711 - 25 août 1776), philosophe, économiste et historien, est l'un des plus importants penseurs des Lumières écossaises (avec Adam Smith et Thomas Reid) et est considéré comme l'un des plus grands philosophes et écrivains de langue anglaise. Fondateur de l'empirisme moderne (avec Locke et Berkeley), l'un des plus radicaux par son scepticisme, il s'opposa tout particulièrement à Descartes et aux philosophies considérant l'esprit humain d'un point de vue théologico-métaphysique : il ouvrit ainsi la voie à l'application de la méthode expérimentale aux phénomènes mentaux. Son importance dans le développement de la pensée contemporaine est considérable : Hume eut une influence profonde sur Kant, sur la philosophie analytique du début du siècle et sur la phénoménologie. On ne retint pourtant longtemps de sa pensée que le scepticisme destructeur ; mais les commentateurs de la fin du siècle se sont attachés à montrer le caractère positif et constructif de son projet philosophique. On a proposé de diviser la vie de Hume en trois périodes ; bien que ce genre de divisions puisse comporter une part d'arbitraire, cela reste un moyen mnémotechnique utile : une période d'études et de premiers essais qui s'étend jusqu'en 1740 ; une période active de voyages et de résultats,...http://booksllc.net/?l=fr ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from The Review of Metaphysics, published by Thomson Gale on March 1, 2007. The length of the article is 6172 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Is Aristotelian science possible? A commentary on MacIntyre and McMullin.(Alasdair MacIntyre)(Ernan McMullin)
Author: Jean DeGroot
Publication: The Review of Metaphysics (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 60Issue: 3Page: 463(15)

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Este libro es un recorrido exhaustivo por toda la obra de MacIntyre: sus iniciales compromisos con el marxismo, su fideismo protestante y sus dudas religiosas, su concepción narrativa del psicoanálisis, la influencia de Wittgenstein en su sociología y finalmente su aristotelismo y su tomismo. En todo este itinerario intelectual descubriremos hasta qué punto su pensamiento es antiliberal. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from The Review of Metaphysics, published by Philosophy Education Society, Inc. on June 1, 2005. The length of the article is 861 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Lutz, Christopher Stephen. Tradition in the Ethics of Alasdair MacIntyre: Relativism, Thomism, and Philosophy.(Book Review)
Author: William Haggerty
Publication: The Review of Metaphysics (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 2005
Publisher: Philosophy Education Society, Inc.
Volume: 58Issue: 4Page: 901(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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