Alasdair MacIntyre
Modern morality lies in fragments: we must return to the virtues, in Aristotle's way.
Life
Scottish philosopher (Glasgow 1929 - 2025) who taught in the United Kingdom and then the United States, notably at Notre Dame. In After Virtue (1981) he argues that modern moral language is a remnant of forgotten traditions, and proposes a return to an ethics of the virtues, inspired by Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, rooted in practices and communities.
Main works
Argues that modern morality is in fragments and that the virtues must be recovered.
Shows that justice and rationality depend on traditions of thought.
Stresses human vulnerability and dependence in thinking about the virtues.
In his own words
« man is in his actions and practice, as well as in his fictions, essentially a story-telling animal. »
« The good life for man is the life spent in seeking for the good life for man »
Positions
click a row to see the evidenceA Thomist and Catholic, he places his ethics in a tradition that rests on God.
MacIntyre, God, Philosophy, Universities (2009)
Morality only makes sense through the virtues, within practices and a tradition, in Aristotle's way.
MacIntyre, After Virtue (1981)
Moral life belongs to communities and traditions, not to isolated individuals; he criticizes liberal individualism.
MacIntyre, After Virtue (1981)