Alasdair MacIntyre

Alasdair MacIntyre published the first edition of his book, After Virtue, in 1981. Since then, two further editions have been published. Within all three editions of his book, MacIntyre claims that we should give grave deliberation to Aristotle’s theory of the virtues. He does so by examining the antiquity of virtue ethics and attempts to create a classification of them for contemporary times. Nonetheless, MacIntyre’s disagreement was that modern ethics place far too much importance on reason and not enough stress on individuals, the characters of these individuals, and the frameworks of their lives. In addition, he believed that living a virtuous life was reliant upon practicing morality. His explanation for this was that it can fill life…

The argument of moral individualism is flawed because it claims that one can have loyalty to a community without accepting that there are obligations that do not require consent. Michael Sandel, by appealing to Alasdair Macintyre’s ideas of the conception of self and Virtue Ethics, proves that to have special loyalties to family and community members, one must accept obligations of solidarity. Moral individualism rests on the conception that the only actions one is accountable for are the ones…

In this essay I aim to justify how Alasdair MacIntyre is not a relativist. To do this I will start by describing his ethical theory, which includes his account of virtue ethics, derived from his criticism of modern ethical thought. I will then explain how he is regarded by some people as a relativist due to his stress on tradition for rationality and finish by demonstrating how he is not a relativist because of the justification that some traditions are better than others. MacIntyre deeply…

While writing this paper, I realized that one of the chief problematic aspects of moral philosophy is in the context of modernity and the contrast between rival traditions. So, what is the ethical conflict in modernity? MacIntyre describes it this way: The histories of expressivist agents are primarily histories of their affections, of what they have cared about and of how they came to care about what they care about. The histories of NeoAristotelians are histories of how they succeeded or…

focuses on the Expressivism and Aristotelian argumentation of Alasdair MacIntyre’s Ethics in the Conflict of Modernity. Throughout my academic career I have delved into various aspects of philosophical, political, and religious teaching all of which have encompassed ideals of theistic ethics. Today, I will present a claim conceived by Alasadair MacIntyre in his book Ethics in the Conflict of Modernity. I will use the other philosophers as the occasion arises as I provide support for my own…

Research and reading on patriotism as a definition is modern day and the standard which Alasdair MacIntyre's reasons for patriotism being a virtue, makes plainly visible why it causes a lot of thoughtful people to become uncomfortable (Nathanson, 1989, pp 535). In MacIntyre's 'Is Patriotism a Virtue?', he attempts to argue, why patriotism is in conflict with how it stands in society. MacIntyre sets out from the onset that it would e deceptive for him to claim that the reasons he discusses are…

Having critical analysed Alasdair MacIntyre’s thought provoking and in depth article entitled “Is Patriotism a Virtue?” it can be noted there are many factors that need to be taken into consideration in order to view patriotism as a virtue or the mutually opposed belief that patriotism is a vice. This comparative review of patriotism is based on moral foundations which influences one perspectives about the nature of patriotism. In this essay I hope to give a clear account of MacIntyre’s views in…

need the guidance from a higher authority, which is god. We use it as our idol and follow it for supervision. Humans are extremely dependent on others, for example when we were born, we need someone to feed us, take care of us, protect us and also guide us in the right path. We can’t survive without that. Likewise, we need God and religion to show us the right path to help us survive. We need higher authority or God to escort us about what is good and bad. Philip Yancey mentions in his book…

In contrary to heterosexuality, in Hannon’s (2014) article, Alasdair Macintyre once stated that “facts, like telescopes and wigs for gentlemen, were a seventeenth-century invention.” Something akin to this can be said about sexual orientation: Heterosexuals, like typewriters and urinals (which are deemed obviously for gentlemen), were inventions of the 1860s. Contrary to their cultural presumptions and the lies of what soon came to be referred to as “orientation essentialism,” “straight” and…

In the first few days of my theology class, my fellow students, Brother Theodore, and I, discussed the existence of God. We talked and philosophized on this topic for a few days and during this time we read, and researched, two philosophers, Alasdair MacIntyre and Thomas Aquinas. MacIntyre and Aquinas both talked about God’s existence and nonexistence, or theists and atheists. Neither of them, however considered the possibility that an advanced extraterrestrial species may have intervened. What…