After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory, Second Edition
Selected Book Details
- Paperback
- Edition: 2nd
- Author: Alasdair MacIntyre
- Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
- Release Date: August 1984
- ISBN-10: 0268006113
- ISBN-13: 9780268006112
- List Price: $23.00
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryMorality, according to Alasdair MacIntyre, is not what it used to be. In the Aristotelian tradition of ancient Greece and medieval Europe, morality enabled the transformation from untutored human nature as it happened to be to human nature as it could be if it realized its telos (fundamental goal). Eventually, belief in Aristotelian teleology waned, leaving the idea of imperfect human nature in conflict with the perfectionist aims of morality. The conflict dooms to failure any attempt to justify the claims of morality, whether based on emotion, such as Hume's was, or on reason, as in the case of Kant. The result is that moral discourse and practice in the contemporary world is hollow: although the language and appearance of morality remains, the substance is no longer there. Disagreements on moral matters appeal to incommensurable values and so are interminable; the only use of moral language is manipulative. The claims presented in After Virtue are certainly audacious, but the historical erudition and philosophical acuity behind MacIntyre's powerful critique of modern moral philosophy cannot be disregarded. Moreover, independently of its principal claims, the book, first published in 1981, helped to stimulate philosophical work on the virtues, to reinvigorate traditionalist and communitarian thought, and to provoke valuable discussion in the history of moral philosophy. It was so widely discussed that MacIntyre added another chapter to the second edition in order to reply to his critics. After Virtue continues to deserve attention from philosophers, historians, and anyone interested in moral philosophy and its history. --Glenn Branch |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
A mad genius?
Rating:
This is the kind of infuriating book that makes you wonder whether the author is on to something big, or whether he is simply a highly erudite purveyor of bunk. I suspect the former, but I can't rule out the latter either!
"After Virtue" is a sophisticated work of moral philosophy, historical criticism, and much else besides, and I readily admit that I haven't assimilated all its arguments.
At the same time, MacIntyre strikes the reader as a highly eclectic thinker, and this is what makes you wonder whether he has a point (everyone who rejects the current political scene en toto will bee seen as quaint or indeed eclectic - no matter whether he's right or wrong), or whether he is simply a confused intellectual stitching together what really can't be united. Indeed, one of the chapters of the book is titled "Nietzsche *or* Aristotle? Trotsky *and* St. Benedict". Benedict and...who? I also noticed that some of MacIntyre's followers call themselves revolutionary Aristotelians!
I don't think any review can give this book its due, so here I will only attempt the barest outline. MacIntyre is usually considered left-wing, and he does indeed criticize slavery, the subordination of women, and racism. He also has a soft spot for some Marxists, including Trotsky, whom he seems to regard as a closet critic of dogmatic Marxism. MacIntyre also rejects liberal capitalism, individualism and postmodernism. But in the name of what? After converting to Roman Catholicism, MacIntyre began to see the philosophy of Aristotle as a positive alternative, and some years after writing "After Virtue" he also embraced Thomism. He doesn't simply criticize postmodernity, but believes that the roots of our present-day intellectual confusion go back to the Enlightenment, and perhaps even further, to Protestantism, Jansenism and the thoughts of Machiavelli.
In MacIntyre's interpretation, Aristotelianism sees the moral virtues as connected to the social role of the individual as part of a broader community, a community which collectively strives towards the highest good for man. Man is seen as a creature with a telos, a purpose, and striving to fulfill this purpose is the very definition of being a "good man". This further means that one can derive an "ought" from an "is" through a rational analysis of man's telos. Thus, man is not an ostensibly free individual disconnected from his social roles and functions. There is no real identity for man apart from such roles and functions (the author attacks existentialism on this point, which claims the opposite). Nor is man a creature that can freely choose any goal whatever - or rather, he can so choose, but the consequences are the confusion, anomie and meaninglessness characteristic of our times. MacIntyre's communitarian or collectivist angle rules out liberal capitalism, and the idea that one can indeed derive an "ought" from an "is" collides head-long with most modern moral philosophers from Hume onwards.
During the Enlightenment, according to MacIntyre, the Aristotelian notion of a telos was dispensed with, creating a contradictory moral philosophy where the private strivings of each individual were dualistically opposed to a non-teleological morality no longer based in human nature, but coming from outside in the form of abstract, general rules. Even later, philosophers like G.E. Moore claimed that "the good" cannot be defined at all and is graspable only by a nebulous intuition, and this eventually opened the door to dispensing with any moral language or knowledge whatsoever. Modern philosophers who hark back to Hume or Kant can't solve the problem either, since their systems still lack the teleological link between the individual as he is and the moral rules as they ought to be. The only alternatives to our present sorry state are Nietzsche or Aristotle. Either boldly embrace the void and the Übermensch, or restore the classical and medieval understanding of the virtues and teleology.
Are you with me so far? ;-)
The book also contains a criticism of bureaucratic managers, social planners, and social scientists. Here and there, the author also takes on Marxism (despite a nostalgic residue of Marxism in his own worldview). MacIntyre believes that the social sciences cannot predict human behaviour, that humans are by nature unpredictable, and that all bureaucratic planning will therefore inevitably fail. He also emphasizes the role of intentions and ideas in history, thus criticizing the Marxist notion that purely material factors are decisive in history. Of course, this idea exists even outside Marxist circles. Still, there is something uncannily "Marxist" about his book. When MacIntyre describes the Aristotelian position, he says that man should expand his creative and productive powers, this being part of the human telos. But isn't this simply a Marxist notion projected onto Aristotle, who rather saw the contemplative life of the philosopher as the highest goal of man?
Since I haven't read MacIntyre's later works, which are elaborations of "After Virtue", I cannot really offer a meaningful criticism of his book. Still, what needs to be elaborated includes the exact meaning of the virtues (what exactly is "justice" anyway?), their rational or empirical derivation (how do we know that MacIntyre's definitions of "justice" are true?), and a more elaborate political line (what on earth could "Trotsky and St. Benedict" possibly mean?). Also, it will be interesting to see how MacIntyre squares Neo-Darwinism with the notion of human teleology. Finally, if human behavior is unpredictable, how can we know what the objective human purpose actually is?
Naturally, I have ordered several of the author's later works...
In the meantime, I will give this book five stars, not necessarily because I agree with all of it, but because of it's level of interest and erudition. A mad genius? Or just mad? The jury is still out.
Slow and rather painful reading--which is too bad because it's an interesting theory
Rating: 
Albeit MacIntyre is among the worst writers to grace political philosophy shelves, he makes some interesting arguments following in the Anti-Enlightenment tradition of Burke and Devlin, notably, as well as others. Be prepared for slow, dense, often nearly nonsensically convoluted writing that is very hard to pick apart to understand what he's saying, but you will also gain valuable exposure to MacIntyre's really original, interesting arguments.
The Anti-Enlightenment school of thought rejects most of the Enlightenment's basic assumptions. It refutes the facts that rationality is a solid foundation for political/moral decisions, that the two essential tenets of the Enlightenment, individual rights and the reliance on science, are reconcilable, and that individual rights exist at all, for which there is no empirical evidence. Earlier writers like Burke and Devlin held that traditional social convention is a good moral foundation, while MacIntyre doesn't so much advocate social traditions as he does the importance of social context.
MacIntyre has an intricate and, in my opinion, rather complicated theory here. Although I only did the portions of the book that I was assigned in class, I would not really have understood what was going on if I hadn't had an accompanying series of lectures about the theory. If you are assigned this reading, set aside substantial time to get it done. If you just want to read it for pleasure, realize that at times it will be arduous and slow. It is somewhat interesting, but definitely impractical and not at all riveting, perhaps due to the pretty awful writing.
Philosophy and History
Rating:
MacIntyre's book is very clear and well written. Without for a moment slipping into the contemporary trap of "relativism" he explores how an understanding of context is necessary to understanding a philosophers work. This necessary link between history and philosophy forces an acceptance that the development of new philosophical ideas may indicate and/or cause the loss of certain societal characteristics. The title gives this away...
A feeble effort to justify feudal aristocracy
Rating:
Continuing in the line of communitarian know-it-all savants like Karl Marx, who is better at describing a problem than solving it, MacIntyre displays a dazzling grasp of the short comings of the Western liberal tradition that brought us such things as the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. However, once he tries to introduce his alternative, his "traditionalism project" quickly degenerates into logical absurdities and ridiculous posturing.
He should be embarrassed to claim the "good watch" example of clerical logic. Not only is his logic purely instrumental and manipulative, but when he tries to extend it to a "good farmer" he begins to incorporate extraneous standards of value. To say that a good farmer wins lots of prizes at agricultural shows is simply to defer to another judicial body - the ag show judges. To say that a good farmer has the best soil renewal program is the beg the question, "who decides what a good soil renewal program is?" (A soil renewal program could have different levels of effectiveness depending on whether the proposed crop was grapes or tobacco.) Even worse, by the "good watch" instrumental logic, a "good woman" would be, take your pick, (1) the one who has the most babies, (2) the one who has intercourse with the most men, etc.
MacIntyre's implied assertion that Athens had a rational basis for moral analysis flies in the face of "The Trial of Socrates" and the dramas of Sophocles ("Antigone," for example). The truth is that pagan "classical" societies were just as turbulent and roiled as current society.
MacIntyre's pretense at philosophical objectivity based on Aristotelian ethics is thin and transparent. It is clear that MacIntyre's real quarrel would be more honestly directed at Luther, Calvin, Milton and the Protestant Reformation. Like Osama Ben Laden, who raves about the tragedy of Andalucia (where Islam was driven out of Western Europe in the 1490s) MacIntyre secretly longs for a return to the days before Galileo, when the Roman church was the final arbiter of all things - mandating an image of earth as the center of concentric crystaline spheres which separate mankind from heaven.
MacIntyre has a pathetic longing for a life governed by well defined instrumental virtues of inherited social position set in a feudal aristocratic social order. It's too bad that this inclination leads one to spend one's life in a fruitless effort to justify the dark ages of Europe. This book will sell best to readers who prefer a rigid social hierarchy based on a a chicken yard pecking order of physical strength. Following that model for society, it wouldn't be long before we returned of world of warlords, whose violent and vicious sycophants would prowl around in large pickup trucks on which would be mounted 50 caliber machine guns. These vehicles were known as "technicals" in Somalia in 1992 - which I guess is the ideal world of Alasdair MacIntyre.
A Must-Read Groundbreaking Treatise of Our Civilization's Thought
Rating:
Alasdair MacIntyre effectively illustrates the greatest moral problems facing our culture today-- problems hundreds of years in the making and with roots beyond mere partisan debate. Written in relatively clear, necessarily precise philosophical language, one can easily understand MacIntyre's arguments and in so doing will understand why the western world has become what it is today and why it must change. Read it.
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