Alasdair MacIntyre’s After Virtue
Aristotelianism and historical relativism
Another side-quest
This article is very different from most of what I’ve published over the past three years. As I mentioned recently, I took a rhetoric course this winter and really enjoyed it. I learned a lot.
One of the assigned readings for the course was After Virtue, by Alasdair MacIntyre. It was written in 1984, and even then the language must have seemed out of date. It is heady, highly philosophical, and sometimes convoluted.
MacIntyre’s ideas are complex and the writing is dense, so it is not an easy read by any means. I do love a challenge however, and ended up really enjoying the book — even if I may have to go back and re-read some sections in order to fully comprehend the content.
Brief disclaimer
This is the first of a two-part article series is based on a paper I originally wrote for a University rhetoric course. I broke it into two parts and made efforts to edit it to make it easier to read, so I hope you enjoy.
Aristotelianism and relativism
MacIntyre’s After Virtue appears to be about two things. The overarching theme is a search for a morality theory that works, or more…
