Ethics in the Conflicts of Modernity: An Essay on Desire, Practical Reasoning, and Narrative

This is an incredibly well written and profound argument about practical moral reasoning. MacIntyre argues convincing against both Morality (as understood by Kantian or Utilitarian theories) and the Expressivist idea of the incommensurability of values (advanced by Nietzsche) and instead draws upon an Aristotle's understanding of humans as rational and political animals. After mashalling evidence from across the social sciences he draws from four radically different lives to show how this self understanding can work in practice. I rarely read philosophy and bought this book largely on a whim. However it has enriched my understanding of practical politics and ethics and the connection of these with sport, literature and economics.

One of our greatest philosophers

new book, very good

This is without a doubt MacIntyre's masterpiece, bringing together and synthesizing the themes developed in After Virtue, Whose Justice? Which Rationality?, and Dependent Rational Animals. The book combines a trenchant critique of modern secular ethics, as taught in today's Philosophy departments, with a carefully argued articulation of MacIntyre's own "neo-Aristotelian" outlook, informed by insights from Marx as well as from modern psychology. One caution, however: While MacIntyre claims in the Preface to have written the book for the lay reader, his subtle and nuanced reasoning in fact makes for demanding reading even for a professional such as this reader.

For admirers of MacIntyre's work this book will be a tremendously helpful, synthetic overview of his thought. For those new to MacIntyre, "Ethics in the Conflicts of Modernity" will provide an accessible introduction to the breadth of his work.