Tradition, Rationality, and Virtue: The Thought of Alasdair MacIntyre

Tradition, Rationality, and Virtue provides the first comprehensive and detailed treatment of the work of Alasdair MacIntyre. In this book Thomas D'Andrea presents an accessible critical study of the full range of MacIntyre's thought across ethical theory, psychoanalytic theory, social and political philosophy, Marxist theory, and the philosophy of religion. Moving from the roots of MacIntyre's thought in ethical inquiry, this book examines MacIntyre's treatment of Marx, Christianity, and the nature of human action and discusses in depth the development and applications of MacIntyre's After Virtue project. The book culminates in an examination of major internal and external criticisms of MacIntyre's work and a consideration of its future directions.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Introduction: Part I The Roots of MacIntyre's Thought: Reconceiving ethical inquiry; Philosophy and the exigence of Praxis; The rational resources of Christianity; The explanation of human action: social, psychological, and historical considerations. Part II The After Virtue Project: The After Virtue synthesis; The project developed; The project applied. Part III Future Directions: Continuities and discontinuities in the oeuvre; Criticisms, internal and external. Bibliography; Index.

About the Author :
Thomas D. D'Andrea is Senior Research Fellow at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, UK.

Review :
'Among contemporary thinkers Alasdair MacIntyre is in the first rank, and merits the interest and influence he has received and has had. He is , though, a complex thinker whose work has taken several, often unexpected turns, and it is not easy to attain a clear view of the development, overall shape and internal structure of his thought. It is immensely helpful, therefore, to have this study by Thomas D'Andrea which is unrivalled in its range and attention to the phases and aspects of MacIntyre's work. No-one seriously interested in the course of development of one of the main philosophical projects of the present day can afford to overlook this welcome guide.' John Haldane, University of St Andrews Thomas D'Andrea's book is a must for anyone interested in MacIntyre's thought. Astonishingly painstaking and comprehensive, it illuminates the better-known works by setting them in the context of his entire career. Particularly valuable is D'Andrea's account of MacIntyre's early critiques of Moore and Stevenson, which make many cryptic passages in later works more fully intelligible. Future interpreters of AFTER VIRTUE will ignore D'Andrea at their peril. Martha Nussbaum, The University of Chicago ’... provides a helpful overview that rightly directs attention to MacIntyre's engagement with psychoanalysis and the philosophy of social science...’ First Things ’The breath of D'Andrea's familiarity with MacIntyre's corpus enables him to draw connections between the latter's ethical theory and his underlying metaphysics, psychology, and philosophy of religion... D'Andrea covers a vast amount of MacIntyre's scholarly output without neglecting important secondary literature.’ Philosophy ’The virtues of D'Andrea are numerous... D'Andrea provides us with a comprehensive and dispassionate although not impartial overview of the thought of Alasdair MacIntyre. His account stays close to the original texts and its didactical merits are obvious from the outset.’ E