Alasdair MacIntyre: An Intellectual Biography

by Emile Perreau-Saussine, Pierre Manent (Foreword), Nathan J. Pinkoski (Translator)

This award-winning biography, now available for the first time in English, presents an illuminating introduction to Alasdair MacIntyre and locates his thinking in the intellectual milieu of twentieth-century philosophy. Winner of the prestigious 2005 Philippe Habert Prize, the late Émile Perreau-Saussine’s Alasdair Une biographie intellectuelle stands as a definitive introduction to the life and work of one of today’s leading moral philosophers. With Nathan J. Pinkoski’s translation, this long-awaited, critical examination of MacIntyre’s thought is now available to English readers for the first time, including a foreword by renowned philosopher Pierre Manent. Amid the confusions and contradictions of our present philosophical landscape, few have provided the clarity of thought and shrewdness of diagnosis like Alasdair MacIntyre. In this study, Perreau-Saussine guides his readers through MacIntyre’s lifelong project by tracking his responses to liberalism’s limitations in light of the human search for what is good and true in politics, philosophy, and theology. The portrait that emerges is one of an intellectual giant who comes to oppose modern liberal individualism’s arguably singular focus on averting evil at the expense of a concerted pursuit of human goods founded upon moral and practical reasoning. Although throughout his career MacIntyre would engage with a number of theoretical and practical standpoints in service of his critique of liberalism, not the least of which was his early and later abandoned dalliance with Marxism, Perreau-Saussine convincingly shows how the Scottish philosopher came to hold that Aristotelian Thomism provides the best resources to counter what he perceives as the failure of the liberal project. Readers of MacIntyre’s works, as well as scholars and students of moral philosophy, the history of philosophy, and theology, will find this translation to be an essential addition to their collection.

Genres: Philosophy, Biography, Religion

216 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 2005

Reviews

[Victor Wu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a highly insightful and concise intellectual history of the 20th century—in particular, of liberalism and its critics—told through an intellectual biography of Alasdair MacIntyre, one of liberalism's most incisive critics. The translator says elsewhere that this is the best available biography of MacIntyre, which sounds right to me. However, this book is well worth reading independent of its value for understanding the trajectory of MacIntyre's thought. For instance, Perreau-Saussine shows quite compellingly how pivotal the post-WWII revelations of Stalinism's evils and the deep normative problems they raised were for 20th century philosophy—not just MacIntyre but also Sartre, Rawls, Habermas, and many other major thinkers.

[Hayden Lukas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chapter 1 is the best crash course in political philosophy I've caught so far. Chapters 2 and 3 aren't as masterful, and could deal more with the concept of action. But still worthwhile.

Perreau-Saussine's purpose for writing isnt always clear. He takes a mocking tone often, and it is not always clear what he thinks the alternative should be. But I really respect his work. He was taken from us too soon.

[Pierrot Seban · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pas un livre fameux à mon goût. Je suppose qu'il est utile pour quelqu'un qui
- ne connaîtrait pas bien MacIntyre
- connait bien le contexte du libéralisme politique français
- veut une introduction strictement de ce point de vue

Mais ce parti pris de regarder MacIntyre depuis la perspective d'un jugement français et exclusivement politique est bizarre. Ca rend l'ensemble superficiel sur le fond (l'auteur ne semble avoir aucune velléité à entrer sur les terrains épistémologiques, sémantiques, ou de méthodologie morale autrement qu'à grands traits, et l'idee du livre est de tout ramener à la problématique politique et à la faiblesse de MacIntyre à ce sujet) et l'auteur ne cesse de disserter sur diverses figures de l'anti libéralisme.

J'espérais quelque chose de beaucoup plus fouillé biographiquement, institutionnellement, les choses qui m'intéressent sont souvent rapidement évoquées en note et pas développées...

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps not the place to start with secondary literature on MacIntyre, but a fantastic overview of MacIntyre’s intellectual development. The author masterfully traces MacIntyre’s developments, while appropriately including his own views on liberalism, the enlightenment and moral philosophy. A relatively quick and entertaining book to boot.