Tradition in the Ethics of Alasdair MacIntyre: Relativism, Thomism, and Philosophy

by Christopher Stephen Lutz

Tradition in the Ethics of Alasdair MacIntyre presents a stimulating intellectual history and expertly reasoned defense of this towering figure in contemporary American philosophy. Drawing on interviews and published works, Christopher Lutz traces MacIntyre's philosophical development and refutes the criticisms of the major thinkers - including Martha Nussbaum and Thomas Nagel - who have most vocally attacked him. Permanently shifting the debate on MacIntyre's oeuvre, Lutz convincingly demonstrates how MacIntyre's neo-Aristotelian ethical thought provides an essential corrective to the contemporary discussions of relativism and ideology, while successfully drawing on the objectivity of Thomistic natural law.

Genres: Philosophy

228 pages, Hardcover

First published February 28, 2004

About the author

Dr. Lutz is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in Indiana, where he teaches ethics and the history of philosophy.

He is a founding member of the International Society for MacIntyrean Enquiry (ISME), and hosted its second annual conference at Saint Meinrad in 2008. He also serves on the Executive Council of the American Catholic Philosophical Association.