After Virtue, Third Edition

By: Alasdair MacIntyre

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

When After Virtue first appeared in 1981, it was recognized as a significant and potentially controversial critique of contemporary moral philosophy. Since that time, the book has been translated into more than 15 foreign languages and has sold over 100,000 copies. Now, 25 years later, the University of Notre Dame Press is pleased to release the third edition of After Virtue, which includes a new prologue: "After Virtue After a Quarter of a Century".

In this classic work, Alasdair MacIntyre examines the historical and conceptual roots of the idea of virtue, diagnoses the reasons for its absence in personal and public life, and offers a tentative proposal for its recovery. While the individual chapters are wide-ranging, once pieced together, they comprise a penetrating and focused argument about the price of modernity.

In the third edition's prologue, MacIntyre revisits the central theses of the book and concludes that, although he has learned a great deal and has supplemented and refined his theses and arguments in other works, he has "as yet found no reason for abandoning the major contentions" of this book. While he recognizes that his conception of human beings as virtuous or vicious needed not only a metaphysical but also a biological grounding, ultimately he remains "committed to the thesis that it is only from the standpoint of a very different tradition, one whose beliefs and presuppositions were articulated in their classical form by Aristotle, that we can understand both the genesis and the predicament of moral modernity."

©2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Greatest of moral philosophy

This is one of the best moral philosophy books I have read. I’m especially impressed with the historical treatment showing the modern fracturing of the human self that predicates the landscape of competing moral theories.

A Penetrating Examination

“After Virtue” keenly contextualizes and analyzes the inadequacies of modern and post-modern moral philosophy, questioning whether our abandonment of Aristotelianism was actually as wise as many today now assume. A deeply insightful, and thoroughly thought-provoking work.

An essential and groundbreaking work of moral philosophy

MacIntyre’s work is a magnificent one and essential to anyone who cares to speak meaningfully with moral language.

Greatly sarisfying.

extremely difficult to follow unfortunately if you have not read into all the refrences. I'd say at least a decade for me otherwise you may be lost. but the arguments are in line with my own thoughts

Intense

It will takes a more than a few listens, to truly understand and comprehend this work.

This is a tough listen

I'm not a professional philosopher and that's the proper audience for After Virtue. An interest in philosophy let me follow maybe half of the arguments--maybe. But the conclusions are clear and crisp. Worth the time, for sure.

good philosophy

I heard about this book from the Great Courses history of Western philosophy. Was a great follow up to that and the narration is fantastic for the genre. Thought-provoking and perspective-altering ideas in here that make a whole lot of intuitive sense. Will be seeking out more like this!

Outstanding philosophy

Very well read, good philosophy. It makes the text clear and engaging, without dumbing down the dense philosophy.

Outstanding book!

It reminded me a lot of Richard Weaver’s Ideas Have Consequences! Great insights, spectacular breadth of analysis, errors critical, fatal, and minuscule, all abound, but it has all the marks of a masterpiece!

A Philosopher is a Philosopher

I had hoped that Dr. Maclintyre would with some dogmatism, bring into sharper relief the differences between modern notions of virtue, and those held by Aristotle. And of course this would by necessity, include those Aristotelians who adhered to Aristotle's philosophy. Unfortunately, I was offered a more softened, and restrained comparison.

This treatise is written by a philosopher, and it is a superb philosophic book. Nevertheless, I am not a philosopher, and do not aspire to be one. At this point though, I want to unhesitatingly commend Derek Perkins for his excellent work in his narration of After Virtue. He made my overall experience with this audiobook very pleasant!