The MacIntyre Reader

"Knight's judicious selection of readings from MacIntyre's writings succeeds in exemplifying three virtues which are difficult to combine. First, they give a good indication of the range of MacIntyre's work. Secondly, they provide a good sense of the development of MacIntyre's project. Finally, each of the extracts is independently comprehensible while taken together they constitute a coherent whole. In all these respects it is hard to see how the editor could have better executed what is a difficult task. This is an accessible text which does full justice to the range and depth of MacIntyre's thought." John Horton, Keele University

"Alasdair MacIntyre is one of the most engaging, thought-provoking and challenging philosophers of our time. Kelvin Knight's judicious selection of MacIntyre's writings and his perceptive informative introduction provide an excellent guide to the full range of MacIntyre's thinking. Knight follows MacIntyre's intellectual development from his early days when he wrote brashly for the socialist journal, The New Reasoner through the development of his neo-Aristotelianism and his more recent turn to Thomism. The MacIntyre Reader enables one to gain a sensitive appreciation of the narrative continuity and breaks in MacIntyre's intellectual journey. Altogether a splendid feast of a truly independent thinker." Richard J. Bernstein, New School for Social Research, New York

"This interesting collection offers a clear picture of Alasdair MacIntyre's powerful critique of modern philosophy and politics. What is particularly compelling is the critique of modern epistemology, which is at the heart of so much of today's thought. MacIntyre shows convincingly how badly modern theories of knowledge have failed to understand how the subject of knowledge is embedded - in a collective project of enquiry, in social practices, and in a (largely implicit) understanding of reality. Many people are willing to acknowledge this embedding but very few thinkers have worked out its consequences with the rigour and depth that MacIntyre has achieved. This is what makes his work indispensable for whoever wants to understand the blind spots of modern philosophy. In fact, this collection gives a good sense of how wide and deep MacIntyre's philosophy has ranged over the last four decades." Charles Taylor, McGill University