Ethics and Politics: Selected Essays

Alasdair MacIntyre is one of the most creative and important philosophers working today. This volume presents a selection of his classic essays on ethics and politics collected together for the first time, focussing particularly on the themes of moral disagreement, moral dilemmas, and truthfulness and its importance. The essays range widely in scope, from Aristotle and Aquinas and what we need to learn from them, to our contemporary economic and social structures and the threat which they pose to the realization of the forms of ethical life. They will appeal to a wide range of readers across philosophy and especially in moral philosophy, political philosophy, and theology.

• Alasdair MacIntyre is widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest living philosophers • MacIntyre’s most important essays on ethics and politics together in one volume for the first time • The second of two volumes of the philosopher’s classic works, focusing on morals, truthfulness, political philosophy and theology

Introduction; Part I. Learning From Aristotle and Aquinas: 1. Rival Aristotles: Aristotle against some Renaissance Aristotelians; 2. Rival Aristotles: Aristotle against some modern Aristotelians; 3. Natural law as subversive: the example of Aquinas; 4. Aquinas and the extent of moral disagreement; Part II. Ethics: 5. Moral dilemmas; 6. Truthfulness and lies: what can we learn from Mill?; 7. Truthfulness and lies: what can we learn from Kant?; Part III. The Politics of Ethics: 8. Three perspectives on Marxism; 9. Poetry as political philosophy: notes on Burke and Yeats; 10. Some Enlightenment projects reconsidered; 11. Social structures and their threat to moral agency; 12. Toleration and the goods of conflict.