Dependent Rational Animals: Why Human Beings Need the Virtues (The Paul Carus Lectures) - Softcover

MacIntyre, Alasdair

Softcover

ISBN 10: 081269452X ISBN 13: 9780812694529

Publisher: Open Court, 2001

Synopsis

To flourish, humans need to develop virtues of independent thought and acknowledged social dependence. In this book, a leading moral philosopher presents a comparison of humans to other animals and explores the impact of these virtues.

About this title

Review

'Alasdair MacIntyre ... is the ultimate iconoclast of contemporary Western culture' Brenda Almond, Times Higher Education Supplement. 'MacIntyre offers us here a profound and timely reflection on the complex interaction between independence and dependence in human life. The book will be read with profit not only by professional philosophers, but by anyone who is concerned about the marginalization of the needy and vulnerable in today's society' Jean Porter, The Tablet.

Synopsis

This compares humans to other intelligent animals, drawing conclusions about human social life and our treatment of those whom he argues we should no longer call "disabled." The author argues that human beings are independent, practical reasoners, but they are also dependent animals who must learn from each other in order to remain largely independent. To flourish, humans must acknowledge the importance of dependence and independence, both of which are developed in and through social relationships. This requires the development of a local community in which individuals discover their own "goods" through the discovery of a common Good.

Edition details

• Publisher: Open Court
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 081269452X
• ISBN 13: 9780812694529
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 180