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

MacIntyre, Alasdair

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0812693973 ISBN 13: 9780812693973

Publisher: Open Court, 1999

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.

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.