Virtue Ethics and Moral Knowledge: Philosophy of Language after MacIntyre and Hauerwas

by Smith,R. Scott

• ISBN13: 9780754609797
• ISBN10: 0754609790
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-03-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

We live in a time of moral confusion: many believe there are no overarching moral norms, and we have lost an accepted body of moral knowledge. Alasdair MacIntyre addresses this problem in his much-heralded restatement of Aristotelian and Thomistic virtue ethics; Stanley Hauerwas does so through his highly influential work in Christian ethics. Both recast virtue ethics in light of their interpretations of the later Wittgenstein's views of language. This book systematically assesses the underlying presuppositions of MacIntyre and Hauerwas, finding that their attempts to secure moral knowledge and restate virtue ethics, both philosophical and theological, fail. Scott Smith proposes alternative indications as to how we can secure moral knowledge, and how we should proceed in virtue ethics.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	ix
Introduction: The Problem of the Loss of Moral Knowledge	1	(12)
Part I: A Possible Solution: Linguistic Virtue Ethics
From Aristotle to Wittgenstein: Tracing the History of the Loss of Moral Knowledge	13	(26)
Philosophical, Linguistic Virtue Ethics: Maclntyre's Solution	39	(28)
Theological, Linguistic Virtue Ethics: Hauerwas's Answer	67	(32)
Part II: The Failure of This Answer: A Critique of Linguistic Virtue Ethics
The Presupposition of Epistemic Access	99	(26)
The Issues With Behavior	125	(22)
The Presuppositions of the Self	147	(22)
Part III: The Implications of This Failure and the Prospects for Moral Knowledge
Problems for Philosophical Theology	169	(26)
The Charge of Relativism	195	(14)
Epilogue: The Future of Virtue Ethics, and Implications for Moral Knowledge	209	(12)
Bibliography	221	(8)
Index	229