The Tasks of Philosophy: Volume 1

Alasdair MacIntyre is Senior Research Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. His publications include After Virtue (1981), Dependent Rational Animals (1999) and numerous journal articles.

• Introduction; Part I. Defining a Philosophical Stance: 1. Epistemological crises, dramatic narrative and the philosophy of science; 2. Colors, cultures, and practices; 3. Moral relativism, truth and justification; 4. Hegel on faces and skulls; 5. What is a human body?; 6. Moral philosophy and contemporary social practice: what holds them apart?; Part II. The Ends of Philosophical Enquiry: 7. The ends of life, the ends of philosophical writing; 8. First principles, final ends and contemporary philosophical issues; 9. Philosophy recalled to its tasks: a Thomistic reading of Fides et Ratio; 10. Truth as a good: a reflection on Fides et Ratio.

'MacIntyre moved effortlessly from one subject to another without ever sinking into the unpalatable technical jargon that dominates academic writing today, proving that he is both a talented critical exponent and a highly original thinker.' The Times Literary Supplement