After Virtue

MacIntyre’s claim that modern moral argument is interminable because we inherited fragments of incompatible traditions without the teleology that made any of them coherent — and his case for returning to Aristotelian virtue.

Why it’s on the list: Named in the “how the world really works” thread. The best explanation on offer for why public moral arguments never resolve, whatever one makes of the Aristotelian remedy.

Where I saw it: In Kyle’s “Books To Read” Apple Note, recovered from the reply thread to @SpencrGreenberg asking “What non-fiction book taught you the most about how the world (or how humanity or society) really works?” (June 5, 2025). The full recovered list lives on A question for you — What non-fiction… (tweet).

Connections

• A question for you — What non-fiction… (tweet) — the thread this came out of; the full recovered list lives there.
• Virtue · Ethics · Morality — the subject.
• On the Genealogy of Morals — MacIntyre treats Nietzsche as the only serious alternative to his own position.