After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory

In philosophy, virtue ethics is a school of thought that regards virtue as central to morality. It is often contrasted with consequentialism, which emphasizes the results of moral action, and deontology, which sees the following of moral rules as central (See: Index of Terms). As a tradition in Western philosophy, virtue ethics can be traced back to Plato and Aristotle, who emphasized the character of the moral agent rather than the details of the action. As MacIntyre argues in the book, virtue as a moral concept was eclipsed in the modern period by attempts to explain morality in other terms—including those of feelings, utility, or rights—by means of such philosophies as utilitarianism.

Starting in the mid-20th century, a number of thinkers began to question the dominance of the concepts of rights, duties, and consequences. In her 1958 essay “Modern Moral Philosophy,” the English philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe argued that consequentialism and deontology no longer met present-day needs. She claimed that they were too legalistic and did not take human psychology into account. As a remedy, Anscombe advocated a return to ideas of virtue and character formation, following Aristotle.

Similarly, in the 1970s, the English philosopher Bernard Williams argued against theoretical moral systems in general (such as Kantianism or utilitarianism) on the grounds that they reduce the complexity of real-life moral situations. A classicist by training, he advocated the thought of Plato and Aristotle. The English philosopher Philippa Foot also treated ethics from an Aristotelian perspective around the same time.

MacIntyre’s work followed and synthesized these trends, most notably in After Virtue. MacIntyre argued that the entire Enlightenment effort to redefine morality was a failure because it separated the concept of moral duties from the concept of moral ends, neglecting proper consideration of how to define a good life. By concentrating exclusively on rule-following, MacIntyre contended, ethics risked losing its human element.

Thanks in large part to the high-profile success of After Virtue, the concept of virtue ethics—a modern term for an ancient school of thought—became accepted as an important component in contemporary ethical philosophy. The resurgence of virtue ethics can be seen in the proliferation of books about the virtues, including scholarly works such as Kevin Timpe and Craig A. Boyd’s essay anthology Virtues and their Vices, and more popular publications like The Book of Virtues by William J. Bennett. The movement has also led to new developments: One of these is feminist virtue ethics, in which scholars argue that the abstract rule-following approach to ethics is predominantly male-oriented and fails to represent a more traditionally female emphasis on interpersonal relationships.