Dependent rational animals : why human beings need the virtues
In Dependent Rational Animals, Alasdair MacIntyre compares humans to other intelligent animals, ultimately drawing remarkable conclusions about human social life and our treatment of those whom he argues we should no longer call "disabled." MacIntyre 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
Print Book, English, ©2001, ©1999
Open Court, Chicago, Ill., ©2001, ©1999
Paul Carus lectures, 20th ser, 20
xiii, 172 pages ; 24 cm
9780812694529, 9780812693973, 081269452X, 0812693973
50479886
Vulnerability, dependence, animality
Humans as contrasted with, humans as included in the class of animals
The intelligence of dolphins
Can animals without language have beliefs?
How impoverished is the world of the nonhuman animal?
Reasons for action
Vulnerability, flourishing, goods, and 'good'
How do we become independent practical reasoners? How do the virtues make this possible?
Social relationships, practical reasoning, common goods, and individual goods
The virtues of acknowledged dependence
The political and social structures of the common good
Proxies, friends, truthfulness
Moral commitment and rational enquiry
Includes index