Philosophize This! Episode #244 ... After Virtue - Alasdair MacIntyre (why moral conversations feel unsatisfying)
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Feb 11, 2026 A lively tour of Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue, tracing how moral talk lost its grounding. They trace virtues from Homer and Aristotle to Enlightenment failures. They unpack emotivism and the social roles it empowers. They end with the idea that shared practices and community might restore meaningful moral conversation.
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Rawls And Nozick Talking Past Each Other
- MacIntyre uses Rawls vs Nozick to show modern arguments talk past each other.
- Both present coherent systems but lack shared ends to adjudicate their conflict.
New Moral Roles Thrive Under Emotivism
- Emotivist culture elevates managers, therapists, and protesters as moral actors.
- They succeed by translating conflicts into neutral procedures, self-management, or mobilization.
Managers Translate Values Into Efficiency
- Managers neutralize moral debate by turning questions into efficiency problems.
- Their language and incentives coordinate behavior without discussing ultimate ends.
