A Study On Macintyre's Thoughts About Moral Rationality

In western ethics, moral inquiry is always an enterprise of reason. The history of western ethics can be seen as a history of moral philosophy dominated by ethical rationalism. The dilemma of the traditional ethical rationalism characterized by Platonism, Kantism and utilitarianism increasingly confronts contemporary western ethics with the problem of moral rationality, which has become the focus of modern moralists'attention. It is in this context that MacIntyre's study on the problem of moral rationality is carried out. Historicism and nonfoundationalism without relativism are what MacIntyre offers. He argues that it is possible to accept the historicity of human experience, to live within the limits of our particular backgrounds and limited perspectives, while nonetheless holding on to the objectivity and rationality of morality.MacIntyre's thoughts about moral rationality are based on his analysis of the crisis of the contemporary morality and moral theory. According to MacIntyre, none of the moral theories after the Enlightenment can establish the validity of morality, and the failure of the Enlightenment project is the root cause of the flooding of emotivism in western moral culture and consequent moral crisis. The reason why the Enlightenment project has failed is that it results in modernity and emancipates man from moral traditions. The diseases of modernity arouse continued theoretical reflection and attack on it. As a result, post-modernistic thoughts arise. In the time of technology, postmodernism involve contemporary people in moral nihilism. MacIntyre regards that man has only two choices: Aristotelianism or Nietzscheanism. Consequently, the only way to reconstruct moral rationality is to return to Aristotelian tradition.MacIntyre's return to Aristotelianism is due to his standpoint of historism and communitarianism. He emphasizes that morality is determined by the historical and social context. In his view, virtue should be located entirely at the center of morality. MacIntyre's virtual ethics can be regarded as his reconstruction of moral rationality. He tries to describe the unity of human life as a pursuit for good with historical narratives. MacIntyre points out that virtue is defined by practice and internal goods in the context provided by this narrative of pursuit. However, moral rationality thus constructed has been confronted with danger of relativism since its beginning. Of all the questions it arouses, the most important one is: what role does tradition play in moral rationality?From MacIntyre's point of view, practices and narratives arise in history provide standards for practical reasoning. Practices are forms of socially established cooperative human activity; narratives are the stories and theories that communities use to understand and explain their practices. Practices and narratives help us to identify the ends we seek and to determine appropriate ways of pursuing them. Both arise historically and develop with the experiences of particular social communities. To provide the basis for moral standards by appealing to history is to justify moral rationality by appealing to tradition, that is to give moral justification. According to MacIntyre, we can only clarify morality and find rational explanation for modern moral crisis in terms of the historical or traditional succession. Therefore, MacIntyre argues against the...