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Aristotelian Philosophy: Ethics and Politics from Aristotle to MacIntyre

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Kelvin Knight puts his readers greatly in debt for this masterful and erudite study of the history of Aristotelian philosophy, with particular emphasis on MacIntyre's place in that history. Notwithstanding his disclaimers in the conclusion, Knight has in fact produced a clear account of "the conceptual subtleties and political implications" of MacIntyre's Aristotelianism elsewhere unmatched. And Knight really knows his MacIntyre, drawing on some 100 of his publications in this explication. An especially welcome element of the study is the manner in which Knight shows us the continuity of MacIntyre's early engagement with Marx and his latest work, an important corrective against political conservatives' misemployment of MacIntyre's work. Indeed, Knight finds MacIntyre's political philosophy to remain revolutionary. A great book on the most important ethical philosopher of our time.

Written by Kelvin Knight (senior lecturer in politics, London Metropolitan University), Aristotelian Philosophy: Ethics and Politics from Aristotle to MacIntyre is a scholarly intellectual history of Aristotelian philosophy, and its long-running importance up to the present day. Chapters explore the theoretical bases behind what Aristotle said about ethical, political and productive activity; Aristotle's practical philosophy as well as his theoretical philosophy; and applications of his ideas in settings ranging from medieval Christian times to Germany to revolutionary Aristotelianism in modern history including MacIntyre's Marxism. At times highly technical due to its depth and nuance of complex concepts, Aristotelian Philosophy is a welcome addition to college library and philosophical studies shelves.