A Short History of Ethics: A History of Moral Philosophy from the Homeric Age to the Twentieth Century (Paperback)

by Alasdair C. MacIntyre (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Very powerful. .. this book is an impressive contribution to our endless argument about the meaning of ethical concepts. - The Observer --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
A Short History of Ethics is a significant contribution written by one of the most important living philosophers. For the second edition Alasdair MacIntyre has included a new preface in which he examines his book "thirty years on" and considers its impact. It remains an important work, ideal for all students interested in ethics and morality.

"The second edition of this classic will be more widely read than the first, one expects, if only because in the intervening three decades the author has become perhaps the most important moral philosopher in the English-speaking world." —First Things

"This brilliant and provocative book is not so much a history of ethics as it is an essay about the history of ethics, with numerous examples. . . ." —Philosophical Review

". . . MacIntyre is always provocative, and this book will continue to excite engagement with fundamental moral issues." —Choice

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Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press; 2 edition (February 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 026801759X
• ISBN-13: 978-0268017590
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #456,814 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A patchy historical survey of the currents of moral thought., June 24, 2000

By	Alexander Fiske-Harrison "Xander" (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This book is the precursor to Professor MacIntyre's groundbreaking, if flawed, text on moral theory, 'After Virtue' (see my review). The great advantage of this work is that MacIntyre had not by then explicitly developed his dubious answers to the fascinating questions posed by this volume. The stongest part of the book is that which deals with our difficulty in understanding other cultures, when we can not make sense of their ethics. Here his theories about the warrior-ethic of the Homeric era are fascinating and cast a new light on the problems of translation. How this ethic collapsed after the material conditions supporting it vanished, and how it was in part repaired and in part replaced in the Socratic era is equally intriguing. The weakness with this work is on the later philosophers, especially Machiavelli, Kant and, sadly, Nietzsche, who was the most insightful thinker in MacIntyre's field (the genealogy of morals). He tries to cover too much ground too quickly, and gives too much weight to sociological explanation of problems which are intrinsically logical. However, this is still a formidable work by a philosopher of just renown.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book for the prepared reader, February 3, 2003

By	E. Nilsson (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a reissue of a 1964 work. MacIntyre provides a new introduction that critically reviews what he sees as the strength and weaknesses of the book. The book itself, however, is unchanged from the 1964 text.

Beginners will find this a difficult book to work through. MacIntyre presumes the reader has a basic understanding of the ideas and philosophers he discusses.

But for those with adequate background this is a wonderful book, full of many insights. Be warned, though, this book is not a neutral review of the subject matter. In this book MacIntyre lays the groundwork for his own particular version of ethics (developed most fully in After Virtue).

Much of the book is dense and part of it is, arguably, poorly written. But it is worth the work needed to get through it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction, January 28, 2007

By	M. Vladanoviæ "Shipwreck" (Zagreb, Croatia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Short History of Ethics: A History of Moral Philosophy from the Homeric Age to the Twentieth Century (Routledge Classics) (Paperback)

I was always in a certain kind of doubt when it was asked of me to recommend one or the other of numerous histories of philosophy. They are not your ordinary texts, which you can browse about in your leasure time. They often require some thinking to really grasp what author had in mind and where does he stand at all. After all history of philosophy is elusive subject even to profficient ones. Looking back, in something less than seven thousand years of culture as we know it (it began with emergence of Summerian epos - Gilgamesh), one finds himself before wast ammount of data, to put it that way. When faced with them, one feels compelled to escape in any direction avaliable to him.

But neverthelles, something drives you to continue your studies, to learn and feed upon knowledge of others, to live in times long forgotten and to think an re-think thought again and again. But without that initial spark which puts great flames in motion all would be in vain. MacIntyre book is one that feeds that flame, helping it to grow.

If one really wants to understand key questions of ethics and how, at the first place they came to be, one should start with MacIntyre. You won't find your asnwers listed here, rather contrary, MacIntyre, in his almost positivistic scepticism, states many pro et contra arguments for theories presented in his book, that reader finds himself confused on many occasions. But precisely that kind of expose is what drives one to continue searching and to complete questions posed by MAcIntyre. A task that takes whole lifetime and more.

In the end I have to mention that ethics described here concernes itself mostly with western ethics and ethical thought. East is left out. For which purpose, I'll let you find for yourself.