History of Moral Philosophy: Theories of the Virtues in Fourth Century Athens and Eighteenth Century Scotland

FAIN: FS-10828-78

Alasdair MacIntyre
Boston University (Boston, MA 02215-1390)

The seminar will be concerned with Aristotle’s account of the virtues and with Hume's. In both cases, the relationship between those accounts and other rival accounts within the same culture will be a central theme. Aristotle will be contrasted with Plato and Sophocles, Hume with Smith, Ferguson and Scott. Aim will be to answer two kinds of questions: how far does each of these accounts presuppose its own peculiar cultural context and how far can it be detached from that context so that it can make a timeless claim on our allegiance. And can we discover means of which we can judge Aristotle's and Hume's philosophical theories.