The virtue of prudence in Alasdair Macintyre’s thinking

Authors

  • David Lorenzo Izquierdo Universidad de Barcelona

Abstract

The concept of virtue by Alasdair MacIntyre has been treated by his critics in a unsystematic and shallow way. In particular, the virtue of prudence (the ‘phronesis’) has received little attention. Prudence is a very important virtue in MacIntyre’s thought, although the author has not analyzed it in a unitary and systematic way. His main proposals about human being and moral enquiry can not be understood without the virtue of prudence. The aim of this paper is to offer an exposition and an analysis of this virtue in MacIntyre’s thought.

Keywords:

MacIntyre, virtue, prudence, flourishing