Alasdair MacIntyre 16
Reflections on Alasdair MacIntyre
Dependent Rational Animals offers both a satisfying philosophical exclamation point and a sorely needed ethical and political vision appropriate for the struggles of our own day.
Alasdair MacIntyre (1929-2025)
I don’t see how any English-speaking student of politics or philosophy from the past half-century could have avoided being shaped by After Virtue, his short and explosive argument against the…
Education as Pilgrimage
"We seem to be born homesick, and that homesickness is meant to lead us into a life of pilgrimage.” Walker Percy Black Mountain, NC. Where are you going? At its…
The Wicked Common Good: An All Hallows’ Eve Meditation
The spirit of community that arises from festivals such as Halloween is a common good. I suggest that it is also a great time to practice the virtues of shared…
Communitarianism, Left and Right
Populism can in fact be seen as being precisely a reassertion of democracy against the anti-democratic tendencies of managerial, technocratic elites.
The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: A Review
The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self draws on a deep reservoir of erudition rather than the shallow puddle of populism.
Free Yourself from the Telescopic Morality Machine
There is one version of the history of modern media that is a story primarily about a drug, developed to make its users feel anger with delightful intensity. Refinement of…
Newman, MacIntyre, Aristotle, and Tradition in ANAMNESIS
Those interested in J.H. Newman, Aristotle, and traditional theory will enjoy the new ANAMNESIS essay, "J.H. Newman and the Aristotelian Structure of Traditions."
Living Alone
The New York Times recently ran a précis of a book by Eric Klinenberg, a professor of sociology at New York University and the author of Going Solo: The Extraordinary…
Catholic Universities, Protestant Ministries, and the Purpose of Education
Devon, PA. Last week, Villanova University's Office of Mission and Ministry invited several faculty members to speak about the contributions of their religious faith traditions to the life and mission…
Thoughts on Teaching Wendell Berry
Teaching Wendell Berry to students today isn't a thankless task, but the victories are small and far between (which, one might say, is all the best victories always are).
Tom Coburn Vilified
Coburn calls Nancy Pelosi a "nice lady" and earns the ire of conservatives.
Meritocracy, Urban Design, and Culture: Observations from a Friend
PHOENIX, ARIZONA. (Note: this post has two pages, thanks to webmaster Lundy's new-and-improved FPR technology.) I am gratified by the many responses, here and elsewhere in the sphere, that were…
This is My Son
Devon, PA. This is my son. As you see him here, he has been alive for just about one-hundred-forty days and has, this and other ultrasound images suggest, my nose…
Reasoning about Stories
Devon, PA. Here is something for you that no one will dispute: all complaints about modernity, including those that fit under the rubric of "conservative," are arguments about stories. …
David Brooks Does (In) Edmund Burke
SOUTH BEND, IN. Edmund Burke's reputation has suffered much among conservatives during the past few years. Russell Kirk, of course, held him up as an exemplary genius of the conservative…