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Leaving the Garden: Aristotelian Ethics in the Age of After Virtue and Post Truth Público Deposited
Alasdair MacIntyre concludes After Virtue by arguing that the only possibility for a return to a society of shared virtues is through the manufacturing of universalism through entering like-minded communities, but the seeking out of echo chambers only compounds contemporary issues of the solidification of personalized ‘truths.’ In this paper, I propose that a return to Aristotelian virtue ethics with an emphasis on building empirical knowledge will create the opportunity for a more morally integrated society. Through the concept of the basis for morality being the pursuit of human flourishing both for the individual and community rather than superimposed morals, Aristotelian ethics offers the moral flexibility required in a more pluralistic and morally ambiguous postmodernist society. However, there is a risk of exploitation of this system through the redefining of ‘flourishing’ by power-hungry sources, defining what others should be striving towards creates a similar dilemma as when those in power seek to define what is universally ‘good.’ Therefore, the pursuit of empirical knowledge within this moral system grants greater control to moral agents and counters the movement toward echo chambers in a post-truth society. The pursuit of Aristotelian ethics with an emphasis on empirical knowledge will allow individuals to navigate a morally ambiguous world with greater perspective and personal autonomy.
- 4502910.4079_2578-9201.1(2023).02
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