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Virtue, moral teleology, and practice: bringing Alasdair MacIntyre into the sociology of morality
Theory and Society. 2026. Vol. 55. Article 21.
This article seeks to introduce Alasdair MacIntyre’s conception of virtue ethics into the sociology of morality as a redeveloping field of enquiry, focusing on the ways it could advance the sociological understanding of moral life. I argue that the virtue perspective, particularly in MacIntyre’s version, allows for conceptualizing morality as a personally and socially continuous and coherent phenomenon essentially linked to the idea of the good, which implies a more integrated picture compared to those derived from cognitive and behavioral science. More specifically, I discuss several areas where MacIntyre’s ideas could be of value to the sociology of morality, including the application of the notion of human telos, its link to the sociological concepts of moral identity and character, and the social and cultural dimensions of virtue concepts. I conclude by summarizing the main features of a MacIntyrean framework for the sociology of morality, suggesting how his concepts of telos, practices, and traditions could be implemented and further advanced within the field.
Research target:
Sociology (including Demography and Anthropology
Language:
English
Publication based on the results of:
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The dynamics of opinion in a group are of interest for a number of practical purposes. In particular, consensus helps and polarization of opinions hinders cohesive teamwork. Existing approaches for modeling opinion dynamics mostly do not take into account the dynamism of social relations in a group. This paper proposes an algorithm and a program ...
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In the context of the discussion initiated by A. L. Zhuravlev and Yu. N. Oleinik on the challenges and prospects of studying scientific traditions in psychology, this commentary examines the importance of viewing such traditions as a tool that enables the research community to respond effectively to radical changes in socio-psychological reality. Such responses must ...
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