Episode #247 ... The Failure of the Modern University - Alasdair MacIntyre
5/10/202629 min
Today we talk about some of Macintyre's later work. How he thinks philosophy isn’t optional. It’s already hiding inside everything we do. How he thinks modern universities create experts who know their field but not what their work fully means. How real education should produce judgment, not just technical skill. And how important phronesis (practical wisdom) becomes at holding ourselves and our leaders accountable. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: Nord VPN: https://nordvpn.com/philothis Incogni: https://www.Incogni.com/philothis Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philosophizethis Social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philosophizethispodcast X: https://twitter.com/iamstephenwest Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/philosophizethisshow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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First 90 secondsStephen West· Host0:00
Hello everyone, I'm Stephen West. This is Philosophize This!, patreon.com/philosophizethis. Philosophical writing on Substack at Philosophize This! on there. I hope you love the show today. So in chapter seven of Alasdair MacIntyre's book, The Tasks of Philosophy, he asks us to imagine a scene of a few friends that decide they're gonna get together one day. They're sitting at a table in a diner ordering food, having a very normal conversation. He says, imagine if in this moment one of the people speaks up and they ask their friends, "What is the real point of even existing? Why shouldn't we all just give up on trying to do anything when we're in this world?" You know, a philosophical question. The other people at the table hear this person, and they understandably feel a little uncomfortable having to answer it. Maybe one of them feels embarrassed to even have to talk about something so personal. Maybe to another friend, this is the very kind of question they're constantly trying to find ways to avoid. It's an abrasive moment, this moment in the diner is what I'm saying. But then MacIntyre asks us to imagine a different scene side by side with this one. Now imagine there's a philosopher who's standing up in front of a room of other philosophers at a seminar among academics. Imagine they ask the exact same content of the question, but maybe in this case they ask it in a way that's filtered through terms and language that are common within the field of philosophy. Well, when it's asked at the seminar, nobody in that room even bats an eyelash at the question. Nobody's uncomfortable there. So how come in one moment this question's taken as something that's a challenge to the very existence of the people that hear it, but in the other moment, nothing? To Alasdair MacIntyre, once you know the answer to this question, he thinks you'll realize two things that are