A graduate student and social theorist interested primarily in dialogue between disciplines, the role MacIntyre can play in the social sciences, the sociology of knowledge, questions of recognition, interactionism, and ethics. Supervisors: Philip Walsh, Regina Rini, and Michael Nijhawan
Alasdair MacIntyre’s work has developed
from influences spanning different schools of thought.
On... more Alasdair MacIntyre’s work has developed from influences spanning different schools of thought. One particular thread can be traced between the works of Nietzsche and Weber demonstrating MacIntyre’s ability to respond to positions he opposes, as well as developing beyond their excesses and deficiencies. This work traces the Nietzschean origin to many of Weber’s positions. From here it tracks the parallels and divergences of Weber to MacIntyre, specifically comparing the ideas of vocations and practices, and the pedagogies of each. Concluding in a discussion of MacIntyre’s considerations of human flourishing, and how his overall position avoids the problematics of both Nietzsche’s and Weber’s over-individualism and relativism, the work argues for future engagement with other non-Thomist-Aristotelian influences on MacIntyre’s thought.
In this paper, the idea that war has been seen as - and used as - a tool of what Spencer would ca... more In this paper, the idea that war has been seen as - and used as - a tool of what Spencer would call 'social Darwinism' is put forward and advanced. The cocurrent evolution of war and society is measured through the understandings of various classical theorists and modern sociologists. Alongside these thoughts, Marxian class conflict is then brought to bear and the entire paper becomes a compare and contrast between organicists and class conflict theories and how war has been view by - and justified by - both throughout history. Ending in a call to arms for the creation of new theories and a re-evalutation of conventional knowledge surrounding class conflict, social Darwinism, and war, this paper calls for another level of sociological analysis on the state, inter-state, and planetary scale.
MacIntyre and Habermas: A Proposed "Traditions of Enquiry"-Theoretic Turn Within Sociological Theory, 2018
This thesis brings together the works of Jürgen Habermas and Alasdair MacIntyre in an attempt to ... more This thesis brings together the works of Jürgen Habermas and Alasdair MacIntyre in an attempt to overcome what I have identified as problems in the normative sociological project of the former. Critiques levied against the is-ought problem implicit in the normative aspects of Habermas’ theory of communicative action, and the role that the concept of lifeworld plays in Habermas’ overall theory, are overcome through a dialogue with the works of MacIntyre. In proposing MacIntyre’s idea of ‘traditions of inquiry’ as a sociologically valuable tool of investigation and understanding, the author also seeks to access some of the normatively driving ideas about human goods, communities, and flourishing from MacIntyre and bring them into dialogue with Habermas’ normative project. To do this however, certain disagreements, especially about modernity, must be either overcome or shown to be not significant enough to questions at hand. In facilitating this dialogue between Habermas and MacIntyre, the MacIntyrean concept of ‘translatability’ is employed to judge the similarities and differences between the two theorists’ ideas, and judge how debilitating the differences that exist are. All this is aimed at reconceptualizing sociology as a normative exercise, not merely restricted to the description of the social world, but fruitfully engaging with questions of ‘what ought we to do.’
Mind, Self, and the Internet: The Role of Mead in a Digital Age, 2022
The digital age we currently inhabit is one which is often represented in a dichotomous fashion. ... more The digital age we currently inhabit is one which is often represented in a dichotomous fashion. It either is painted in a profoundly negative fashion – representing an end to human community, morality, or mental health (Haidt, 2020) – or it is a continuation of human overcoming and progress, even to the point of representing the divinity in humanity (Fuller and Lipinska, 2014). Such approaches demand and entail radical theorical formation: either in a reactionary fashion or sketching out a future we are on the cusp of. The author proposes a more balanced position. The digital age and its aspects such as the Internet, video games, social media, etc., represents something new in the history of humanity, but not something radically new, at least as it relates for the question of selfhood. It impacts questions of social and moral psychology, but not in the manner or intensity which opposite ends of the common debate claim. As such, pre-existing theory can be re-invigorated and applied to help answer very pertinent questions about the impact the digital age has on the formation and maintenance of selfhood. The author proposes a re-engagement with George Herbert Mead (2015, 2002) in the digital age, noting the applicability of various concepts of his, including the necessity of taking oneself as an object, the reflexivity required for the full formation and maintenance of self, the multiplicity of selfhood, and the role that his ‘I’/’me’ and ‘play’/’game’ distinctions can serve in our digital age. Recognizing that dialogue requires adaptation to circumstance, Mead will be brought into conversation with several ‘theories of the background’ (Polanyi, 2009; Adolf and Stehr, 2014; MacIntyre, 2017, 2014, 2012, 2008a, 2008b) to help strengthen his ontological, epistemological, and ethical grounding, and articulate what ‘goes on behind the scenes’ of selfhood. From here Mead will be adapted to specific questions raised in the context of a digital age dominated by communication and interaction unimaginable at the time of his own writing.
Alasdair MacIntyre’s work has developed
from influences spanning different schools of thought.
On... more Alasdair MacIntyre’s work has developed from influences spanning different schools of thought. One particular thread can be traced between the works of Nietzsche and Weber demonstrating MacIntyre’s ability to respond to positions he opposes, as well as developing beyond their excesses and deficiencies. This work traces the Nietzschean origin to many of Weber’s positions. From here it tracks the parallels and divergences of Weber to MacIntyre, specifically comparing the ideas of vocations and practices, and the pedagogies of each. Concluding in a discussion of MacIntyre’s considerations of human flourishing, and how his overall position avoids the problematics of both Nietzsche’s and Weber’s over-individualism and relativism, the work argues for future engagement with other non-Thomist-Aristotelian influences on MacIntyre’s thought.
In this paper, the idea that war has been seen as - and used as - a tool of what Spencer would ca... more In this paper, the idea that war has been seen as - and used as - a tool of what Spencer would call 'social Darwinism' is put forward and advanced. The cocurrent evolution of war and society is measured through the understandings of various classical theorists and modern sociologists. Alongside these thoughts, Marxian class conflict is then brought to bear and the entire paper becomes a compare and contrast between organicists and class conflict theories and how war has been view by - and justified by - both throughout history. Ending in a call to arms for the creation of new theories and a re-evalutation of conventional knowledge surrounding class conflict, social Darwinism, and war, this paper calls for another level of sociological analysis on the state, inter-state, and planetary scale.
MacIntyre and Habermas: A Proposed "Traditions of Enquiry"-Theoretic Turn Within Sociological Theory, 2018
This thesis brings together the works of Jürgen Habermas and Alasdair MacIntyre in an attempt to ... more This thesis brings together the works of Jürgen Habermas and Alasdair MacIntyre in an attempt to overcome what I have identified as problems in the normative sociological project of the former. Critiques levied against the is-ought problem implicit in the normative aspects of Habermas’ theory of communicative action, and the role that the concept of lifeworld plays in Habermas’ overall theory, are overcome through a dialogue with the works of MacIntyre. In proposing MacIntyre’s idea of ‘traditions of inquiry’ as a sociologically valuable tool of investigation and understanding, the author also seeks to access some of the normatively driving ideas about human goods, communities, and flourishing from MacIntyre and bring them into dialogue with Habermas’ normative project. To do this however, certain disagreements, especially about modernity, must be either overcome or shown to be not significant enough to questions at hand. In facilitating this dialogue between Habermas and MacIntyre, the MacIntyrean concept of ‘translatability’ is employed to judge the similarities and differences between the two theorists’ ideas, and judge how debilitating the differences that exist are. All this is aimed at reconceptualizing sociology as a normative exercise, not merely restricted to the description of the social world, but fruitfully engaging with questions of ‘what ought we to do.’
Mind, Self, and the Internet: The Role of Mead in a Digital Age, 2022
The digital age we currently inhabit is one which is often represented in a dichotomous fashion. ... more The digital age we currently inhabit is one which is often represented in a dichotomous fashion. It either is painted in a profoundly negative fashion – representing an end to human community, morality, or mental health (Haidt, 2020) – or it is a continuation of human overcoming and progress, even to the point of representing the divinity in humanity (Fuller and Lipinska, 2014). Such approaches demand and entail radical theorical formation: either in a reactionary fashion or sketching out a future we are on the cusp of. The author proposes a more balanced position. The digital age and its aspects such as the Internet, video games, social media, etc., represents something new in the history of humanity, but not something radically new, at least as it relates for the question of selfhood. It impacts questions of social and moral psychology, but not in the manner or intensity which opposite ends of the common debate claim. As such, pre-existing theory can be re-invigorated and applied to help answer very pertinent questions about the impact the digital age has on the formation and maintenance of selfhood. The author proposes a re-engagement with George Herbert Mead (2015, 2002) in the digital age, noting the applicability of various concepts of his, including the necessity of taking oneself as an object, the reflexivity required for the full formation and maintenance of self, the multiplicity of selfhood, and the role that his ‘I’/’me’ and ‘play’/’game’ distinctions can serve in our digital age. Recognizing that dialogue requires adaptation to circumstance, Mead will be brought into conversation with several ‘theories of the background’ (Polanyi, 2009; Adolf and Stehr, 2014; MacIntyre, 2017, 2014, 2012, 2008a, 2008b) to help strengthen his ontological, epistemological, and ethical grounding, and articulate what ‘goes on behind the scenes’ of selfhood. From here Mead will be adapted to specific questions raised in the context of a digital age dominated by communication and interaction unimaginable at the time of his own writing.
Uploads
from influences spanning different schools of thought.
One particular thread can be traced between the works
of Nietzsche and Weber demonstrating MacIntyre’s
ability to respond to positions he opposes, as well as
developing beyond their excesses and deficiencies. This
work traces the Nietzschean origin to many of Weber’s
positions. From here it tracks the parallels and divergences
of Weber to MacIntyre, specifically comparing
the ideas of vocations and practices, and the pedagogies
of each. Concluding in a discussion of MacIntyre’s
considerations of human flourishing, and how his overall
position avoids the problematics of both Nietzsche’s
and Weber’s over-individualism and relativism,
the work argues for future engagement with other
non-Thomist-Aristotelian influences on MacIntyre’s
thought.
from influences spanning different schools of thought.
One particular thread can be traced between the works
of Nietzsche and Weber demonstrating MacIntyre’s
ability to respond to positions he opposes, as well as
developing beyond their excesses and deficiencies. This
work traces the Nietzschean origin to many of Weber’s
positions. From here it tracks the parallels and divergences
of Weber to MacIntyre, specifically comparing
the ideas of vocations and practices, and the pedagogies
of each. Concluding in a discussion of MacIntyre’s
considerations of human flourishing, and how his overall
position avoids the problematics of both Nietzsche’s
and Weber’s over-individualism and relativism,
the work argues for future engagement with other
non-Thomist-Aristotelian influences on MacIntyre’s
thought.