MacIntyre on Natural Law and his Critique of Liberalism: Theoretical Features and Critical Perspectives

Abstract

The first part of this paper is devoted to an outline of MacIntyre’s theory of natural law. According to him, natural law is implied in the ordinary moral experience especially when one is forced to deliberate about common goals and to take part in a common enquiry on human flourishing. The precepts of natural law are presupposed by this common enquiry from the perspective of ordinary moral experience. The second part of the paper is devoted to the presentation and discussion of two critical perspectives on the MacIntyrian approach to natural law by Jean Porter e Gerald McKenny.