Back to the Rough Ground: Practical Judgment and the Lure of Technique (Revisions: A Series of Books on Ethics) - Softcover

Dunne, Joseph

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0268007055 ISBN 13: 9780268007058

Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press, 1997

Synopsis

Back to the Rough Ground is a philosophical investigation of practical knowledge, with major import for professional practice and the ethical life in modern society. Its purpose is to clarify the kind of knowledge that informs good practice in a range of disciplines such as education, psychotherapy, medicine, management, and law. Through reflection on key modern thinkers who have revived cardinal insights of Aristotle, and a sustained engagement with the Philosopher himself, it presents a radical challenge to the scientistic assumptions that have dominated how these professional domains have been conceived, practiced, and institutionalized.

About this title

About the Authors

Joseph Dunne teaches philosophy of education at St. Patrick's College, Dublin City University. He has co-edited several books and is the author of many scholarly articles and reviews.

Alasdair MacIntyre is Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Contemporary Aristotelian Studies in Ethics and Politics at London Metropolitan University and Rev John A. O'Brien Senior Research Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of numerous books, including After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory, A Short History of Ethics, and Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry: Encyclopaedia, Genealogy, and Tradition, all published by the University of Notre Dame Press.

From the Back Cover

"Joseph Dunne's achievement in this truly remarkable work is of the highest significance for educational philosophy . . . [Back to the Rough Ground] should be compulsory reading for all those who profess a serious interest in the conceptual complexities . . . of professional knowledge. [Dunne's] arguments are consistently intelligent, clear, and persuasive . . . the overall quality of his writing is simply outstanding." --Journal of Philosophy of Education

"A remarkable exercise in the hermeneutics of reading carried out in a truly Gadamerian spirit. . . . The richness and brilliance of Dunne's twofold reading, which moves back and forth between Aristotle, Gadamer, and Habermas . . . does indeed succeed in forcefully reviving . . . a usable modern phronetic tradition." -- Quarterly Journal of Speech

"An impressively masterful and engaging volume, which will more than repay careful reading and rereading. Its depth of analysis, richness of content, and subtlety of argument offer invaluable resources not only for understanding Aristotle's practical philosophy but also for appreciating why robust accounts of practical reason, though scarce in modernity, are nonetheless indispensable. . . . [A] model of how phronesis [practical wisdom] might be exhibited in our own day." -- Modern Theology

"[A] very powerful, scholarly, and philosophically acute attempt to rehabilitate an understanding of practical reason. . . . Dunne's absorbing and illuminating book is a necessary acquisition for anyone who is interested in practical philosophy." -- International Journal of Philosophical Studies

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0268007055
• ISBN 13: 9780268007058
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 512