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WORLD VIEW:ABOUT 500 people packed out a UCD lecture hall yesterday week to hear a lecture by Alasdair MacIntyre entitled “On Having Survived the Academic Moral Philosophy of the 20th Century”. Described by former UCD president Paddy Masterson as one the greatest living philosophers, a conference there celebrated his 80th birthday by examining aspects of his work (see www.macintyreanenquiry.org).

Introducing his lecture, he referred to Ray Kinsella’s invocation of his work in this newspaper as the possible source of an alternative morality to that which gave rise to the current financial and economic crisis. MacIntyre explained he was not going to propose such a solution. But many of those attending were keen to hear how his account of ethics might yield such insights. He concluded it is necessary to live on the intellectual and political margins to be able to see things as they really are, even while drawing on the philosophical mainstream.