Rational Man

This modern interpretation of Aristotelian ethics is ideally suited for undergraduate philosophy courses. It is also an engaging work for the expert and the beginner alike, offering a middle ground between existential and analytic ethics. Veatch argues for the existence of ethical knowledge, and he reasons that this knowledge is grounded in human nature. Yet he contends that the moral life is not merely one of following rules or recipes, nor is human well being something simple. Rather, the moral life, which Veatch calls 'rational or intelligent living', is the life of practical wisdom where individual judgement of the particular and the contingent is paramount. Veatch's Rational Man offers a pluralistic understanding of human well being without lapsing into moral relativism. For those interested in morality and liberty, Rational Man offers fertile ground for developing an account of free and responsible persons. It has profoundly influenced the work of Den Uyl, Campbell, Machan, Miller, Mack, and many others.

"This work was originally published in 1962 (Indiana University Press) and is cited in Books for College Librariesit is reprinted here with a new preface and annotated bibliography. Veatch's influential reading of Aristotle's ethics stresses the role of freedom and responsibility in human life and illustrates Aristotle's theories with examples drawn from literature, especially the novels of Jane Austen. In the course of his argument, Veatch (1911-1999) considers a broad range of topics including Socrates' challenge, the role of rationality, failure and unhappiness, moral luck, the death of God, and existentialism."

Reference & Research Book News
August 2003



Rational Man was originally published in 1962, thirty years before "virtue-ethics" became philosophically fashionable. The Liberty Fund is to be commended for republishing Veatch's prescient book.

Books & Culture
May/June 2004

Henry Babcock Veatch (1911-1999) was born in Evansville, Indiana, and educated at Harvard. He was recognised as one of the leading neo-Aristotelian philosophers of the twentieth century.

Forty years after its original publication, Liberty Fund brings back to print Henry Veatch's path-breaking popular presentation of virtue ethics. This modern interpretation of Aristotelian ethics is a natural for undergraduate philosophy courses. It is also an engaging work for the expert and the beginner alike, offering a middle ground between existential and analytic ethics. Veatch argues for the existence of ethical knowledge, and he reasons that this knowledge is grounded in human nature. Yet he contends that the moral life is not merely one of following rules or recipes, nor is human well-being something simple. Rather, the moral life, which Veatch calls "rational or intelligent living," is the life of practical wisdom where individual judgment of the particular and the contingent is paramount. Veatch's Rational Man offers a pluralistic understanding of human well-being without lapsing into moral relativism. For those interested in morality and liberty, Rational Man offers fertile ground for developing an account of free and responsible persons. It has profoundly influenced the work of Den Uyl, Campbell, Machan, Miller, Mack, and many others. Henry Babcock Veatch (1911-1999) was born in Evansville, Indiana, and educated at Harvard. He was recognized as one of the leading neo-Aristotelian philosophers of the twentieth century. Besides Rational Man, he was the author of Intentional Logic; Realism and Nominalism Revisited; Aristotle: A Contemporary Appreciation; and many others.

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