Alasdair Macintyre’s exposition on moral relativism: an analysis from an Islamic perspective

Moral relativism has seen a rise in popularity, especially during post-modern times. The heterogeneous nature of society due to various factors drives a compelling case for moral relativism to be studied from its historical context and theistic perspective. Therefore, this article aims to explore Alasdair MacIntyre’s thoughts on moral relativism, analyzing it from Islamic perspectives. The subject of this research will be investigated through library research, with a particular reference to the third edition of MacIntyre’s After Virtue. Selected journal articles written by MacIntyre and other scholars are used to supplement or reframe the arguments found in the book. This article specifically explores MacIntyre’s thoughts on subjective nature, lack of standards, individualistic tendencies of moral relativism, and his concept of telos. The Islamic perspective is extracted from various opinions of selected contemporary scholars. The analysis demonstrates that MacIntyre’s views are parallel with some ethical ideals held by the Islamic teachings, particularly in his concept of telos. Several aspects of his discourse can be more appreciated by refining it with the Islamic answers to the nature of morality. The concept of reality, the position of man, and the real nature of sources of ethics, as exposed by the Muslim thinkers, can be supplementary to the issues highlighted by MacIntyre in sidelining moral relativism as the answer to contemporary times.