Abstract

After the introductory remarks on the contemporary situation of religion and the position of Alasdair MacIntyre in philosophy, I am discussing his main thesis about the situation of contemporary universities, and line of argumentation of how to do philosophy at a Catholic university. His recent book God, philosophy, universities: a selective history of the Catholic philosophical tradition conveys arguments for the necessity of a Christian philosophy of religion. “God created human beings as rational, that is, as questioning, animals”, so it remains the duty of a Christian philosopher to pursue an enquiry into the nature of things, and the truth concerning God’s existence and nature. But, here, a Christian philosopher meets a dilemma, as theism is more than “just a set of doctrines about God”. It requires those who acknowledge the God of theism an “unqualified trust and allegiance”. Christian philosophers “are bound, at some stages of their enquiry at least, to treat God’s existence and nature as problematic”. This way philosophy acquires its own distinctive problems: “to understand what truth, rational justification, and meaning are”. I am going to check the consistency of McIntyre’s argumentation and how helpful his conception of philosophy can be for an philosopher of religion.