“Internal goods’ and “External good,” defined in a specific action and a social context by Alasdair MacIntyre. According to MacIntyre, “the tradition of the virtues is at variance with central features of the modern economic order.” For a person to cultivate the virtues successfully, he must be engaged in a type of cooperative activity recognized in virtue ethics as a practice. MacIntyre defined practice as any logical and composite form of socially established human activity cooperative; internal goods are realized in the course to achieve the standards of excellence appropriate to the form of activity and definitive to some extent. In addition, with the result that human powers achieve excellence and human conceptions and goods are extended systematically.
There are several features of practices; honor, security, power, and prestige. External goods are the property possessed by a person. It is characterized that a person has more possession and others has less. In addition, external goods are objects of competition with a winner and a loser characteristically. In the contrary, internal goods are characterized through physical intangibility, intrinsic satisfactions from activities and related to the satisfactions from productive skills. Productive skills create a quality or excellence with personal happiness, being proud of the achievement, and dignity from the self-development outcomes and motivations.
MacIntyre explained the concept of internal goods to a practice; to teach a child to play an in-door game like chess. At first, he proposed that a child would possibly learn to play if the child will be given money or candy. A child given the money or candy, it would represent as external goods to the practice of playing chess. Eventually, the child learns to play for the internal goods of the game. For example, the child achieves analytical skill, competitive intensity, and strategic thinking. The moment he plays the game, the internal goods are inculcated in his mind and truly engaged in a practice. The money or candy are not particular to the person, it is for the good of the community practitioners as a whole. With its goals, everyone benefits to the practitioner; the representation of MacIntyre of the child discovers new techniques that enhance the practice.
As a personal practice, I have the skill in children-care especially those who are battered and abused children. I am personally concerned to these children because I see them suffered and hurt. I reached out children like them every now and then with my own little and special way. I believed that after I finish my study in Ashford University, I would be able to open my own center to provide shelter and home for battered and abused children. I already have the resources in terms of financial aspect; however, I need to develop more knowledge I learned in school and to learn more to equip myself in the future. Being virtuous is the key to excel my personal practice. Despite some odds in life, sometimes I feel sad when I think about my son I feel so down. This feeling will never hinder me to pursue my dreams because my son is my inspiration and I still have my twins who motivate and inspire me every day. My main goal is to flourish in life and seek excellence to inspire others. Both Aristotle and MacIntyre are not just great philosophers they are also great motivators.
Reference
MacIntyre, A. (2009, June 16). The Catholic Herald: Annual Newman Lecture. United Kingdom.
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