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Full Idea
We possess simulacra of morality, we continue to use many of the key expressions. But we have - very largely, if not entirely - lost our comprehension, both theoretical and practical, of morality.
Gist of Idea
We still have the appearance and language of morality, but we no longer understand it
Source
Alasdair MacIntyre (After Virtue: a Study in Moral Theory [1981], Ch. 1)
Book Ref
MacIntyre,Alasdair: 'After Virtue: a Study in Moral Theory' [Duckworth 1982], p.2
A Reaction
MacIntyre's famous (or notorious) assault on modern ethics. We obviously can't prove him wrong by spouting moral talk. Are we actually more wicked than our ancestors? There is, I think, a relativism problem in the 20th centurty, but that is different.