In The Good Life, Herbert McCabe sets out to produce ‘a tourist map of what may be to you, and certainly is to many, an unfamiliar piece of intellectual territory – a map offered by someone who finds the landscape congenial’ (p. 1). This is an excellent description of the role admirably fulfilled by his text, which leaves the reader with only one major regret, namely that McCabe died before he was able to complete the work.
In his introduction, Brian Davies explains his role as editor and compiler of McCabe's papers into a number of publications, of which this is the third. The Good Life is a work in progress, not a finished product. It deals with issues such as the existence of ethical truth, the role of ethics in relation to the existence of God, and the possibility of whether one can have ethical propriety without believing in God. By the time of his death, McCabe had written the preface and first four chapters of a work that he intended to be somewhat longer, and these are included in the present volume, together with two previously unpublished articles that deal with related issues.
The Good Life begins with a discussion of the nature of ethics and the good, looking to demonstrate the existence of ‘transcultural moral judgements’ (p. 14) in contrast with modes of behaviour that are perceived as ethically good because they cohere with the conventions and customs of that particular culture. McCabe then moves on to describe the transcultural nature of the good and its links with the corporate nature of humanity and human society. He uses the model of linguistic ability to demonstrate this, particularly how the individual self necessarily functions within the larger, corporate whole. He then discusses the acquisition of the capacity for justice by comparison with the analogy of a child learning to read; this is then developed into the far more complex notion of an adult learning to be just. McCabe argues that being just is fundamentally part of being human, as it is also linked in with participation in the divine life. It is at this point that the work reaches its abrupt halt, leaving the reader grateful to the guide whose map has served him so well thus far, and wishing further territory had been as expertly charted for him.
The two articles at the end of the work, ‘Virtue and Truth’ and ‘Animals and Us’, deal with similar themes. The first article looks at how we experience the world, and particularly at how we make choices within it. McCabe develops his understanding of human experience primarily through analogy with language usage, and notes one of the primary characteristics of being human is the ability to make choices. The link with the freedom to make moral choices is then developed and so the idea of living a virtuous life. In the second article, McCabe contrasts animals and machines, noting how the Cartesian understanding of humanity makes the body into nothing more than a machine. He challenges such an understanding of animals, and particularly with respect to humans. Having further noted differences between humans and other animals he then begins to develop notions as to how human society should be organised, again employing language acquisition and usage to develop the necessary analogies.
One of the major highlights of The Good Life is the clarity of the explanations, achieved without too great an oversimplification. McCabe notes in his preface that he is dealing in approximation rather than precisely refined arguments (p. 1) and also recognises the limitations of the metaphors and analogies he employs (e.g. p. 4 on the limits of his analogy between learning ethics and learning grammar). He makes his central points clearly, without their losing too much of their nuance. Doubtless something of the subtlety of more technical argumentation has been lost, but that is to be expected in an introductory work. The Good Life points out the major landmarks enabling the reader to return later for a more detailed perusal at his own leisure. McCabe also makes good use of inclusive language, using both ‘he’ and ‘she’ as generic singular pronouns, giving the text as a whole a more inclusive feel. This is something that is generally to be welcome, although its usage for God (e.g. p. 24) does give some pause for thought.
Another major strength of The Good Life is its clear restatement of the Aristotelian understanding of what it means to be human. In the chapter ‘Organism, Language and Grace’ McCabe explains how Aristotelian terminology has been hijacked and redefined in line with Cartesian dualism. This is by no means an entirely original line of argumentation, but it is very clearly and succinctly put, and the implications are also made admirably plain. It allows McCabe to develop his line of argument regarding the ‘Good Life’ clearly and convincingly, particularly in relation to the divine life.
Once the nature of the work is understood, for which Brian Davies's Introduction is indispensable, The Good Life is an excellent and stimulating read. To use the author's own metaphor, it is a well produced map by an expert guide which will help the tourist familiarise herself with the territory and also refresh the more experienced, reminding all of us that what we long for is the good life, the satisfying life.
