It has been argued that philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre’s concept of a practice offers a robust and valuable model for understanding how, when supported by institutions, rightly ordered work can not only produce goods effectively but also foster workers’ personal growth and flourishing. MacIntyre describes a practice as a coherent, socially cooperative human activity that aims at “internal goods” realized through the pursuit of standards of excellence specific to that kind of work. This project asks whether speech-language pathology (SLP) qualifies as a practice and, if so, what potential challenges arise in achieving its internal goods. Through a review of the literature, we examined current ethical frameworks, descriptions of practice within SLP, empirical research, and philosophical discussions through the lens of MacIntyre’s framework. Findings are presented that illustrate the ways in which the field of SLP aligns with MacIntyre’s definition of a practice, followed by theorizing about the field’s internal goods, standards of excellence, as well as the external and institutional pressures that could influence the pursuit of those goods.
