Brewer is known for his idea of "dialectical activity," arguing that contemporary moral philosophy is hindered by a production-oriented conception of human agency and action. He tries to retrieve a different "dialectical" conception of human agency drawing on classical moral philosophy (mainly Aristotle). He believes that our ritual activities show our presence in and to the world. Christopher Cordner provided a criticism of Brewer's idea and argued that this picture of ritual activities is not fully recognised in the dialectical conception of human agency.[11]
Lorraine Besser-Jones argues that Brewer's idea of human agency is incompatible with empirical evidence on motivation and concludes that proposing the good life as a unified dialectical activity is implausible.[12]Mark LeBar describes Brewer's work as saving moral philosophy from "the grip of bad questions and worse answers" and calls it an "ambitious aim."[13]
In her book Aspiration: The Agency of Becoming, Agnes Callard (from the University of Chicago) proposes her aspirational theory of morality and distinguishes it from Brewer's dialectical theory.[14]
Jon Garthoff (from the University of Tennessee) proposes a “dynamic approximation” model of virtues based on Brewer’s dialectical idea of virtue acquisition and Rawl's theory of justice. In this model, emphasis and focus on a value gradually enables more engagement with it and more acknowledgement of it.[15]
In a paper on teleological hospitality, Melissa Fitzpatrick (from Boston College) provides a critical interpretation of Brewer's work and argues that a crucial component of human flourishing is hospitality towards others.[16]
Christopher Bennett (from the University of Sheffield) uses Brewer's idea of dialectical activity to provide an interpretation of Wenders' film Paris, Texas.[17]
^Corbí, Josep E. (2021). "Agency in the Space of Reasons". Corbí, J. E. 2021, 'Agency in the Space of Reasons. A Comment on *The Castle*' in Koblízek, T. And Kotátko, P. *Lessons from Kafka*. Prague: Filosofia, Pp.113-140.
^Cordner, Christopher (April 2016). "Dialectical Activity, Ritual, and Value: A Critique of Talbot Brewer: Philosophical Investigations". Philosophical Investigations. 39 (2): 178–191. doi:10.1111/phin.12080.