Chapter 2: FOUNDATIONS OF THE PRINCIPLES OF BUSINESS ETHICS

Lesson 4: Classical Philosophies Used in Business

❖ Socrates "have the courage to disagree"

❖ Plato "the power to rule"
❖ Aristotle "let people seek fulfillment"
❖ Confucius "live a contented, moral happy life"
❖ Plutarch "be a good role model"
❖ Epictetus "build a flexible mindset"
❖ Musonius Rufus "keep track of one's ethical progress"
❖ Epicurus "the art of happiness"

SOCRATES

He was conceived in Athens 469 BC. He originated from a poor family. His Father was a
stone worker and his mom was a maternity specialist. In early life he took up the control of his
dad as a stone carver and a while later he turned into a volunteer officer.

He was blamed for “brainwashing” the young. He had said that the general population
ought to ask and make inquiries and engage in reflection. He was the first individual to give a
down to earth and political concentration to theory and morals in recorded history.

Socrates, one of the first philosophers, insisted on our right to think for ourselves.
Too often, he warned, humans sleepwalk through life, simply going along with the
crowd.

“Have the courage to disagree.”

In business, administrators shouldn’t automatically oblige with what the group does or
what the trend is or what other companies do. In order to live a virtuous life, morally
unacceptable policies and practices must be prevented and outright ostracized. They must not
just do something just because “everyone else was doing it”. Managers should be responsible in
and for their actions and must be prepared to be fired or demoted rather than go against their
conscience in making decisions.

An organization must encourage independent thinkers and their employees to follow

their conscience. This is dangerous in questions of morality, and particularly in corporate
governance. When corruption is uncovered, too often people say "everyone else was doing it".
But our characters are our responsibility. Socrates was prepared to die rather than go against
his conscience. Does your organization encourage independent thinkers, and people who follow
their conscience? Does it allow people to give critical feedback to managers? Does it create
opportunities for good people to blow the whistle on bad behaviour?

PLATO

He was conceived in the city of Athens 427 BC. Born from a privileged family. He went
through seven or eight years as a student of Socrates. His prime conviction was that an
individual must reflect on themselves so as to discover their dimension of character.

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 “The power to rule.”

In business, it is constantly vital to know the qualities and shortcomings of everybody

including and most importantly, your own. When one knows the capabilities of themselves and
the ones around them. It is much easier to govern and assign tasks that will bring out the best in
each person while compensating for each other’s weaknesses. That is essential in true and
effective business; and true and effective leadership.

ARISTOTLE

He was conceived in around 384 BC. His dad, Nicomachus, was a court doctor. He is
enlisted in Plato's institute. He was the most down to earth and business situated of the
philosophers. Aristotle was a great biologist as well as a great philosopher. He based his ethics
on a psychological theory of human nature, insisting that we are naturally virtuous, rational,
social and happiness-seeking. Governments and organizations need to build the best systems
to let humans fulfill their natural drives.

“Let people seek fulfillment.”

In business, the association must give and condition a workplace that is conducive to
human development and satisfaction. A good leader must create an environment where the
conditions are in place for the followers to learn, grow and achieve both their potential and
satisfaction. This is the basis for the Human Relations Theory of Organization. And also
influenced Edward Deci and Richard Ryan's Self-Determination Theory, which suggests that
employees will work harder for you, and perform better, if you give them tasks they find
meaningful and morally worthwhile. Humans want to believe in something and to serve it.
Appeal to your employees' best nature and they will answer that call.

Your employees will also be more motivated if you give them the opportunity to feed their
natural curiosity through learning opportunities. That could be vocational training, but it could
also simply be learning about the world, ideas, culture.

CONFUCIUS

The great chinese philosopher himself. He gave thought to a vote-based

system or what we now know as democracy. Confucian qualities can help in the
formation of business pioneers who are genuine pioneers of the general public. The
most famous words of his are his golden rule: 己所不欲，勿施于人 (“What you do not
want done to yourself, do not do to others”)

“Live a contented, moral, and happy life.”

He wants people to associate with others who can act as their teachers. He encourages
people to live by their principles and continue to build upon them. He tells others to love their
work, because they will realize that they are not really working at all.

This is less of a philosophy for leaders specifically but more for one’s self. Assert
yourself in a position where you love what you do and you are surrounded by people who can
bring out the best in you and constantly provide you avenues of growth and acquiring new

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 knowledge. This can be used as a guide in creating environments for work as a
manager/leader; encompassing the previous three discussed philosophies.

PLUTARCH

He was conceived in the residential community of Chaeronea in 46 CE. His dad,

Nikarchus and Lamprias was his grandfather. He examined science and rationality at the
foundation of Athens. The ancient Greek historian and educator understood that humans are
incredibly social creatures, who constantly observe the people around them and imitate them.

“Be a good role model.”

In organizational terms, that means what you say to your employees is less important
than what you do. They will watch how you behave, how you treat others, how you cope with
pressure and whether you follow through on your promises. And they will imitate you.

If you talk about ethics and then cut corners at the first opportunity, they will follow your
lead. Unfortunately, people often grow up surrounded by bad role models. However, we can
steer people, by providing them with better patterns to imitate. Set a good example and they will
follow it.

Plutarch would also warn that your best young employees will use you as a bar to aim
for and exceed. That's natural. Let them compete with you and encourage them to go further.

EPICTETUS

Epictetus grew up a slave in Rome, and then became a Stoic philosopher. Slaves
could be abused or killed by their owners, while Stoic philosophers were constantly
falling foul of the imperial authorities (Epictetus himself was eventually exiled). Epictetus
coped with this insecurity by constantly reminding himself what he could control and
what he couldn't. We can control our thoughts, beliefs and attitudes, but everything else
is to some extent out of our control – other people's perceptions and behaviour, the
economy, the weather, the future and the past. If you focus on what is beyond your
control, and obsess over it, you will end up feeling helpless. Focus on what you can
control, and you will feel a measure of autonomy even in chaotic situations.

“Build a flexible mindset.”

Epictetus’s chief concerns are with integrity, self-management, and personal freedom.
He believed that an organization must create choices on how to respond with different crises
and unfavorable situations surrounding them.

This insight is now part of the US Army's $125m resilience training course, which
teaches soldiers the Stoic lesson that, even in adverse situations, we always have some choice
how we react. We can learn this resilient thinking, and it will make our organization and
employees more capable of reacting to crises. Focus on doing what you can, on the practical
steps you can take to improve the situation.

RUFUS

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 Musonius Rufus was known as the Socrates of Rome. He was another Stoic, who taught
that philosophy cannot just be theoretical. If you want to be an ethical individual or an ethical
company, you can't just study ethics, you have to practice it, every day, to get into good habits.
The ancient Greek word for ethics is actually the same word for habit.

You also need to keep track of your progress, to see how you're doing. You can't just rely
on your intuitions, because they're often wrong. So the ancient Greeks learned to keep
accounts of themselves. They would track their daily behaviour in journals, keeping account of
how many times they lost their temper, for example, or got too drunk. Then they could see if
they were really improving their behaviour, or just going round in circles.

"Keep track of one's ethical progress"

In organizational terms, keeping track of ourselves means trying to take an evidence-

based assessment of our performance. We might say we're a green company, but how do we
know if we're making progress? We might say we're an eudaimonic organization, but how do we
know? We can keep track of this, for example by asking our employees how worthwhile they
feel their job is. Then see if, in a year, we have managed to enhance their sense of purpose.

EPICURUS

Epicurus was a fourth century Greek philosopher who taught, rather scandalously, that
the aim of life was simply to be as happy as possible here on Earth, before we die and dissolve
back into the atomic universe. He warned that humans are very bad at being happy, and very
good at inventing reasons to be miserable.

“The art of happiness.”

He believed that philosophy should teach us how to be happy. For example, it could
teach us how to bring our attention to the present moment, to savour it. It could also teach us to
limit our desires to what is easy to get, not inflating our needs with endless artificially stimulated
desires.

Although a good philosophy; companies should be careful about forcing all their
employees to follow one philosophy of the good life. As we've seen, there are many different
approaches to achieving eudaimonia. Perhaps companies could create an ethical culture that
embraces all these different ways of living, as true happiness is not as simple as a flick of a
switch.

Sources:
● Aqsaahmed19945. (n.d.). Compare and contrast classical philosophies as they relate to the business
setting. Retrieved January, 2021, from https://brainly.in/question/7508715

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 ● The Guardian. (2012, May 04). What can business leaders learn from ancient philosophers? Retrieved
January, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/business-learn-from-ancient-
philosophers
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● Silliman University. (2019). Lesson 6 Major Ethical Philosophers. Retrieved January, 2021, from
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philosophers/7458284/view

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