Aristotle’s view on ethics

Intellectual Virtue and Moral Virtue:

Aristotle finds virtue to be of two types:
(1) Intellectual Virtue and (2) Moral
Virtue.
Type one: we can learn this (intellectual
virtue)by training ( e.g., how to run a
computer, how to do calculus, how to
operate a lathe).
• Type two: This (moral virtue) can only be
obtained through habitual behavior. We
develop them by engaging in moral activities.
• We develop moral habits over a lifetime.
• Morals like manners are part of training young
people receive in a society in order to help
them function well and be successful at the
business of being a human being.
 The Moral Disposition
• What do we mean by calling someone a moral
person?
Aristotle answers this by saying that ‘a truly moral
person is one who has developed a moral
disposition through the development of right habits
and whose behavior is, as a result, consistently
moral’.
To explain this a contemporary writer says that it is the
difference between being a good player and merely
having a lucky shot now and then.
• Virtue is a matter of quality rather than particular
actions.
• The goal of moral action is to develop character
traits similar to those of outstanding individuals.
• How is this related to business context?
It is apparent that if the company’s corporate culture is
filled with stories of predatory business practices and legal
but not necessarily moral activities, it gives message to
the employee that do anything you have to do, cut any
corners possible to advance the company’s interest.
 Intrinsic and Instrumental Good
• An intrinsic good is something that is good in
itself, like health. We seek health not just
because it is good for something else but
because it is something we desire for its own
sake.
• Other activities, such as playing football,
jogging, cycling (i.e. regular exercise) that aid
to our health are instrumental goods.
• For Aristotle,
it is happiness for which we do everything. So happiness is
intrinsically good. As health contributes to happiness, it is not
intrinsically good but rather instrumentally good.
Happiness (………)
1. An intrinsic good
2. A lifetime pursuit
3. Must be sought indirectly
• If we apply these concerns to a business context, we would
have to say that business’s intrinsic goal, like happiness, is
long-term profitability.
 Business and Profit
• Although there are challenges from right and
left to business, today profit is viewed as
potentially a contribution to the public good
by providing the basis for job creation,
economic growth , and technological
innovation.
• Now the question is: what kind of behavior is
the best support to a company's profitability?
• Tom Peters and Waterman, in their book In
Search for Excellence, say that profit could be
increased by ensuring the quality and service.
• Examples include Ben and Jerry’s homemade
ice-cream parlor (see page 57 of Stewart’s
book).
• Individual and Organization:
:Aristotle’s emphasis on ‘friendship’ has business
correlation.
:Business includes loyal customers, faithful
stockholders, and dedicated workers.
: Success of Japanese manufacturing has been
attributed to its practice of cultivating networks of
suppliers and distributers who are called Keiretsu
(group).
.
In such relationships, manufacturers and
suppliers cooperate to produce the best
product at the lowest cost.
Lester Thurow asserts that the keiretsu suppliers
are the best suppliers. This practice is
supportive of the practices of communitarian
form of capitalism. Thurow labels it
communitarian capitalism. Japan and Germany
possess this type of value.
Contrariwise Thurow states that USA and UK trumpet individual
values ( e.g., the brilliant entrepreneur, large wage
differentials, hostile mergers and takeover). Thurow labels it
individualistic capitalism.
David Stewart says that it is not easy to answer which capitalism
is better. For him history will tell us which theory is right.
But here the point is that both in Aristotle’s ethics and
communitarian form of capitalism , individuals find meaning in
being part of a larger whole.
• The role of moderation:
• Aristotelian theme: moderation means seeking the
mean between extremes( such as, between
individualistic and communitarian capitalism).
• Moral development:
• Although Aristotle was convinced that people develop
their moral character over time, he did not describe
how this happens. Harvard psychologists Lawrence
Kohlberg seems to provide a guideline principle in this
regard.
• He centered his research on describing the
stages of moral development through which
individuals pass as they mature in their moral
judgment. They are as follows:
• . The Preconvention level
• The conventional level
• Post conventional level
: The preconvention level is the one of
punishment and reward.
: The conventional level is one in which we seek
the approval of others and submit to authority.
: The postconventional level is the highest level
of moral development in which people seek
the general welfare and act according to
universal moral principle.