THE CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHERS AND PHILOSOPHIES

AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS ON BUSINESS

 The Classical Philosophers and
Philosophies and Their Implications on LC
Business
2.1
• 1. Socrates (469-399 BCE)- “The Gad-fly at the
Marketplace” is one of the few individuals whom one
could say have shaped the
LC
cultural
LC 2.1LC
2.1 2.1
and intellectual
development of the world for without him, history
would be profoundly different.
• This is Socrates’s philosophical idea:
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates
pointed out that human choice was motivated by the
desire for happiness.
 The Classical Philosophers and
Philosophies and Their Implications on LC
Business
2.2
• Socrates thought of the Entrepreneurs.
The Socratic Method is a way of thinking that allows
individuals to define their own purpose of learning and
exploring its purpose through open-minded questioning
of what they hold to be true. Socrates insisted on a right
to think of ourselves by introducing the philosophical
concept, “Dare to Disagree”.
 The Classical Philosophers and
Philosophies and Their Implications on LC
Business
2.3
• 2. Plato – “The Philosopher-King” is one of the world’s
best known and most widely read and studied
philosophers. He was the student of Socrates and the
teacher of Aristotle. He wrote in the middle of the 4th
Century BCE in ancient Greece. This is Plato’s
philosophical idea:
“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act
responsibly, while bad people will find a way around
the laws.”
 The Classical Philosophers and
Philosophies and Their Implications on LC
Business
2.4
• Plato maintains a virtue-based eudemonistic conception
of ethics. That is to say, happiness or well-being
(eudaimonia) is the highest aim of moral thought and
conduct, and the virtues (aretê: excellence) are the
requisite skills and dispositions needed to attain it.
 The Classical Philosophers and
Philosophies and Their Implications on LC
Business
2.5
• 3. Aristotle – “All or Nothing” (384-322 BCE) is a
towering figure in ancient Greek philosophy,
contributing to logic, metaphysics, mathematics,
physics, biology, ethics, politics, agriculture, medicine,
dance, and theater. These are some of Aristotle’s
philosophical ideas:
“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the
whole aim, and end of human existence.”

“Let people seek fulfillment.”

 The Classical Philosophers and
Philosophies and Their Implications on LC
Business
2.6
• The word happiness in ethics is a translation of the
Greek term “eudaimonia” which connotes success and
fulfillment.
• For Aristotle, this happiness is our highest goal. In
relation to business, Aristotle concludes that the role of
the leader is to create an environment in which all
members of an organization can realize their potential.
 The Classical Philosophers and
Philosophies and Their Implications on LC
Business
2.7
• 4. Immanuel Kant (1724–1804). “Duty based Ethics”.
He is one of the most influential philosophers in the
history of Western Philosophy. He was not concerned
with the consequences of one’s actions or the harm
caused to one’s individual interests. Instead, he is
focused on motives and the willingness of individuals
to act for the good of others, even if the action might
result to personal loss. Doing something for the right
reason was more important to Kant than any particular
outcome.
 The Classical Philosophers and
Philosophies and Their Implications on LC
Business
2.8
• 5. Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill-
“Utilitarianism” revolves around the concept of “the
end justifies the means”. It believes that outcomes, as a
result of an action have a greater value compared to
the latter.
• Utilitarianism is a philosophy or belief suggesting that
an action is morally right when the majority of people
benefit from it. Also, the doctrine that an action is right
as it promotes happiness, and that the greatest
happiness of the greatest number should be the guiding
principle of conduct.
 The Classical Philosophers and
Philosophies and Their Implications on LC
Business
2.9
• Utilitarianism is a moral theory that advocates actions
that promote overall happiness or pleasure and reject
actions that cause unhappiness or harm. A utilitarian
philosophy, when directed to making social, economic,
or political decisions, aims for the betterment of
society.