Foundations of the

Principles of Business
Ethics
The classical P h i l o s o p h i e s a n d their Implications o n
Business
Week 4

“ Waste no more time arguing about what a good m a n should be. Be one.” –
Marcus Aurelius
REVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS LESSON
REVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS LESSON

What core
principle is shown
by the these four
pictures?
REVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS LESSON

What core
principle is shown
by the these four
pictures?
Learning Competency

The learners can:

• Illustrate how these philosophies

are reflected into business
practices. A B M _ E SR 1 2 -I IIe -h - 2 .1
 The C l a s s i c a l P h i l o s o p h i e s a n d
Business Philosophies
“ B u s i n e s s Philosophy denotes a w a y of doing
b usi ne s s or a b u sin e ss outlook, instead of the
more academic philosophical m e a n i n g of
philosophy of business.

Business Ethics - a part of

philosophy of economics, which operates
on the ethical operation of a private
business.
ACTIVITY
 ACTIVITY

Write something
(anything) that you
believe in.
Ex. I believe that the earth is flat.
 ACTIVITY

Give your reason/s for

what you believe in.
P h i l o s o p h e r s a n d their t e a c h i n g s
 S o c r a t e s : The Gad-fly a t t h e
Marketplace
- best known for the Socratic Method
- Inspiration for Plato, the thinker
widely held to be the founder of
the Western Philosophical
tradition.
- At the age of 70 , he was put to
death at the hands of his fellow
citizens on charges of impiety and
So cra tes ( 469-399 BCE)
“Unexamined life is corruption of the youth.
no t w ort h
living”- S o c r a t e s
 S o c r a t e s : The Gad-fly a t t h e
Marketplace

S o c r a t i c M e t h o d - a way of thinking that

allows individuals to define their own
purpose of learning and explore this
purpose through open-minded questioning
of what they hold to be true.

So cra tes ( 469-399 BCE)

“unexamined life is
no t w ort h
living”- S o c r a t e s
 H o w c a n E n t r e p r e n e u r s find
v a l u e in S o c r at i c M e t h o d ?
Entrepreneurs are
bombarded by
assumptions based on
what others and they
themselves believe to
be the best plan of
action for pursuing a
business idea.
 H o w c a n E n t r e p r e n e u r s find
v a l u e in S o c r at i c M e t h o d ?

Acquisition of knowledge
is what an entrepreneur
should do to create
business venture which
me ans t hey should do
constant questioning
and testing
assumptions.
 W h a t d o e n t r e p r e n e u r s learn
from Socrates?
1.T h e S o c r a t i c M e t h o d
provides focus
t h r o u g h c la ri t y o f
purpose.

It answers questions
like:
• W h y are we here?
• W h y do we exist a s
an organization?”
 W h a t d o e n t r e p r e n e u r s learn
from Socrates?
2.U s e t h e S o c r a t i c M e t h o d
to d e ve l o p a n d reinforce
a n entrepreneurial
mindset
• develop mindsets which
involves interpreting
complexity, difficulty, and
uncertainty a s opportunity to
test assumptions, run
experiments,and create
opportunities
 Socrates insisted on our right
to think for ourselves. Too
often, he warned, humans
sleepwalk through life, simply
going along with the crowd.
• D o e s y o u r o r g a n i z a t i o n e n c o u r a g e i n d e p e n d e n t thinkers a n d
p e o p l e w h o follow their c o n s c i en c e ?
• D o e s it a ll ow p e o p l e to g i v e critical f e e d b a c k to m a n a g e r s ?
• D o e s it create op po rtu ni ti e s for g o o d p e o p l e to b l o w th e
whistle o n b a d b e h a v i o u r ?
 Plato: The P h il o s o p h e r - K i n g
Plato ( 427-347 BCE
“Good people do not
n e e d l a w s t o tell t h e m
t o ac t r e s p o n s i b l y ,
w h i l e b a d p e o p l e will
find a way a r o u n d th e
- Student of Socrates and teacher of
Aristotle
- He wrote in the middle of fourth
century
B.C.E in ancient Greece
- Writings are influenced by Heraclitus,
Parmenides and Phythagoras
- instructed
He attacks on the statesmen
young Sophists (teachers
in the arts of
who
rhetoric and debate for fee. They taught
that values are relative, so that the only
measure of who is right is who come out
on top – MORAL RELATIVISM)
 Pla t o ’ s T h eo ry of F o r m s

- Cultivates our capacity for abstract thought

(ability to understand ourselves by reasoning).

- The theory of forms differentiates the abstract

world of thought from the world of s e n s e s
(appealing to our emotions and desires),
where art and mythology operate.
 Pla t o ’ s T h eo ry of Tripartite S o u l
- Plato describe the soul into three parts ( labelled appetitive,
spirited, and rational)
 E d u c a t i o n for t h e H e a l t h of t h e
State

Plato identify that education is

one of the most important
aspects of a healthy state.

He recognizes the need to

teach children from a young
age to live virtuous lives and to
seek wisdom.
 Aristotle: All or n o t h i n g

- Makes contribution to logic, metaphysics,

mathematics, physics, biology, botany,
ethics, politics, agriculture, medicine,
dance and theatre
- Student of Plato
- He was referred to as “The Philosopher”
he first classify the ideas of human
Aristotle ( 384-322 BCE)
knowledge into distinct disciplines such as
“Happiness is the
m e a n i n g a n d p u r p o s e of m athematics , b i o l o gy , a nd e thi cs .
life, t h e w h o l e a i m a n d
e n d of h u m a n
e x i s t e n c e ” - Aristotle
 Virtue a n d H a p p i n e s s
▪ Happiness translation of the Greek term
eudaimonia which carries connotations
and fulfilment.
▪ Aristotle believe that happiness is our
highest goal. M a n y people think that
happiness as physical pleasure or honor,
but this is because they have an
imperfect view of the good life.
▪ Virtue- is a disposition to behave in the
right manner, which is inculcated
from the young age.
▪ Behaving courageously will make the
 Moral Education

-Aristotle is quite clear that

Virtue can be thought in a
classroom or by means of
argument.
-He explains what is good,
why it is good, and how
we might set about
building societies and
 Implications to Busine ss

Happiness is the touchstone of ethics, and therefore of

character. It does not only m e a n pleasure.

“The rational person doesn’t seek m o n e y for its own sake.

The rational person u s e s m o n e y s o that they can spend
their time on g ood moral words and develop their minds”

The role of the leader is to create an environment in

which all m e m b er s of an organization have the
opportunity to be happy.
 Implications to Busine ss
E t h i c a l Q u e s t i o n s t h a t a r e d i re c t l y
relevant to corporate leaders w h o wish to
b e h a v e in ethical ways.
1. A m I behaving in a virtuous w a y ?
2. How would I want to be treated if I were a member
of this organization
3. What form of social contract would allow all our
members to develop their full potential in order that
they m a y each make their greatest contribution to the
need of the society?
4. To what extent are there real opportunities for
all employees to develop their talents and their
potential?

5. To what extent do employees participate in

decisions that affect their work?

6. To what extent do all employees participate in

financial gain resulting from their own ideas and
efforts?
 M o r e Aristotelian Q u e s t i o n s

1. A m I working more than m y share of

rewards, more than m y contribution is
worth?
2. D o e s the distribution of goods preserve the
happiness of the community?
3. D o e s it have a negative effect on morale?
Would everyone enter into the employment
contract under the current terms if they
had different choices?
 Immanuel Kant: Duty B a s e d
Et hics

- A Germ an Philosopher who adv anced the

theory of deontology or deontological
ethics – the theory of duty and obligation

Im ma n u el K a n t (1724-1804)
“Act o n l y a c c o r d i n g to that m a x i m
b y w h i c h y o u c a n at t h e s a m e t i m e
will that it s h o u l d b e c o m e a
u n i v e r s a l law”
 Immanuel Kant: Duty B a s e d
Et hics
Deontology- proposes that ethical
behaviour is simply doing God’s will.
Since most of us that is good, then
goodwill and loving other human
beings as God loves us is the universal
Principle on which moral behavior must
be based.
Im ma n u el K a n t (1724-1804)
“Act o n l y a c c o r d i n g to that m a x i m
b y w h i c h y o u c a n at t h e s a m e t i m e
will that it s h o u l d b e c o m e a
u n i v e r s a l law”
 The Three M a x i m s
First M a x i m : a n action c a n o n l y b e c o n s i d e r e d a s
ethically correct if it c a n b e a c c e p t e d or m a d e into
a u n i v er s a l l a w s (Bowie, 1 9 9 9 ) .
S e c o n d M a x i m : t h a t a p e r s o n s h o u l d b e treated a s
a n e n d n o t t h e m e a n s t o a c h i ev e a n e n d
(Bowie, 1 9 9 9 ) .
Third Maxim: act only so that the will through its
maxims could regard itself at the same time as
universally lawgiving (Bowie, 1999)
Jeremy B e n t h a m & John S t u a r t
Mill: Utilitarianism
John S t u a r t Mill ( 1806-1873)
" A p e r s o n m a y c a u s e evil to
o t hers no t only b y his actions
b ut b y his inaction, a n d in either
case, h e is justly ac countab le
to t h e m for t h e injury.”- John
Stuart Mill Jeremy B e n t h a m
(17 48-1 832)
“The said truth is that it is t he greatest
h a p p i n e s s of t he greatest n u m b e r that is t he
m e a s u r e of right a n d w r o n g ” - Jeremy B e n t h a m
Jeremy B e n t h a m & John S t u a r t
Mill: Utilitarianism
John S t u a r t Mill ( 1806-1873)

- Profoundly influenced the shape of

nineteenth century British thought
and political discourse.
- Morality has it that people will
justify not the end and means.
Jeremy B e n t h a m
(17 4 8 -1 8 3 2 )
English Philosopher and Political Radical
Known for his Moral Philosophy which is the
UTILITARIANISM which evaluates actions
based upon their consequences.
Utilitarianism
• It revolves around the concept of “ the end
justifies the means.”

• It believes that outcomes a s a result of a n

action h a v e a greater value compared to the
later. It is also states that the m os t ethical
thing to do is to take adv antage of happiness
for the g o o d of the society as a result,
utilitarianism d e p e n d s o n consequentiality
P h i l o s o p h e r s a n d their t e a c h i n g s
 Business Ph ilosophy

“ Business Philosophy denotes a way of

doing business or a business outlook,
instead of the more academic
philosophical meaning of philosophy of
business.
The philosophy of business considers:

• the fundam ental principle s that

underlie the formation and operation
of business enterprise
• The nature and purpose of business
• The moral obligations that pertain to
it.
S ig nificantly influenced by philoso phy,
ethics and econom ic theory.