Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

A. LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

1. Identify the classical philosophers and their implications in business practices.

2. Differentiate their philosophies adapted to business practices.
3. Know the seven (7) techniques used which business should use in order to become
successful.

B. REVIEWING PREVIOUS
LESSON Business Scenario
An employee realized that he gave a shortchange to a customer who already left the
store premises. The right change is 694 pesos, but he only gave 194 pesos. Discuss
what business ethics issues present on this situation. What can be done?
What can business leaders learn from ancient Greek philosophers?

To help achieve "the good life" companies can learn from the techniques used by
Greek philosophers. Jules Evans explores seven that could help employees live
their lives better

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Aristotle teaching a young Alexander the Great. Photograph: Unknown/
Bettmann/CORBIS
Jules Evans for the Guardian Professional Network

I've met and interviewed hundreds of people who have used ancient Greek and Roman
philosophies to help them live their lives better, including soldiers, astronauts, politicians
and business leaders. They all used philosophy to help them achieve "eudaimonia", by
which the Greeks meant "flourishing" or "the good life". Here are seven techniques, from
seven philosophers, which businesses can use to become more eudemonic

Socrates: dare to disagree

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.

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.
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Aristotle: let people seek fulfilment
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.

Aristotle's philosophy was an influence on 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.

Plutarch: be a good role model

Plutarch, the ancient Greek historian and educator, understood that humans are incredibly
social creatures, who constantly observe the people around them and imitate them.

Unfortunately, people often grow up surrounded by bad role models. However, we can
steer people, by providing them with better patterns to imitate. That's what Plutarch tried
to do with his famous work, Parallel Lives, which offered biographical sketches of some
of the great Greek and Roman heroes – Cicero, Caesar, Alexander the Great, Pericles –
to give young people something to emulate.

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.

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: build a resilient mind-set

Epictetus grew up a slave in Rome, and then became a Stoic philosopher. Both of these
positions were incredibly precarious – slaves could be abused or killed by their owners,
while Stoic philosophers were constantly falling foul of the imperial authorities (Epictetus

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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.

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 organisation and
employees more capable of reacting to crises. The environment may be worsening, the
economy may be double-dipping. Focus on doing what you can, on the practical steps
you can take to improve the situation.

Rufus: keep track of your ethical progress

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 behavior 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 behavior, or just going round in circles.

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 a eudemonic organization, but
how do we know? We can keep track of this, for example by asking our employees
(anonymously) how worthwhile they feel their job is. Then see if, in a year, we have
managed to enhance their sense of purpose.

Epicurus: the art of happiness

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. Philosophy should teach us
how to be happy, he suggested. 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.

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Today, some companies are embracing Epicurus' philosophy, and trying to teach their
employees the art of happiness. Tony Hsieh, the CEO of American shoe company
Zappos, is so committed to the company's courses in happiness that he sold the company
to Amazon on the agreement it would be able to continue with its unique happy culture.

I'm not personally an Epicurean, and think 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 eudemonia. Perhaps companies could create an ethical
culture that embraces all these different ways of living.

Heraclitus defines the nature of change

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not
the same man.” – Heraclitus
We can’t afford to overlook the existential nature of change. Heraclitus may have lived in
500 BC, but he had a pretty good grasp on the challenges of keeping up with technology.
He reminds us that visitors may visit a business website with a different goal in mind each
time. It’s up to the business to make sure we meet their changing needs.
Plato knew all about quality content
It’s a concept Google lives by, and so should you. Quality over quantity wins every time
– as true now as it was in 300 BC.
Better a little which is well done, than a great deal
imperfectly. – Plato
Too many businesses flood their websites with keyword-heavy, valueless content,
because it drove search engine ranking up in the past, but semantic search changed the
SEO game. You’re better off heeding the wise words of Plato and putting up less content
with more value.
Wisdom is wisdom, even when it is passed down for thousands of years. Core truths
speak to human nature and the very heart of ethical business practices.

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A. DEVELOPING MASTERY
Quiz 1: Multiple Choice

1. The four main divisions of philosophy are metaphysics, epistemology, axiology, and
_____.
a. Bioethics c. aesthetics
b. Logic d. categorical logic
2. For Socrates, an unexamined life is a tragedy because it results in grievous harm to
_____.
a. The state c. the body
b. The justice system d. the soul
3. For Socrates, the soul is harmed by lack of _____.
a. knowledge c. community
b. wealth d. courage
4. A question-and-answer dialogue in which propositions are methodically scrutinized to
uncover the truth is known as _____.
a. an argument c. the Socratic jest
b. the Socratic method d. a debate
5. If you assume that a set of statements is true, and yet you can deduce a false or
absurd statement
from it, then the original set of statements as a whole must be false. This kind of
argument is known as
a. modus tollens c. hypothetical syllogism
b. modus ponens d. reduction ad absurdum
6. The systematic use of critical reasoning to try to find answers to fundamental
questions about reality, morality, and knowledge is called _____.
a. the argumentative method c. propositional logic
b. the philosophical method d. syllogistic reasoning
7. The famous statement “An unexamined life is not worth living” is attributed to _____.
a. Aristotle c. Socrates
b. John Locke d. Plato
8. The study of reality in the broadest sense, an inquiry into the elemental nature of the
universe and the things in it, is known as _____.
a. metaphysics c. quantum physics
b. epistemology d. axiology

9. Questions like “What is knowledge?” and “What is truth?” are mainstays in the
branch of philosophy known as _____.
a. logic c. epistemology
b. metaphysics d. aesthetics

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10. According to Socrates, a clear sign that a person has _____ is her exclusive pursuit
of social status, wealth, power, and pleasure.
a. philosophical ambition c. exceptional desires
b. worldly wisdom d. an unhealthy soul
11. This philosopher was known as the Socrates of Rome. He was another Stoic, who
taught that philosophy cannot just be theoretical.
A. Rufus B. Aristotle C. Plutarch D. Socrates E. Epicurus
12. This philosopher 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.
A. Plutarch B. Aristotle C. Rufus D. Socrates E. Epicurus
13. This philosopher 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.
A. Plutarch B. Aristotle C. Socrates D. Plutarch E. Epicurus
14. The ancient Greek historian and educator, understood that humans are incredibly
social creatures, who constantly observe the people around them and imitate them.
A. Rufus B. Aristotle C. Socrates D. Plutarch E. Epicurus
15. One of the first philosophers insisted on our right to think for ourselves.

A. Plutarch B. Aristotle C. Epicurus D. Socrates E. Rufus

QUIZ 2: True / False

1. Socrates preferred exile to death.

a. True b. False
2. Socrates thought that the primary occupation of a good citizen should be the pursuit
of wealth and prestige.
a. True b. False
3. According to Socrates, we should always consider in doing anything whether we are
doing right or wrong.
a. True b. False
4. An argument is not synonymous with persuasion.
a. True b. False

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5. In philosophy—and in any other kind of rational inquiry—accepting a conclusion
(statement) without good reasons is an elementary mistake in reasoning.
a. True b. False
6. Persuasion does not necessarily involve giving any reasons at all for accepting a
claim.
a. True b. False
7. A deductive argument is an argument intended to give probable support to its
conclusion.
a. True b. False
8. If inductive arguments succeed in lending probable support to their conclusions, they
are said to be valid.
a. True b. False
9. An argument is not synonymous with persuasion.
a. True b. False
10. Good deductive argument is said to be sound.
a. True b. False
11. What was the Socratic Method?
a. Something that Socrates came up c. A question and answer technique
b. A way of studying issues and problems d. All of the above e. None of the
above 12. How do we know about Socrates and what his philosophies were?
a. By reading the many books he wrote
b. By studying the writings of Plato which recorded many of Socrates ideas
c. By reading the histories of Athens d. By studying the paintings of Socrates
e. We can only guess
13. What was the Republic by Plato about?
a. It described an ideal society and government c. It was a history of the
world
b. It described war in Ancient Greece d. It told the story of the Greek heroes
e. It described the Greek gods powers and
symbols 14. Who did Plato think would be the
best ruler for society?
a. A strong woman c. A group of the wealthy
b. A warrior-king d. An elected president e. A philosopher-king
15. True or False: The Greek philosophers had no interest in the real world such as
science or politics.
a. True b. False
16 What famous leader did Aristotle tutor?
a. Philip of Macedonia c. Alexander the Great
b. Pericles d. Julius Caesar e. Draco

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17 What famous philosopher taught Aristotle?
a. Socrates c. Zeno
b. Epicurus d. Plato e. Pythagoras
18) What philosopher believed that the gods had no interest in humans?
a. Pythagoras c. Epicurus
b. Plato d. Zeno e. Socrates

ACTIVITY 1: Critical Thinking

Question

In your own words, discuss how Freedom of Speech, Work-Life Balance and
Corruption are reflected into business practices. Give concrete examples. Develop it
into a paragraph with at least not less than 100 words.

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