Foundations of the Principles of

Business Ethics
 Classical Ethical
Philosophies:

1 An Introduction
Lesson Objectives
At the end of this lesson, the students should be
able to:
1. Define Philosophy
2. Distinguish between ethics and philosophy;
and
3. Identify the various branches of philosophy
 Aristotle
He who has never
learned to obey cannot
be a good commander.
Socrates
The
unexamined
life is
not worth
living.
Confucius
Life is really simple, but we
insist on making it
complicated.
 ETHICS
The term ethics has several meanings One of the
meanings given to it by is "the principles of conduct
governing an individual or a group"

PERSONAL ETHICS
when referring to the for which an individual lives
his or her personal life

ACCOUNTING ETHICS
referring to the code that guides the professional
conduct of accountants.
 Ethics
Second, for us more important-meaning of ethics
according to the dictionary is this the stock morality.

Although ethics deals with

morality, it is not quite Ethics is a kind of
the investigation,
which
same as morality.
includes both the activity of
investigating as well as the
results of that investigation,
whereas morality is the
subject matter that ethics
investigates.
 Philosophy Epistemology

On the other hand, comes etymologically from

two Greek words philia,which means love, and
sophia, which means wisdom. It is the study of which answers the question "What
the fundamental nature of knowledge,reality,and is the nature of knowledge?"
existence"

Metaphysics Axiology

which answers the question "What which answers the question "What
is the nature of reality?" is the nature of values?"
 Ontology
Metaphysics which d e a l sw i
is concerned with reality and th t h e nature of
existence. It is the philosophy of existence;and
being. It can be subdivided into two
categories:

Cosmology
which inspects the origin and
organization of the universe
 Epistemology

-raises questions about the nature of

knowledge. Logic is a key dimension Inductive Logic
to epistemology. We can distinguish
between:
that is from specific facts
Deductive Logic
to
generalizartion
(moving from from general
to specific),
 Axiology

- explores the nature of values,

This can be subdivided into: Aesthetics

which values beauty, nature, and

aesthetic experience (often
Ethics associated with music, art, literature
dance, theater, and other fine arts).
studies human conduct
and examines moral values
 Ethics
-involves a discipline that examines good or bad practices within
the context of a moral duty.
-It is the discipline that examines your moral standards or the
moral standards of a society.
-It asks how these standards apply to your life and whether
these standards are reasonable or unreasonable-that is, whether
they are supported by good reasons or poor ones.
Personal Ethics
Start when you take the moral standards you have absorbed from family,
church, and friends and ask yourself:
- What do these standards imply for the situations in which I find myself?
- Do these standards really make sense?
- What are the reasons for or against these standards?
- Why should I continue to believe in them?
- What can be said in their favor and what can be said against them?
- Are they really reasonable for me to hold?
- Are their implications in this or that particular situation reasonable?
1. Idealism. This is considered the oldest philosophy
of Western culture. It refers to the world of mind and
ideas, where reason is primary. Leading proponents
of idealism are:
a. Socrates (Greek philosopher)
b. Plato (Greek philosopher,"father of idealism"
c. Augustine (Theologian of the 4th and 5th centuries) Strands of Philosophy
d. René Descartes
e. Immanuel Kant
f. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

2.Realism. This can be considered the antithesis

of idealism, whereby the Universe exists whether
mind perceives it or not. Leading proponents of
Realism are:'

a. Aristotle (Greek philosopher,"father of Realism")

b. Francis Bacon
c. John Locke
d. Comenius, Rousseau, and Pestalozzi
Neo-theism Contemporary Philosophies

a.Pragmatism - also known as experimentalism (experience

• This would date to the of things that work).
Leading proponents were: (1) Auguste Comte; (2) Charles
time of Thomas Darwin; and (3) the Americans: Charles Peirce, William
James, and John Dewey.
Aquinas (1225 - 1274)
and is also known as Existentialism - appeared as a revolt against the
mathematical, scientific philosophies that preceded it.
theistic Leading proponents were: (1) Soren Kierkegaard: (2) Martin
Buber; (3) Edmund Husserl; (4) Martin Heidegger, and (5)
realism, whereby Jean-Paul Sartre.
"God
and existsbe known
through
can faith Analytic philosophy - it sought out to clarify and define philosophies.
This began in post World War I era (the Vienna Circle) and studied

reason."
and the alienation between philosophy and science. It established the
concept of logical positivism, that is, there are logical and empirical
types of scientific expression. Analytic philosophy has recently
focused on political philosophy, ethics, and philosophy of the human
sciences.
 Plato (c. 428 - 348 B.C.)
Plato was a hugely important Greek
philosopher and mathematician from
the Socratic (or Classical) period.

He is perhaps the best known, most

widely studied and most influential
philosopher of all time. Together with
his mentor, Socrates, and his student,
Aristotle, he provided the main
opposition to the Materialist view of
the world represented by Democritus
and Epicurus, and he helped to lay the
foundations of the whole of Western
Philosophy.
 Aristotle (384–322 B.C.E.)
Ancient Greek philosopher and scientist, one of the
greatest intellectual figures of Western history. He was
the author of a philosophical and scientific system that
became the framework and vehicle for both Christian
Scholasticism and medieval Islamic philosophy. Even
after the intellectual revolutions of the Renaissance,
the Reformation, and the Enlightenment, Aristotelian
concepts remained embedded in Western thinking.
Aristotle’s intellectual range was vast, covering most
of the sciences and many of the arts, including
biology, botany, chemistry, ethics, history, logic,
metaphysics, rhetoric, philosophy of mind, philosophy
of science, physics, poetics, political theory,
psychology, and zoology. He was the founder of
formal logic, devising for it a finished system that for
centuries was regarded as the sum of the discipline;
and he pioneered the study of zoology, both
observational and theoretical, in which some of his
work remained unsurpassed until the 19th century.
Immanuel Kant (1724–1804)
German philosopher whose
comprehensive and systematic work in
epistemology (the theory of knowledge),
ethics, and aesthetics greatly influenced all
subsequent philosophy, especially the
various schools of Kantianism and
idealism.
The fundamental idea of Kant’s “critical
philosophy” – especially in his three
Critiques: the Critique of Pure Reason
(1781, 1787), the Critique of Practical
Reason (1788), and the Critique of the
Power of Judgment (1790) – is human
autonomy.
 St. Augustine, also called Saint Augustine of Hippo, original Latin
name Aurelius Augustinus, (born November 13, 354, Tagaste,
Numidia [now Souk Ahras, Algeria]—died August 28, 430, Hippo
Regius [now Annaba, Algeria];

Bishop of Hippo from 396 to 430, one of the Latin Fathers

of the Church and perhaps the most significant Christian
thinker after St. Paul. Augustine’s adaptation of classical
thought to Christian teaching created a theological system
of great power and lasting influence. His numerous
written works, the most important of which are
Confessions (c. 400) and The City of God (c. 413–426),
shaped the practice of biblical exegesis and helped lay
the foundation for much of medieval and modern
Christian thought. In Roman Catholicism he is formally
recognized as a doctor of the church.
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225 -
1274)
an Italian philosopher, theologian, and
priest, is sometimes called the Prince of
Scholastics. He wrote Summa Theologiae
and Summa Contra Gentiles, among many
other works, and developed a systematic
Christian theology in response to the
problem of the dichotomy of faith and
reason during the medieval period.
Different Philosophers' Implication for
Business Principles and Practices
• Ethics is a philosophical term derived from the Greek word
“ethos” meaning character or custom.
• Ethics are the principles that will tell us the right thing to do, or
what things are worth doing.
• Ethics can be distinguished from morality in the sense that
morality deals with principles of right or wrong conduct in
general, while ethics is more concerned with standards of
conduct acceptable to a group, a profession, or members of an
organization.
Classical Philosophies in Relation to the
Business Setting
• In the specific case of Catholic faith - in -action, one
integrative finding invloves the Catholic perspective of
human life.
- A Catholic businessman obliges himselft to
struggle to succeed in business while serving the
community and trying to live th life of a good catholic in a
world of temptations and contradicting realities.
-Catholic mean and women, leaving the halls of learning ready to fight the good
fight -
- to pay taxes properly,
-to not bribe,
-to speak against corruption,
-to create jobs and pay living wages,
- to provide quality goods and services,
-to not steal or cheat
- men and women whose hearts and mind are oriented toward the alleviation of
proerty and to being good Catholic business people.
• In the Philippines, a good number of Filipino
Catholics/Christians have given groud to the demand that
religion resonate with the needs and desires of ordinary
believers, especially the poor and marginalized (Sison and
Palma -Angeles, 1997).
• Two successful Philippine cases of socially-oriented enterprises
created by prominent Catholic or Christian businessmend are
worth noting:
- Gawad Kalinga (lit. “give care”)
- Bangko Kabayan ( lit. “national solidarity bank”)
Gawad Kalinga
-is the brainchild of Catholic entrepreneur and social worker Mr.
Tony Meloto.
-which has mobilized a massive army of volunteers who are
working together in bayanihan.
-to bring about change and to restore the dignity of the poorest
of the poor.
-Gawad Kalinga (GK) is now known largely because of its
success in mobilizing donor, volunteers, and the intended
beneficiaries themselves in building beautiful and colorful houses
in thousands of communities all over the country.
Gawad Kalinga
• Has suceeded in creating an image that appeals
to donors, volunteers, and other stakeholders.
For example, GK is fashioned as a nation -
building movements. It seeks to build a nation
“empowered by people with faith and patriotism”
and one that made up of “caring and sharing
communities, dedicated to erdicate poverty and
restore human dignity”
Economy of Communion
BK
• The most recent development in the economic vision of the
FOCOLARE MOVEMENT ( an ecclesial community which has
been present in the Catholic Church since the 1940s)

• It involves business people, animated by the Focolare

spiritually, setting up a new kind of enterprise based on
Christian Ethics.
• They do this principally through dividing the profits they make in
three parts:

- one part goes to the poor

- one part for reinvestment
-and third part for the formation of people according to
this spirit.
The business also apply certaine ethical guideliness within the
business.
Seven Aspects of Spiritual
Life
• Love leads to communion
• Love is not closed in on itself but by its nature it spreads
• Love elevates the soul, which is union with God or prayer
• Love heals
• Love gathers people together in assembly
• Love is the source of wisdom, it enlightens us
• Love gathers many into once, this is unity
The General ideas of Econom y of
Communion ( EoC)
- were very positively received, including in the Philippines,
where Bangko Kabayan is Flourishing as an EoC Bank.

- I believe that there is a condition, mostly spiritual, that

impedes
us from feeling secure and self - sufficient without having to
depend on anyone and anything.

- When we no longer feel fragile and in need of help, when

a
bank account and secure job give us ( or promise us) self -
sufficiency and independence from others, then we are no
longger those poor that the Gospel calls “ blessed”.
• The entrepreneur, too, is called to live this kind of poverty, if he
wants to be an EoC entrepreneur.
- this poverty is not only spiritual detachment but
much
more.
- there is detachment from his role, from power, and
perhaps from certain comforts, even when all of his collegues
consider them normal.

- then there is detachment from money, when, at the

end of
the year, he gives part of his profits to further the goals of the
EoC.
These donated profits, which are not put in
the bank, make him more vurnerable
( therefore, these choices are always
delicate in a business - not finding oneself
a burden for others is form of love and and
responsibility.
THANKS FOR LISTENING