Business Ethics (Chapter 1&2)

John T. Adams

"There are two educations. One should teach us HOW TO MAKE A LIVING and the other HOW TO LIVE."

Deductive and Inductive Reasoning.

2 Kinds of Reasoning

Aesthetics

Aims to establish the general principles of art and beauty. Study of beauty of art.

Speculative Philosophy

Another Term for Theoretical

Philosophy

As science, philosophy is interested with the meaning of reality.

Superego

Basically reflects social rules and values of the society that govern our behavior (also the conscience).

Metaphysics

Came from the Greek words - meta (beyond) and physikon (nature)

Psychology

Came from the Greek words - psyche meaning soul and logos meaning science or study.

Semantics

Came from the Greek words - sema meaning sign or mark.

Epistemology

Comes from the word episteme meaning knowledge.

Metaethics

Concerned with analysis of the meaning of words and logic of moral reasoning.

Epistemology

Concerned with the definition of knowledge and related concepts, the sources and criteria of knowledge.

Descriptive Ethics

Consists of studying the morality of a people, culture, or society. Makes comparison on the different code of ethics of people. Serves as the foundation of normative ethics and provides a standard of the morality.

Ontology

Deals with the nature of existence of things and the status of reality. Reffered as the theory of being.

Logic

Deals with the nature of thinking and reasoning using empirical support to establish the truth.

Plato: Reason

Freud: Ego

Plato: Desire for Pleasure

Freud: Id

Plato: Will

Freud: Superego

Axiology

From the Greek words axios meaning worthy, and logos, meaning study.

Theodicy

Investigates the nature, being and the attributes of God not based on the Bible and divine revelation but by logical abstractions and reasoning.

Normative Ethics

Involves moral judgement based on ethical norm or theory.

Ethics

Is a practical science that guides us in our actions that we may live rightly and well.

Moral Reasoning

Is a process in which ethical issues and problems are benchmarked against moral standard so that a moral judgement is made possible.

Business Ethics

Is a study of perceptions about morality, moral norms, and ethical principles as they apply to people and institutions in business.

Business

Is an activity that is part of human society.

Business Ethics

Is the evaluation and ethical standards that managers and decision makers use in resolving moral issues and ethical dilemmas affecting business.

Ethics

Is the science of human acts with reference to right and wrong.

Ethics

Is the science which lays down principles of right living.

Ethics

Is the scientific inquiry into the principles of morality.

Business Ethics

Is the study of what is right and wrong human behavior and conduct in business.

Id

It is the rational part in us or the unconscious instincts.

Ego

It is the rational self or the conscious self. It is the constant pressure to fight off the pleasure-seeking id; reality of the environment; and the moral dictates of the superego.

Ethics

It is used to refer to the formal study of those standards and conduct.

Theodicy

Known as rational theology. Came from the Greek words - theos meaning God and dike, meaning justice.

Ethics

Latin word is Most (or mores)

Philosophy

Means love of wisdom.

Axiology

Means the study of the philosophy or system of value judgements or worthiness.

Philosophy

Metaphysical science that studies the ultimate causes or explanation of things attained by the use of human reason alone.

Example of Descriptive Ethics

Psychological Egoism (The study of human motivation) and Cultural Relativism (describes how people, when grouped and observed in their own cultural realities, actually differ in their behavior.)

Inductive Reasoning

Reasoning from particular to universal or general principles.

Deductive Reasoning

Reasoning from universal truth to particular.

Morality

Refers to the quality of goodness or badness in a human act. Means conformity to the rules of right conduct.

Semantics

Studies the meaning of words and it's linguistic forms, their functions, and their relationship to other words.

Ethics

Studies the morality of human conduct.

Metaphysics

Studies the nature of the mind, the self and the consciousness. Discover the "true nature" of things, their ultimate essence and the reason for being.

Cosmolgy

Studies the origin and destiny of the universe, evolution, and the ultimate fate of the entire universe.

Practical

Studies the truth to be acted upon.

Theoretical

Studies the truth to be known.

Psychology

Study about the nature of the soul of the person and other entities. Defined as a science that studies human and animal behavior.

Definition of ethics according to Montemayor, 1994

The practical science of the morality of human acts. The study of human conduct from the standpoint of morality. A normative science based on reason which studies human conduct and provide norms for it's natural integrity and honesty.

Ethics and Business

Title of Chapter 1

The Philosophical Background of Business Ethics.

Title of Chapter 2

Ethics

To investigate the nature of the human act or human conduct.

Theoretical and Practical

Two divisions of Philosophy