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Summary of Economics, Governance and Business Ethics
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A summary with all the important information (papers, lectures, tutorials) of the UU course 'Economics, Governance and Business Ethics'.
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Economics, Governance and Business EthicsWeek 1
Koehn, D. How Would Confucian Virtue Ethics for Business Differ from Aristotelian Virtue
Ethics? J Bus Ethics 165, 205-219 (2020).
This paper compares Confucian virtue ethics to Aristotelian virtue ethics. To begin with,
Confucius’ strategies center on individuals, to develop ourselves and foster friendly relations
within our local communities, by acting having commitment and effort. He is optimistic, also
because of the great example of his ‘young friends’, the group of male students who could be
seen as a community of virtuous individuals. He believes that different groups of people (for
example man and woman) can work together effectively, for example within a firm, if they at
least try to become virtuous. Aristotle is less optimistic, as he believes that many individuals
associate happiness with wealth-getting or honor, not with acting virtuously.
According to Aristotle, we have a first nature, which is to be self-interested and act so. But by
acting and thinking in better or worse ways, we develop our character, which could lead to
virtuous behavior.
Confucius believes that right living consists in walking the way (=walking the dao), by
performing actions that both harmonize the individual and the community.
Confucius and Aristotle differ in five ways:
According to Confucius, a harmonious workplace could be created by individuals
taking virtuous actions, while Aristotle considers the harmonious workplace
threatened because stakeholders have other goals and other understandings of
happiness and justices.
Confucius states that firms are like big families, but a smaller family compared to a
state, and therefore these firms should seek to nurture virtue in the stakeholders. But
Aristotle doesn’t consider a firm a family, but as a small state or polis, so it should aim
at educating citizens in virtue, which could be difficult as people understand justice
differently.
Confucius considers rituals being crucial as education of virtue and lead to harmony,
while Aristotle doesn’t mention rituals. But as not all rituals will be useful, it could
help to sometimes behave ‘as if’ you are someone else, because by doing something
you normally wouldn’t, you can put your own standard behavior into another
perspective.
Confucius talks about Wu Wei leadership, which means you take nature and other
forces as given and work with them, not try to dominate them. This is necessary to
establish a stable business in the long term. ‘Action through inaction’. As a leader, you
also shouldn’t focus on the people you lead, but on good behavior of yourself, giving
them a great example. Aristotle is not very clear about this one.
Confucius sees human beings as creating the way, rather than the way shaping
individuals. He’s speaking about roles, in which individuals maximize their qualities
and behavior within their societal role. But Aristotle argues that wise people would
not allow their role to influence their behavior and thoughts. To act well, you always
should think of yourself, and you can never just follow some rules of thumb, leading
to this action. Aristotle also states that acting virtue never leads to a product.
, Confucius is much more spontaneous compared to Aristotle, who is quite systematically in
his answers to students, while Confucius’ answers depend on the situation and its energies
and flows. This paper states that Confucius has no theory of ethics, as he thinks that human
things are intrinsically variable, and each situation depends on the thoughts of the agents.
This paper can be useful as readers will broaden their view on virtue ethics, by not only
looking at Aristotle’s theories.
Lecture slides
Ethics: well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do.
In this course we mainly focus on normative ethics, which talks about the moral judgments’
content with the criteria for what is right and wrong or morally good and bad as per the
ethical rules of conduct.
Different theories:
Virtue ethics: according to Aristotle, it is moral to be the best person we can be. He
focuses on individual character and developing practical wisdom. If you have virtue,
you do the right thing, at the right time, in the right way, in the right amount, toward
the right people. It seeks the golden mean between excess and deficiency. For
example, the virtue of courage is acting in the midpoint of cowardice and
recklessness. You develop virtue by finding a role model and copy what they do until
you learn a new skill.
Deontology: according to Kant, what follows from absolute moral duties is moral.
Morals are independent of belief systems and rely on objective reasoning. Life is lived
through hypothetical imperatives (which you should follow something if you want
something, but …), while morality is guided by categorical imperatives (which you
must follow, regardless of your desires). The categorical imperatives are moral
obligations, derived from pure reason. For example, the universalizability principle
states you act only according to the maxim which you can at the same time will that it
should become universal law without contradiction. For example, stealing is
individually beneficial, but only if also others are buying. Or the formula of humanity,
stating to act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of
another, always as an end, and never as a mere means (using it for your own benefit
only). We are autonomous and others aren’t objects, but individuals we should live
with.
Utilitarianism: according to Bentham and Mill, it is morally right to generate the best
outcome for the largest number of people. This theory focuses on results of our
actions, while intentions are irrelevant. If the result is good, the action is good. You
sometimes must take one for the team. Act Utilitarianism means you should choose
the action generating the greatest good for the greatest number, which is for the
short-run, while Rule Utilitarianism means we ought to live by rules that are likely to
do so.
Contractarianism: according to Thomas Hobbes, what is in accord with everyone’s
rights is moral. Limitless freedom would lead to insecurity, so contracts are the
solution. Free, rational, self-interested people get why there are more benefits in
cooperating than in not doing so. You are expected not to freeride. But, as we see in
the prisoner’s dilemma, we should maybe never really count on cooperation.
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