This presentation will discuss the philosophical background of business ethics. Its origin and when it begins. It will help us understand deeply the concepts and ideas behind the philosophical background of business ethics

1. Chapter 2
Philosophical
Background of Ethics

2. Ethics & Philosophy
 What is philosophy?
 Greek word “philos” which means LOVE &
“Sophia” which means WISDOM
 PHILOSOPHY = LOVE OF WISDOM
 PHILOSOPHER = LOVER OF WISDOM
 As a science
 Philosophy is interested with the meaning of
reality including our human experiences.
 It seeks to explain the ultimate cause of
everything by the use of human reason alone.
 Directed towards meaningful activity as a result
of profound reflection & analysis.

3.  What is ethics?
 It is philosophical science that studies the
morality of human act.
 As a science
 Ethics is concerned with the analysis of the
nature of the human conduct from the point
of view of morality.

4. Divisions of Philosophy
 Theoretical or speculative – studies
the truth to be known , e.g. God,
immortality of the soul, origin of the
universe.
 Practical Philosophy – studies truths
to be acted upon, e.g., ethics,
axiology, semantics & the like.

5. PHILOSOPHY
THEORETICAL
 Cosmology
 Ontology
 Metaphysics
 Psychology
 Theodicy
 Epistemology
PRACTICAL
 Semantics
 Axiology
 Aesthetics
 Logic
 Ethics

6. Theoretical/speculative philo
 Cosmology –
 studies the origin, evolution & fate of the
entire universe (w/c came from the Greek
word “kosmos” - world).
 Cosmologist – philosopher that focuses on
the question of universe’ origin in a
scientific & philosophical manner.

7.  Ontology –
 deals with the nature of existence of
things & the status of reality.
 Came from the greek word “onta” w/c
means “being”
 a.k.a study of being
 Branch of metaphysics

8.  Metaphysics
 Greek word “meta” or beyond &
“physikon” or nature
 Studies the nature of the mind, the self
& the consciousness.
 Investigates the nature of religion,
existence of God, concepts of time,
space, cause & chance
 Discover the true nature of things, their
ultimate essence & the reason for being.

9.  Psychology
 For the Greeks, it is the study of the
nature of the soul of the person & other
entities.
 Aristotle coined the word psychology
 Greek words “psyche” or soul & “logos”
or science or study.
 Today it is known to be the science that
studies human & animal behavior.

10.  Theodicy
 a.k.a Rational theology
 Greek words “theos” or God & “dike” or
justice.
 Investigates the nature, being &
attributes of God not based on the Bible
& divine revelation but by logical
abstractions & reasoning.

11.  Epistemology
 “episteme” or knowledge
 Addresses the philosophical problems
surrounding the theory of knowledge.
 Definition, concepts, sources, criteria,
kinds of knowledge, etc.

12. Practical Philosophy
 Semantics
 “sema” meaning sign or mark
 “semantikos” meaning significant
 Studies the meaning of words & its
linguistics forms, functions & relation to
other words.

13.  Axiology
 “axios” worthy
 “logos” study
 Study of the philosophy of value
judgments or worthiness.
 Studies values, its origin, types &
characteristics

14.  Aesthetics
 Aims to establish the general principles
of art & beauty.
 Can be divided into philosophy of art &
philosophy of beauty
 Greek word “aisthetikos” perceptive of
things through sensations, feelings &
intuitions.

15.  Logic
 Deals with the nature of thinking &
reasoning using empirical support to
establish the truth.
 Logical validity – if the premise is true
then the conclusion must be true.
 Deductive reasoning – from universal to
particular
 Inductive reasoning – from particular to
universal

16.  Ethics
 Greek word “ethos” means characteristic
way of acting
 Latin word “mos” (or mores)
 Sometimes called Moral Science or Moral
philosophy
 Goal to investigate the nature of the
human conduct.

17. Ethics & Morality
 Sometimes use interchangeably
 Usually can mean the same thing

18.  Distinction in terms of philosophy:
 Morality – quality of goodness or
badness in a human act (good – moral;
bad – immoral).
 Conformity to the rules of right conduct
 Judgment that refers to moral standards &
moral conduct
 Ethics – formal study of those standards
 Oftentimes called “moral philosophy”
 Investigates the nature of moral principles,
ethical systems & moral norms that people use
to justify their moral judgment.

19. Ethics as a Normative Science
 Ethics are called Normative Science
because in ethics we determine
norms ideals, standard or values, to
justify our moral judgment

20. GENERAL ETHICS
Descriptive
ethics
Normative
ethics
Methaethics
3 CATEGORIES OF GENERAL ETHICS

21. Descriptive Ethics
 Studying & describing the morality of people,
culture, or society.
 Compare & contrast the different values,
principles, code of ethics, beliefs & practices of
people.
 Serves as foundation of normative ethics &
provides a standard of morality of people,
culture or society
 Does not assess moral soundness of an ethical
system but describe objectively the values &
beliefs of people.
 Does not prescribe how people should act but
describe how people act.

22. Examples of descriptive ethics
 Psychological egoism
 The study of human motivation.
 Does not say what is good or bad, right
or wrong;
 Declares result based on scientific
studies.

23.  Cultural relativism
 Does not prescribed how a person should
act
 Describe how people when grouped &
observed in their own cultural realities
actually differ in the behavior.
 The concept of good or bad, moral or
immoral is relative to culture.

24. Normative ethics
 Involves moral judgment based on
ethical norm or theory.
 Consist of moral rules that governs
people’s behavior.

25. 3 task of normative ethics
 To form into a related whole the
various norms, rules, & values of a
society’s morality;
 To find the basic principle from which
the particular norm can be derived;
 To justify an ethical norm or moral
principle.

26. Methaethics
 Branch of normative ethics;
 Concerned with analysis & meaning of
terms like “good”, “bad”, “moral”,
“immoral”, “moral obligation” &
others.
 Does not evaluate belief nor evaluate
the process of moral reasoning but
simply analyze the usage & meaning
of words.

27. The synderesis of man according to
St. Thomas Aquinas
 St. Thomas Aquinas
 Italian philosopher, theologian & priest
 A.k.a Prince of Scholastics
 Wrote 25 books (including Summa
Theologica & Summa Contra Gentiles)

28. Moral sense in man in 3 different
ways (St. T. Aquinas)
1. Of all the creatures only man is able to
distinguished or has the capacity to know
the difference between what is good &
bad.
2. Man is always obligated to do good and
avoid evil.
3. Man knows that he is accountable for his
actions – good or bad. Man realizes that
the performance of an action entails
rewards & punishment.

29. Sigmund Freud
 Father of Psychoanalysis Theory
 Theory of sexuality
 Individual development
 Theory of the Psyche (understand
human behavior)
 Man must learn to control inborn desires
 Man must achieve fulfillment in ways
that are harmonious with others

30. Freud’s theory of the Id, Ego &
Superego
 Superego
 Will part in Plato’s theory
 Reflects social rules & values of the
society that govern our behavior.
 Includes codes & rules that we have
been taught
 Reason & will power

31.  Ego
 Rational self or the conscious self
 Part reason (intellect) & part will power
 Under constant pressure to fight-off the
pleasure-seeking desires of the Id.
 Pressured by reality forces of the environment &
the moral dictates of one’s up bringing
(superego).
 Id.
 Irrational part in us or unconscious instincts,
such as sex & aggression.

32. Freud Plato
 Superego
 Ego
 Id
 Will
 Reason
 Desire for pleasure

33. Business Application
 A businessman may be tempted to
cheat his customer in the process of
selling (Id). He realizes however, that
to give in to this enticement would be
a violation of the Code of Ethics for
Businessmen & other positive laws,
like the Consumer Act (superego). He
therefore discerns & begins to
rationalize that it is better not to fool
or cheat the customer (ego).

34. Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral
Development
 Lawrence Kohlberg
 An American psychologist famous for his work
in moral education, reasoning, and
development.
 A close follower of Jean Piaget’s theory of
cognitive development, his work reflects and
extends his predecessor’s work.