Business Ethics and Social Responsibility Quarter 3 –
Module 4: Philosophies Influencing Our Business Practice
The Classical Philosophers and Philosophies and Their Implications on Business
1. Socrates (469-399 BCE)-
“The Gad-fly at the Marketplace” is one of the few individuals whom one could say have shaped
the cultural and intellectual development of the world for without him, history would be
profoundly different. This is Socrates’s philosophical idea: “The unexamined life is not worth
living.” Socrates pointed out that human choice was motivated by the desire for happiness.
Socrates thought of the Entrepreneurs. The Socratic Method is a way of thinking that allows
individuals to define their own purpose of learning and exploring its purpose through open-
minded questioning of what they hold to be true. Socrates insisted on a right to think of
ourselves by introducing the philosophical concept, “Dare to Disagree”.
2. Plato – “The Philosopher-King” is one of the world’s best known and most widely read and
studied philosophers. He was the student of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle. He wrote in
the middle of the 4th Century BCE in ancient Greece. This is Plato’s philosophical idea:
“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way
around the laws.” Plato maintains a virtue-based eudemonistic conception of ethics.
That is to say, happiness or well-being (eudaimonia) is the highest aim of moral thought and
conduct, and the virtues (aretê: excellence) are the requisite skills and dispositions
3. Aristotle – “All or Nothing” (384-322 BCE) is a towering figure in ancient Greek philosophy,
contributing to logic, metaphysics, mathematics, physics, biology, ethics, politics, agriculture,
medicine, dance, and theater. These are some of Aristotle’s philosophical ideas:
“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim, and end of human
existence.” “Let people seek fulfillment.”
The word happiness in ethics is a translation of the Greek term “eudaimonia” which
connotes success and fulfillment. For Aristotle, this happiness is our highest goal. In relation
to business, Aristotle concludes that the role of the leader is to create an environment in
which all members of an organization can realize their potential.
4. Immanuel Kant (1724–1804). “Duty based Ethics”. He is one of the most influential philosophers
in the history of Western Philosophy. He was not concerned with the consequences of one’s
actions or the harm caused to one’s individual interests. Instead, he is focused on motives and
the willingness of individuals to act for the good of others, even if the action might result to
personal loss. Doing something for the right reason was more important to Kant than any
particular outcome.
For example, business ethics is littered with cases of companies that have suffered damaging
crises due to their leaders’ lack of commitment to act based on goodwill and about what
benefits others.
5. Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill- “Utilitarianism” revolves around the concept of “the end
justifies the means”. It believes that outcomes, as a result of an action have a greater value
compared to the latter. Utilitarianism is a philosophy or belief suggesting that an action is
morally right when the majority of people benefit from it. Also, the doctrine that an action is
right as it promotes happiness, and that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should
be the guiding principle of conduct. Utilitarianism is a moral theory that advocates actions that
promote overall happiness or pleasure and reject actions that cause unhappiness or harm. A
utilitarian philosophy, when directed to making social, economic, or political decisions, aims for
the betterment of society.
Utilitarianism is a philosophy or belief suggesting that an action is morally right when the
majority of people benefit from it. Also, the doctrine that an action is right as it promotes
happiness, and that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the guiding
principle of conduct. Utilitarianism is a moral theory that advocates actions that promote overall
happiness or pleasure and reject actions that cause unhappiness or harm. A utilitarian
philosophy, when directed to making social, economic, or political decisions, aims for the
betterment of society.
