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Lesson 4: Classical Philosophies
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 needed to attain it.
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.
What’s More
A. Directions: Write the business philosophies of each philosopher in the table
below. The first one is done for you. Write your answers on a separate sheet of
paper.
Philosophers Business Philosophies
Socrates The unexamined life is not worth living.
Plato
Aristotle
Immanuel Kant
Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mil
