Seek the Good Life, Not Money: The Aristotelian Approach to Business Ethics

Nothing is more common in moral debates than to invoke the names of great thinkers from the past. Business ethics is no exception. Yet insofar as business ethicists have tended to simply mine abstract formulas from the past, they have missed out on the potential intellectual gains in meticulously ex...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of business ethics 2006-09, Vol.67 (4), p.341-357
Main Author: Bragues, George
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aristotelean ethics
Aristotelianism
Aristotle
Business ethics
Business management
Business structures
Conceptualization
Courage
Distributive justice
Good life
Happiness
Leadership
Morality
Philosophers
Philosophical thought
Philosophy
Prudence
Social life
Studies
Virtue
Wealth
wisdom
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
cited_by cdi_FETCH-LOGICAL-c392t-3b9bee18b7343abc6aa9dc094b7b5e76860cf5a480ca13133460c943d5aece753
cites cdi_FETCH-LOGICAL-c392t-3b9bee18b7343abc6aa9dc094b7b5e76860cf5a480ca13133460c943d5aece753
container_end_page 357
container_issue 4
container_start_page 341
container_title Journal of business ethics
container_volume 67
creator Bragues, George
description Nothing is more common in moral debates than to invoke the names of great thinkers from the past. Business ethics is no exception. Yet insofar as business ethicists have tended to simply mine abstract formulas from the past, they have missed out on the potential intellectual gains in meticulously exploring the philosophic tradition. This paper seeks to rectify this shortcoming by advocating a close reading of the so-called "great books," beginning the process by focusing on Aristotle. The Nichomachean Ethics and The Politics points to Aristotle's emphasis on tying business morality to a universal conception of the good life. This conception defines personal happiness to chiefly consist in practicing the virtues, a life in which both desire and the pursuit of wealth is kept under check. According to Aristotle, virtue reaches its height with the exercise of the intellectual virtues of prudence and wisdom - the first manifest in the leadership of organizations, and the second in the philosophic search for truth. From an Aristotelian point of view, therefore, the greatest ethical imperative for business is to give individuals opportunities to thoughtfully participate in the management of company affairs and to contemplate the ultimate meaning of things.
doi_str_mv 10.1007/s10551-006-9026-4
format article
fullrecord <record><control><sourceid>jstor_proqu</sourceid><recordid>TN_cdi_proquest_miscellaneous_36583498</recordid><sourceformat>XML</sourceformat><sourcesystem>PC</sourcesystem><jstor_id>25123882</jstor_id><sourcerecordid>25123882</sourcerecordid><originalsourceid>FETCH-LOGICAL-c392t-3b9bee18b7343abc6aa9dc094b7b5e76860cf5a480ca13133460c943d5aece753</originalsourceid><addsrcrecordid>eNpdkEtvEzEUhS1EJULLD2CBZLFgxYA91092oeoDmsKCsrY8zo0yaTKe2h6k_HscDeoCS8dXss85uvoIecvZJ86Y_pw5k5I3jKnGslY14gVZcKmhYcrql2TBuNKNkEK8Iq9z3rF6JBcLcvcL8ZGWLdKbGNd01W_wI_0RC72PAx6_0If6s0x9LrHgvvcDXY5jij5saYn065T7AXOmV2Xbh3xBzjZ-n_HNv3lOfl9fPVzeNqufN98ul6smgG1LA53tELnpNAjwXVDe23VgVnS6k6iVUSxspBeGBc-BA4j6YAWspceAWsI5-TD31k2eJszFHfoccL_3A8YpO1DSgLCmGt__Z9zFKQ11N8et4dJII6qJz6aQYs4JN25M_cGno-PMndi6ma2rbN2JrTtlvs-ZhCOG58CjH3fdlLG4Pw680vU6VrWnJPi-SlSNVSC4A6ndthxq2bu5bFcpp-eyVvIWjGnhL9ELjXE</addsrcrecordid><sourcetype>Aggregation Database</sourcetype><iscdi>true</iscdi><recordtype>article</recordtype><pqid>198158584</pqid></control><display><type>article</type><title>Seek the Good Life, Not Money: The Aristotelian Approach to Business Ethics</title><source>International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)</source><source>Business Source Ultimate</source><source>Art, Design and Architecture Collection</source><source>JSTOR Archival Journals and Primary Sources Collection</source><source>Social Science Premium Collection</source><source>ABI/INFORM Global</source><source>Politics Collection</source><source>Springer Nature</source><source>PAIS Index</source><creator>Bragues, George</creator><creatorcontrib>Bragues, George</creatorcontrib><description>Nothing is more common in moral debates than to invoke the names of great thinkers from the past. Business ethics is no exception. Yet insofar as business ethicists have tended to simply mine abstract formulas from the past, they have missed out on the potential intellectual gains in meticulously exploring the philosophic tradition. This paper seeks to rectify this shortcoming by advocating a close reading of the so-called "great books," beginning the process by focusing on Aristotle. The Nichomachean Ethics and The Politics points to Aristotle's emphasis on tying business morality to a universal conception of the good life. This conception defines personal happiness to chiefly consist in practicing the virtues, a life in which both desire and the pursuit of wealth is kept under check. According to Aristotle, virtue reaches its height with the exercise of the intellectual virtues of prudence and wisdom - the first manifest in the leadership of organizations, and the second in the philosophic search for truth. From an Aristotelian point of view, therefore, the greatest ethical imperative for business is to give individuals opportunities to thoughtfully participate in the management of company affairs and to contemplate the ultimate meaning of things.</description><identifier>ISSN: 0167-4544</identifier><identifier>EISSN: 1573-0697</identifier><identifier>DOI: 10.1007/s10551-006-9026-4</identifier><identifier>CODEN: JBUEDJ</identifier><language>eng</language><publisher>Dordrecht: Springer</publisher><subject>Aristotelean ethics ; Aristotelianism ; Aristotle ; Business ethics ; Business management ; Business structures ; Conceptualization ; Courage ; Distributive justice ; Good life ; Happiness ; Leadership ; Morality ; Philosophers ; Philosophical thought ; Philosophy ; Prudence ; Social life ; Studies ; Virtue ; Wealth ; wisdom</subject><ispartof>Journal of business ethics, 2006-09, Vol.67 (4), p.341-357</ispartof><rights>Copyright 2006 Springer</rights><rights>Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2006</rights><lds50>peer_reviewed</lds50><woscitedreferencessubscribed>false</woscitedreferencessubscribed><citedby>FETCH-LOGICAL-c392t-3b9bee18b7343abc6aa9dc094b7b5e76860cf5a480ca13133460c943d5aece753</citedby><cites>FETCH-LOGICAL-c392t-3b9bee18b7343abc6aa9dc094b7b5e76860cf5a480ca13133460c943d5aece753</cites></display><links><openurl>$$Topenurl_article</openurl><openurlfulltext>$$Topenurlfull_article</openurlfulltext><thumbnail>$$Tsyndetics_thumb_exl</thumbnail><linktopdf>$$Uhttps://www.proquest.com/docview/198158584/fulltextPDF?pq-origsite=primo$$EPDF$$P50$$Gproquest$$H</linktopdf><linktohtml>$$Uhttps://www.proquest.com/docview/198158584?pq-origsite=primo$$EHTML$$P50$$Gproquest$$H</linktohtml><link.rule.ids>314,780,784,11688,11906,12847,12861,21387,21394,27866,27924,27925,33223,33224,33611,33612,33985,33986,34775,34776,36050,36051,36060,36061,43733,43948,44200,44361,44363,58238,58471,74221,74468,74728,74893,74895</link.rule.ids><backlink>$$Uhttp://econpapers.repec.org/article/kapjbuset/v_3a67_3ay_3a2006_3ai_3a4_3ap_3a341-357.htm$$DView record in RePEc$$Hfree_for_read</backlink></links><search><creatorcontrib>Bragues, George</creatorcontrib><title>Seek the Good Life, Not Money: The Aristotelian Approach to Business Ethics</title><title>Journal of business ethics</title><description>Nothing is more common in moral debates than to invoke the names of great thinkers from the past. Business ethics is no exception. Yet insofar as business ethicists have tended to simply mine abstract formulas from the past, they have missed out on the potential intellectual gains in meticulously exploring the philosophic tradition. This paper seeks to rectify this shortcoming by advocating a close reading of the so-called "great books," beginning the process by focusing on Aristotle. The Nichomachean Ethics and The Politics points to Aristotle's emphasis on tying business morality to a universal conception of the good life. This conception defines personal happiness to chiefly consist in practicing the virtues, a life in which both desire and the pursuit of wealth is kept under check. According to Aristotle, virtue reaches its height with the exercise of the intellectual virtues of prudence and wisdom - the first manifest in the leadership of organizations, and the second in the philosophic search for truth. From an Aristotelian point of view, therefore, the greatest ethical imperative for business is to give individuals opportunities to thoughtfully participate in the management of company affairs and to contemplate the ultimate meaning of things.</description><subject>Aristotelean ethics</subject><subject>Aristotelianism</subject><subject>Aristotle</subject><subject>Business ethics</subject><subject>Business management</subject><subject>Business structures</subject><subject>Conceptualization</subject><subject>Courage</subject><subject>Distributive justice</subject><subject>Good life</subject><subject>Happiness</subject><subject>Leadership</subject><subject>Morality</subject><subject>Philosophers</subject><subject>Philosophical thought</subject><subject>Philosophy</subject><subject>Prudence</subject><subject>Social life</subject><subject>Studies</subject><subject>Virtue</subject><subject>Wealth</subject><subject>wisdom</subject><issn>0167-4544</issn><issn>1573-0697</issn><fulltext>true</fulltext><rsrctype>article</rsrctype><creationdate>2006</creationdate><recordtype>article</recordtype><sourceid>7TQ</sourceid><sourceid>8BJ</sourceid><sourceid>ALSLI</sourceid><sourceid>DPSOV</sourceid><sourceid>K50</sourceid><sourceid>M0C</sourceid><sourceid>M1D</sourceid><sourceid>M2L</sourceid><sourceid>M2R</sourceid><recordid>eNpdkEtvEzEUhS1EJULLD2CBZLFgxYA91092oeoDmsKCsrY8zo0yaTKe2h6k_HscDeoCS8dXss85uvoIecvZJ86Y_pw5k5I3jKnGslY14gVZcKmhYcrql2TBuNKNkEK8Iq9z3rF6JBcLcvcL8ZGWLdKbGNd01W_wI_0RC72PAx6_0If6s0x9LrHgvvcDXY5jij5saYn065T7AXOmV2Xbh3xBzjZ-n_HNv3lOfl9fPVzeNqufN98ul6smgG1LA53tELnpNAjwXVDe23VgVnS6k6iVUSxspBeGBc-BA4j6YAWspceAWsI5-TD31k2eJszFHfoccL_3A8YpO1DSgLCmGt__Z9zFKQ11N8et4dJII6qJz6aQYs4JN25M_cGno-PMndi6ma2rbN2JrTtlvs-ZhCOG58CjH3fdlLG4Pw680vU6VrWnJPi-SlSNVSC4A6ndthxq2bu5bFcpp-eyVvIWjGnhL9ELjXE</recordid><startdate>20060901</startdate><enddate>20060901</enddate><creator>Bragues, George</creator><general>Springer</general><general>Springer Nature B.V</general><scope>DKI</scope><scope>X2L</scope><scope>AAYXX</scope><scope>CITATION</scope><scope>0-V</scope><scope>0U~</scope><scope>1-H</scope><scope>3V.</scope><scope>7TQ</scope><scope>7WY</scope><scope>7WZ</scope><scope>7XB</scope><scope>87Z</scope><scope>88C</scope><scope>88G</scope><scope>88J</scope><scope>8AO</scope><scope>8BJ</scope><scope>8FI</scope><scope>8FJ</scope><scope>8FK</scope><scope>8FL</scope><scope>8G5</scope><scope>AABKS</scope><scope>ABSDQ</scope><scope>ABUWG</scope><scope>AFKRA</scope><scope>ALSLI</scope><scope>AVQMV</scope><scope>AZQEC</scope><scope>BENPR</scope><scope>BEZIV</scope><scope>CCPQU</scope><scope>DHY</scope><scope>DON</scope><scope>DPSOV</scope><scope>DWQXO</scope><scope>FQK</scope><scope>FRNLG</scope><scope>FYUFA</scope><scope>F~G</scope><scope>GHDGH</scope><scope>GNUQQ</scope><scope>GUQSH</scope><scope>JBE</scope><scope>K50</scope><scope>K60</scope><scope>K6~</scope><scope>K8~</scope><scope>KC-</scope><scope>L.-</scope><scope>L.0</scope><scope>M0C</scope><scope>M0T</scope><scope>M1D</scope><scope>M2L</scope><scope>M2M</scope><scope>M2O</scope><scope>M2R</scope><scope>MBDVC</scope><scope>PQBIZ</scope><scope>PQBZA</scope><scope>PQEST</scope><scope>PQQKQ</scope><scope>PQUKI</scope><scope>PRINS</scope><scope>PSYQQ</scope><scope>Q9U</scope><scope>S0X</scope></search><sort><creationdate>20060901</creationdate><title>Seek the Good Life, Not Money: The Aristotelian Approach to Business Ethics</title><author>Bragues, George</author></sort><facets><frbrtype>5</frbrtype><frbrgroupid>cdi_FETCH-LOGICAL-c392t-3b9bee18b7343abc6aa9dc094b7b5e76860cf5a480ca13133460c943d5aece753</frbrgroupid><rsrctype>articles</rsrctype><prefilter>articles</prefilter><language>eng</language><creationdate>2006</creationdate><topic>Aristotelean ethics</topic><topic>Aristotelianism</topic><topic>Aristotle</topic><topic>Business ethics</topic><topic>Business management</topic><topic>Business structures</topic><topic>Conceptualization</topic><topic>Courage</topic><topic>Distributive justice</topic><topic>Good life</topic><topic>Happiness</topic><topic>Leadership</topic><topic>Morality</topic><topic>Philosophers</topic><topic>Philosophical thought</topic><topic>Philosophy</topic><topic>Prudence</topic><topic>Social life</topic><topic>Studies</topic><topic>Virtue</topic><topic>Wealth</topic><topic>wisdom</topic><toplevel>peer_reviewed</toplevel><toplevel>online_resources</toplevel><creatorcontrib>Bragues, George</creatorcontrib><collection>RePEc IDEAS</collection><collection>RePEc</collection><collection>CrossRef</collection><collection>ProQuest Social Sciences Premium Collection</collection><collection>Global News &amp; ABI/Inform Professional</collection><collection>Trade PRO</collection><collection>ProQuest Central (Corporate)</collection><collection>PAIS Index</collection><collection>ABI/INFORM Collection</collection><collection>ABI/INFORM Global (PDF only)</collection><collection>ProQuest Central (purchase pre-March 2016)</collection><collection>ABI/INFORM Collection</collection><collection>Healthcare Administration Database (Alumni)</collection><collection>Psychology Database (Alumni)</collection><collection>Social Science Database (Alumni Edition)</collection><collection>ProQuest Pharma Collection</collection><collection>International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)</collection><collection>Hospital Premium Collection</collection><collection>Hospital Premium Collection (Alumni Edition)</collection><collection>ProQuest Central (Alumni) (purchase pre-March 2016)</collection><collection>ABI/INFORM Collection (Alumni Edition)</collection><collection>Research Library (Alumni Edition)</collection><collection>Philosophy Collection</collection><collection>Philosophy Database</collection><collection>ProQuest Central (Alumni)</collection><collection>ProQuest Central</collection><collection>Social Science Premium Collection</collection><collection>Arts Premium Collection</collection><collection>ProQuest Central Essentials</collection><collection>ProQuest Central</collection><collection>Business Premium Collection</collection><collection>ProQuest One Community College</collection><collection>PAIS International</collection><collection>PAIS International (Ovid)</collection><collection>Politics Collection</collection><collection>ProQuest Central</collection><collection>International Bibliography of the Social Sciences</collection><collection>Business Premium Collection (Alumni)</collection><collection>Health Research Premium Collection</collection><collection>ABI/INFORM Global (Corporate)</collection><collection>Health Research Premium Collection (Alumni)</collection><collection>ProQuest Central Student</collection><collection>Research Library Prep</collection><collection>International Bibliography of the Social Sciences</collection><collection>Art, Design and Architecture Collection</collection><collection>ProQuest Business Collection (Alumni Edition)</collection><collection>ProQuest Business Collection</collection><collection>DELNET Management Collection</collection><collection>ProQuest Politics Collection</collection><collection>ABI/INFORM Professional Advanced</collection><collection>ABI/INFORM Professional Standard</collection><collection>ABI/INFORM Global</collection><collection>Healthcare Administration Database</collection><collection>Arts &amp; Humanities Database</collection><collection>Political Science Database</collection><collection>Psychology Database</collection><collection>Research Library</collection><collection>Social Science Database</collection><collection>Research Library (Corporate)</collection><collection>One Business</collection><collection>ProQuest One Business (Alumni)</collection><collection>ProQuest One Academic Eastern Edition (DO NOT USE)</collection><collection>ProQuest One Academic</collection><collection>ProQuest One Academic UKI Edition</collection><collection>ProQuest Central China</collection><collection>ProQuest One Psychology</collection><collection>ProQuest Central Basic</collection><collection>SIRS Editorial</collection><jtitle>Journal of business ethics</jtitle></facets><delivery><delcategory>Remote Search Resource</delcategory><fulltext>fulltext</fulltext></delivery><addata><au>Bragues, George</au><format>journal</format><genre>article</genre><ristype>JOUR</ristype><atitle>Seek the Good Life, Not Money: The Aristotelian Approach to Business Ethics</atitle><jtitle>Journal of business ethics</jtitle><date>2006-09-01</date><risdate>2006</risdate><volume>67</volume><issue>4</issue><spage>341</spage><epage>357</epage><pages>341-357</pages><issn>0167-4544</issn><eissn>1573-0697</eissn><coden>JBUEDJ</coden><abstract>Nothing is more common in moral debates than to invoke the names of great thinkers from the past. Business ethics is no exception. Yet insofar as business ethicists have tended to simply mine abstract formulas from the past, they have missed out on the potential intellectual gains in meticulously exploring the philosophic tradition. This paper seeks to rectify this shortcoming by advocating a close reading of the so-called "great books," beginning the process by focusing on Aristotle. The Nichomachean Ethics and The Politics points to Aristotle's emphasis on tying business morality to a universal conception of the good life. This conception defines personal happiness to chiefly consist in practicing the virtues, a life in which both desire and the pursuit of wealth is kept under check. According to Aristotle, virtue reaches its height with the exercise of the intellectual virtues of prudence and wisdom - the first manifest in the leadership of organizations, and the second in the philosophic search for truth. From an Aristotelian point of view, therefore, the greatest ethical imperative for business is to give individuals opportunities to thoughtfully participate in the management of company affairs and to contemplate the ultimate meaning of things.</abstract><cop>Dordrecht</cop><pub>Springer</pub><doi>10.1007/s10551-006-9026-4</doi><tpages>17</tpages></addata></record>
fulltext fulltext
identifier ISSN: 0167-4544
ispartof Journal of business ethics, 2006-09, Vol.67 (4), p.341-357
issn 0167-4544
1573-0697
language eng
recordid cdi_proquest_miscellaneous_36583498
source International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS); Business Source Ultimate; Art, Design and Architecture Collection; JSTOR Archival Journals and Primary Sources Collection; Social Science Premium Collection; ABI/INFORM Global; Politics Collection; Springer Nature; PAIS Index
subjects Aristotelean ethics
Aristotelianism
Aristotle
Business ethics
Business management
Business structures
Conceptualization
Courage
Distributive justice
Good life
Happiness
Leadership
Morality
Philosophers
Philosophical thought
Philosophy
Prudence
Social life
Studies
Virtue
Wealth
wisdom
title Seek the Good Life, Not Money: The Aristotelian Approach to Business Ethics
url http://sfxeu10.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/loughborough?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF-8&ctx_tim=2025-01-05T17%3A15%3A18IST&url_ver=Z39.88-2004&url_ctx_fmt=infofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rfr_id=info:sid/primo.exlibrisgroup.com:primo3-Article-jstor_proqu&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Seek%20the%20Good%20Life,%20Not%20Money:%20The%20Aristotelian%20Approach%20to%20Business%20Ethics&rft.jtitle=Journal%20of%20business%20ethics&rft.au=Bragues,%20George&rft.date=2006-09-01&rft.volume=67&rft.issue=4&rft.spage=341&rft.epage=357&rft.pages=341-357&rft.issn=0167-4544&rft.eissn=1573-0697&rft.coden=JBUEDJ&rft_id=info:doi/10.1007/s10551-006-9026-4&rft_dat=%3Cjstor_proqu%3E25123882%3C/jstor_proqu%3E%3Cgrp_id%3Ecdi_FETCH-LOGICAL-c392t-3b9bee18b7343abc6aa9dc094b7b5e76860cf5a480ca13133460c943d5aece753%3C/grp_id%3E%3Coa%3E%3C/oa%3E%3Curl%3E%3C/url%3E&rft_id=info:oai/&rft_pqid=198158584&rft_id=info:pmid/&rft_jstor_id=25123882&rfr_iscdi=true