Kant on Virtue
Journal of Business Ethics 113 (4):597-609 (2013)
Abstract
In business ethics journals, Kant’s ethics is often portrayed as overly formalistic, devoid of substantial content, and without regard for the consequences of actions or questions of character. Hence, virtue ethicists ride happily to the rescue, offering to replace or complement Kant’s theory with their own. Before such efforts are undertaken, however, one should recognize that Kant himself wrote a “virtue theory” (Tugendlehre), wherein he discussed the questions of character as well as the teleological nature of human action. Numerous Kant scholars argue that Kant already erected precisely the kind of integrative moral architecture that some of his modern interpreters (while aiming to supersede him) wish to construct. For business ethics, this divergence of scholarly opinion is of crucial importance. It shows first that the standard portrayals of Kant’s ethics in business ethics textbooks—as rigidly deontological, narrowly individualistic, and hence unsuitable for the specific demands of corporate agency—might have to be revised. Second, discussions in the business ethics literature on stakeholder-engagement and managerial decision-making likewise stand to gain from a more nuanced picture of Kant’s moral philosophy. Third, a reassessment of Kant’s ethics with regard to questions of personal character and moral sentiments might also lead to a more favorable view of the relevance of his ethics for managerial practice. Last, but not least, the many current attempts to reconcile Kant’s freedom-oriented philosophy with virtue theories stand to benefit considerably from a better understanding of how Kant himself conceived of one such synthesis between the formal and substantial aspects of morality. This, ultimately, could lead to an important overlapping consensus in the academic literature as to the role and relevance of virtuous conduct in businessDOI
10.1007/s10551-013-1683-5
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Citations of this work
Practical Wisdom: Management’s No Longer Forgotten Virtue.Claus Dierksmeier, André Habisch & Claudius Bachmann - 2018 - Journal of Business Ethics 153 (1):147-165.
Virtuous Persons and Virtuous Actions in Business Ethics and Organizational Research.Miguel Alzola - 2015 - Business Ethics Quarterly 25 (3):287-318.
Blockchain and business ethics.Claus Dierksmeier & Peter Seele - 2020 - Business Ethics: A European Review 29 (2):348-359.
Uncovering the Moral Heuristics of Altruism: A Philosophical Scale.Julian Friedland, Kyle Emich & Benjamin M. Cole - 2020 - PLoS ONE 15 (3).
Editorial Introduction: Putting Virtues Into Practice. A Challenge for Business and Organizations. [REVIEW]Joan Fontrodona, Alejo José G. Sison & Boudewijn de Bruin - 2013 - Journal of Business Ethics 113 (4):563-565.
References found in this work
After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory.Alasdair C. MacIntyre - 1983 - University of Notre Dame Press.