Positive Economics and the Normativistic Fallacy: Bridging the Two Sides of CSR
Business Ethics Quarterly 23 (2):297-329 (2013)
Abstract
In response to criticism of empirical or “positive” approaches to corporate social responsibility, we defend the importance of these approaches for any CSR theory that seeks to have practical impact. Although we acknowledge limitations to positive approaches, we unpack the neglected but crucial relationships between positive knowledge on the one hand and normative knowledge on the other in the implementation of CSR principles. Using the structure of a practical syllogism, we construct a model that displays the key role of empirical knowledge in fulfilling a firm’s responsibility to society, paying special attention to the implications of the “ought implies can” dictum. We also defend the importance of one particular class of empirical claims; namely, claims from the field of economics. Even positive economic theory, which is often criticized for endorsing profits rather than values, can cooperate in intriguing ways with non-economic concepts in the implementation of CSR goals.Author's Profile
ISBN(s)
1052-150X
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Citations of this work
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References found in this work
Studies in the logic of explanation.Carl Gustav Hempel & Paul Oppenheim - 1948 - Philosophy of Science 15 (2):135-175.
Corporate social responsibility theories: Mapping the territory. [REVIEW]Elisabet Garriga & Domènec Melé - 2004 - Journal of Business Ethics 53 (1-2):51-71.
Ethical Theory and Business.Tom L. Beauchamp, Norman E. Bowie & Denis Gordon Arnold (eds.) - 2008 - Pearson/Prentice Hall.