Born in 1806, John Stuart Mill was a utilitarian philosopher and economist. He believed that economics should have the purpose of providing utilitarianism, or providing the greatest good for the greatest number. Mill, inspired by pre-existing economic ideas, such as Smith’s Invisible Hand Theory, focused more on the ethical and moral aspects of economics. Mill’s theory was rooted in utilitarianism–which we discussed in an earlier blog–classical economics, and the Enlightenme

Alasdair MacIntyre, born in 1929, was best known for authoring After Virtue, published in 1981. With philosophies rooted in Aristotelian virtue ethics, he argued that capitalist society lost their ethical sense of purpose. In other words, he believed that capitalist societies lost their senses of fulfilling honesty, justice, and courage. MacIntyre’s philosophy is rooted in many philosophies; today, we’ll go over three main ones. The first, as discussed as virtue ethics, is a

Created by Karl Marx, the theory of alienation argues that in capitalism, workers will become disconnected from labor and their humanity. Marx argues that instead of their work being a fulfilling source of creativity and purpose, it becomes a meaningless transaction that is a means for survival; Marx believed that capitalist societies turn everything into an economic instrument that dehumanizes laborers. Some philosophical roots include Hegel, Feuerbach, and the historical c

R. Edward Freeman founded the Stakeholder Theory in 1951, in his well-known work “Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach (1984)”. His main aim was to create a theory that challenged the normal view at the time that businesses only existed to maximize shareholder wealth. Instead, he wanted to argue that long-term success is dependent on the interests of multiple stakeholders being balanced and accounted for. The main idea of the Stakeholder Theory is that business shoul

Adam Smith, a historically famous economics philosopher, was undeniably famous during the 18th century. He had a profound impact on United States economics and many argue that his philosophies played a major role in the Industrial Revolution. One of the arguably most impactful theories of Smith’s was the Invisible Hand Theory. The core idea in this theory was that when individuals are able to pursue a competitive market with their own interest in mind, then they would be able

For the next few articles, we’ll delve into the world of ethics in business. One very popular example is the philosophy of moral profit. The central idea of this philosophy is that profit should not be seen as a means to an end of a business, but rather an evidential prospect that shows a created value. In other words, profit is not to be seen as something that is extracted. Let’s first discuss the roots of this philosophy. One root is Aristotle’s Eudaimonia, which believes

Developed during 551 BCE, Confucius created Confucianism in ancient China, a philosophy focused on harmony, formalities, and virtue. It...

Inspired by Audre Lorde’s essay “The Uses of Anger”, the term Lordean Rage was coined by philosopher Myisha Cherry. This phrase, simply...

To begin, let’s dive into the basic background of Hindu Dharma ethics. Hindu ethics are deeply rooted in the idea of Dharma. Dharma is...

The social contract, founded during the Enlightenment era by a multitude of philosophers, discusses the role of humans in the government....

“Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” translates to “I am because we are” in Xhosa. It essentially sums up the moral philosophical idea of Ubuntu...

Split-brain experiments were hugely scientific at first, but later developed into a philosophical discussion. The beginning of this...

While the Dirty Hands Problem has been popularly debated for centuries, the term was coined by political theorist Michael Walzer through...

Linguistic Relativism is a complex philosophical theory that explores the idea that our perception of reality is not universal but rather...

Developed during the 13th century by Thomas Aquinas, the Double Effect Principle, otherwise and more popularly referred to as the...

Popularized by Jonathan Dancy in the early 21st century, moral particularism says that there is not a single fixed moral rule that can...

Born in 1926 in France, Michel Foucault was associated with post-structuralist and post modernist philosophy; however, Foucault didn’t...

Fallibilism is a philosophical theory that focuses on the uncertainty of the universe. Advocated for by Charles Sanders Perice, John...

Philosophical debates about free will and determinism are arguably some of the most popular and discussed problems in the world of...

Moral luck, a philosophy founded and developed by Bernard Williams and Thomas Nagel, studies human moral judgement. This philosophical...