Kantian Business

Ethics
 The Ethics of Duty

More than any

other philosopher,
Kant emphasized the
way in which the moral
life was centered on
duty.

1724 -- 1804
It is sometimes described as "duty" or
"obligation" based ethics, because
deontologists believe that ethical rules
"bind you to your duty.
When faced with an ethical dilemma, Kant
believes we should ask ourselves: “To
whom do I owe a duty and what duty do I
owe them?”
Kant believes only actions performed for
the sake of duty have moral worth.
A central theme among deontological
theorists is that we have a duty to do
those things that are inherently good
("truth-telling" for example) .

While the ends or consequences of our

actions are important, our obligation or
duty is to take the right action, even if
the consequences of a given act may
be bad.
 Types of Imperatives
Hypothetical Imperative:
– “If you want to drive to Jaipur from New Delhi
, take the NH 18 Highway.”
– Structure: if…then…
Categorical Imperative
– “Always tell the truth”
– Unconditional, applicable at all times
 The Categorical Imperative
Act only according to the maxim whereby
you can at the same time will that it should
become a universal law.”
or
“Act as if the maxim of your action were to
become through your will a universal law of
nature.”
“The obligation to do our duty is unconditional. That
is, we must do it for the sake of duty, because it is
the right thing to do, not because it will profit us
psychologically, or economically, not because if we
don’t do it and get caught we’ll be punished. The
categorical imperative was Kant’s name for this
inbred, self-imposed restraint, for the command of `
within that tells us that the only true moral act is
done from a pure sense of duty.”

-- Admiral James Stockdale

Three formulations of the categorical
imperative

The first formulation

"requires that the maxims be chosen as

though they should hold as universal laws
of nature“

The principle of Universalizability

 The second formulation holds that

“ Act so that you treat humanity ,whether in

your own person or in that of another ,
always as end and never as a means only

Respect for person

The third formulation

The third formulation

it refers to the capacity of a rational
individual to make an informed, un-
coerced decision. To respect other people
is to respect their capacity for acting freely
, that is , their autonomy.

Autonomy (self governing)

 Kant's three significant formulations of the
categorical imperative are:
Act only according to that maxim by which
you can also will that it would become a
universal law.
Act in such a way that you always treat
humanity, whether in your own person or
in the person of any other, never simply as
a means, but always at the same time as
an end.
Act as though you were, through your
maxims, a law-making member of a
kingdom of ends
 Categorical Imperatives:
Universality
“Always act in such a way that the maxim
of your action can be willed as a universal
law of humanity.”
--Immanuel Kant
 Categorical Imperatives:
Respect
“Always treat humanity, whether in
yourself or in other people, as an end in
itself and never as a mere means.”
--Immanuel Kant
 KANTIAN VS. UTILITARIAN
UTILITARIANISM
Greatest Happiness Principle
The rightness or wrongness of an act depends
upon the consequences. (the END Justifies the
MEANS)

KANTIAN ETHICS
Supreme Principle of Morality
The rightness or wrongness of an act depends
upon universal laws of action (the END never
Justifies the MEANS)
It is all about DUTY
Deontological ethics is commonly contrasted
with teleological ethical theories, according
to which the rightness of an action is
determined by its consequences.
Deontologists believe that some actions are
wrong no matter what consequences follow
from them
Immanuel Kant, for example, famously
argued that it is always wrong to lie – even if
a murderer is asking for the location of a
potential victim
 Exceptions
Are exceptions possible for Kant?
– Yes, as long as they can be consistently
universalized
Examples
– The speeding car
We can universalize an exception for something like
ambulance drivers
– The Gestapo example
Can we universalize a maxim to deceive in order to save
innocent lives?
 Overview:
The Ethics of Respect
One of Kant’s most
lasting contributions to
moral philosophy was
his emphasis on the
notion of respect
 Kant on Respect
“Act in such a way that
you always treat
humanity, whether in
your own person or in
the person of any other,
never simply as a
means, but always at
the same time as an
end.”
Kant on Respecting Persons
Kant brought the notion of respect (Achtung)
to the center of moral philosophy for the first
time.
To respect people is to treat them as ends in
themselves. He sees people as autonomous,
i.e., as giving the moral law to themselves.
The opposite of respecting people is treating
them as mere means to an end.
 Strength’s of Kantian Ethics

• Emphasizes the equal rights and

importance of every person.
• Protects the rights of the minority from the
majority.
• Focuses on following moral principles
rather than producing specific results.
 Weakness of Kantian Ethics
- Provides no guideline for determining
priority when different duties conflict.

- For example, what if you don’t believe in

lying or copying someone else’s work?
Would you lie and tell a friend that you
don’t have the paper he wants to look at
and possibly copy? Or do you let him have
the paper? Duty-based ethics provides no
framework for you to resolve the conflict.
- • Duty-based ethics could simply
become “rule following,” with possible
temptations to bend the rules or to cut
corners.

- • Doing one’s duty can have negative

results. If it does, can the action taken still
be considered moral?
Virtue Ethics
Virtue ethics' founding fathers are Plato
and, more particularly Aristotle (its roots in
Chinese philosophy are even more
ancient) and it persisted as the dominant
approach in Western moral philosophy .
 Virtue Ethics
Utilitarian and duty-based ethics
focus on deciding what actions
we should take in situations
because, from our perspective,
they are the right thing to do.

Virtue ethics make us decide

what actions we should take
based on the kind of person we
want to be.
Aristotle
He believed that we can achieve
happiness—or the “good life”—by
developing virtue.

The good life in Aristotle’s sense is

possible only for virtuous persons –that is,
persons who develops the traits of
character that we call virtues.
Virtue to Aristotle meant the excellence
of a specific thing.
The virtue of a knife is that it cuts well;
the virtue of a teacher is that he or she
imparts knowledge successfully to
others.
The virtue of human beings in general is
our rationality. To determine the specific
virtue of a specific thing simply ask what
purpose that thing serves in society.
“Our job as human beings is to use our
rationality to find the golden mean in
every virtue and then to practice and
live it until it becomes a habit.”

Courage is a virtue, but too little

courage becomes cowardice and too
much becomes recklessness. In
between these two extremes is the
golden mean of courage.
Courage is a virtue, but too little
courage becomes cowardice and too
much becomes recklessness. In
between these two extremes is the
golden mean of courage.

Our job as human beings is to use

our rationality to find the golden
mean in every virtue and then to
practice and live it until it becomes a
habit.
 What is Virtue
Aristotle describes Virtue as character
trait that manifests itself in Habitual action
Honesty for example , cannot consist in
telling the truth once; it is rather a trait of
person who tells the truth as a general
practice
For Aristotle, virtue is something that is
practiced and thereby learned—it is habit .
 Aristotle classified virtue as a state of
character , which is different from feeling
or skill.

A virtue is something that we admire in a

person ; a virtue is an excellence of some
kind that is worth having for its own sake.
This has clear implications for moral
education, for Aristotle obviously thinks
that you can teach people to be virtuous
 Concluding Evaluation

Virtues are those strengths of character

that enable us to flourish
The virtuous person has practical
wisdom, the ability to know when and
how best to apply these various moral
perspectives.
 Virtue Ethics in business
Business persons face situations that are
peculiar to business , and so they need
certain business related character traits.
Some virtues of every day life , moreover ,
are not applicable to business.
Honesty , is a virtue in business ,but
certain amount of bluffing or concealment
is accepted in negotiations.
According to Robert C Solomon, mere
wealth creation is not purpose of business.
According to him,
The bottom line approach to business is that we
have to get away from “bottom line” thinking and
conceive of business as an essential part of the
good life ,living well getting along with others ,
having a sense of self respect , and being part of
something one can be proud of.
He further states that,

… such notions as ‘honest advertisement’ and

‘truth in lending’ are not simply legal impositions
upon business life nor are they saintly ideals that
are unrealistic for people in business . They are
rather preconditions of business and as such the
essential virtues for any business dealing.
The response of most people to a complex
ethical dilemma is to ask what they feel
comfortable with or what a person they admire
would do.
Virtue ethics views individuals as embedded
in community and holds that a web of close
relationships is essential for a good life.
Because business activity so much of role and
relationships , then perhaps an ethic of virtue
is more relevant to the experience of people in
the workplace
 Virtue Ethics in Business
Virtue ethics could be applied to business
directly by holding that the virtues of a
good businessperson are the same as
those of a good person.
Solomon contends that individuals are
embedded in communities and that
business is essentially a communal
activity in which people work together for
common good.
The distinguishing feature of virtue is its
insistence that being of certain character
and not perfomining right actions is central
to morality.
If we expect an ethical theory to help us
solve the really hard and complex
problems of life ,than an ethics of right
action may be more helpful . If on other
hand , we are more concerned with living
our daily life in a community with others
,then perhaps an ethics of character is
more appropriate.
JUSTICE
 Main Types of Justice

Distributive justice

Retributive justice

Compensatory justice
 Distributive justice

Which deals with the

distribution benefits and
burdens.
 Retributive justice

Which involves the

punishment of wrong doers.
 Compensatory justice

Which is a matter of
compensating persons for
wrong done to them.
Principles of Distributive Justice

Strict Egalitarian : Every person should

receive equal benefits and burdens

Merit--Plato's Version : People should be

rewarded with positions of responsibility
according to their intelligence, capacity for
devotion to the public good, and
education.
"Socialist“ : People should be assigned
burdens according to abilities, benefits
according to need.

Libertarian : Burdens should be assigned

as they are voluntarily accepted, benefits
as others voluntarily give them
Capitalism : Benefits should be
distributed according to the value of
contribution individual makes to the
society , and benefits are the direct results
of you efforts
Egalitarian theory
Selecting Principles of Justice.
Different principles of distributive justice
are proposed by different philosophers.
What is needed is a way to determine
when social systems, or the rules of
justice that govern society a s a whole, are
just.
Such an approach to the selection of rules
of distributive justice is provided by John
Rawls.
 Rawls’s egalitarian theory
Theory of Justice : A Theory of Justice is a
widely-read book of political philosophy
and ethics by John Rawls. Published in
1971
His objection to utilitarianism , as we have
already seen , is that it does not give
adequate attention to the way in which the
utility is distributed among different
individuals
The focus of Rawls’s theory , is on social
justice , that is, on a conception of justice
that is suited to a well ordered society .

Once we have determined what constitutes

a just society , however we can apply the
results to questions of justice in the political
,legal and economic spheres.
Utilitarianism ,”Rawls’s charges “, does not
take seriously the difference between
persons “

As a alternative to the utilitarian ideal of

society with the highest level of welfare ,
Rawls proposes a society that recognizes its
free and equal moral persons , a concept he
attributes to Kant.
For Rawls ,questions of justice arise
primarily when free and equal persons
attempt to advance their own interest and
come into conflict with others pursuing
their self interest .
 John Rawls' Method
We are to imagine ourselves in what
Rawls calls the Original Position. We are
all self-interested rational persons and we
stand behind "the Veil of Ignorance." To
say that we are self-interested rational
persons is to say that we are motivated to
select, in an informed and enlightened
way, whatever seems advantageous for
ourselves.
To say that we are behind a Veil of
Ignorance is to say we do not know the
following sorts of things: our sex, race,
physical handicaps, generation, social
class of our parents, etc. But self-
interested rational persons are not
ignorant of (1) the general types of
possible situations in which humans can
find themselves; (2) general facts about
human psychology and "human nature".
Self-interested rational persons behind the
Veil of Ignorance are given the task of
choosing the principles that shall govern
actual world. Rawls believes that he has
set up an inherently fair procedure here.
Because of the fairness of the procedure
Rawls has described, he says, the
principles that would be chosen by means
of this procedure would be fair principles.
John Rawls' principles of justice
The First Principle of Justice-each person
is to have an equal right to the most
extensive scheme of equal basic liberties
compatible with a similar scheme of
liberties for others .
The basic liberties of citizens are, roughly
speaking, political liberty (i.e., to vote ),
freedom of speech , liberty of conscience,
freedom of property; and freedom from
arbitrary arrest.
The first principle is more or less absolute,
and may not be violated, even for the sake
of the second principle.

The task of ensuring that every one has

basic rights ought to be completed before
any inequalities based on the second
principle are permitted.
The Second Principle of Justice
Social and economic inequalities are to be
arranged so that :
a) they are to be of the greatest benefit to
the least-advantaged members of society
(the difference principle).
b) offices and positions must be open to
everyone under conditions of fair equality
of opportunity
The second principle recognizes ,however
that there are conditions under which
rational self-interested persons would
make an exception to the first principle
and accept less than equal share of some
primary goods.

One such condition is that every one

would be better off with the inequality than
without it.
If it is possible to increase the total amount
of income , for example , but not possible
to distribute it equally , than resulting
distribution is still just, according to Rawls
as long as the extra income is distributed
in such a way that every one benefits from
inequality.
Principle 2(b) , the principle of equal
opportunity is similar to the view that
careers should be open to all on the basis
of talent.

Whether a person gets a certain job , for

example ought to be determined by
competence in that line of work and not by
skin color ,family connection or any other
irrelevant characteristic.
What does the Difference Principle mean?
It means that society may undertake
projects that require giving some persons
more power, income, status, etc. than
others, e.g., paying accountants and
upper-level managers more than
assembly-line operatives, provided that
the following conditions are met:
(a) the project will make life better off for
the people who are now worst off, for
example, by raising the living standards of
everyone in the community and
empowering the least advantaged persons
to the extent consistent with their well-
being,
and (b) access to the privileged positions
is not blocked by discrimination according
to irrelevant criteria.
Rawls' claim in a) is that departures from
equality of a list of what he calls primary
goods – 'things which a rational man
wants whatever else he wants' - are
justified only to the extent that they
improve the lot of those who are worst-off
under that distribution in comparison with
the previous, equal, distribution
Libertarianism
 Libertarianism
Libertarianism is, as the name implies, the
belief in liberty. Libertarians strive for the
best of all worlds - a free, peaceful,
abundant world where each individual has
the maximum opportunity to pursue his or
her dreams and to realize his full potential.
 Libertarians believe that each person
owns his own life and property, and has
the right to make his own choices as to
how he lives his life - as long as he simply
respects the same right of others to do the
same.
Libertarianism is thus the combination of
liberty (the freedom to live your life in any
peaceful way you choose), responsibility
(the prohibition against the use of force
against others, except in defense), and
tolerance (honoring and respecting the
peaceful choices of others).
Libertarians believe that this combination
of personal and economic liberty produces
abundance, peace, harmony, creativity,
order, and safety
Another way of saying this is that
libertarians believe you should be free to
do as you choose with your own life and
property, as long as you don't harm the
person and property of others.
 Friedrich von hayek
Hayek was an economist who made
important contributions to political theory.
He was a critic of socialism.
He was against the system of state
planned economies.
He believed in “spontaneous order” and
advantage of market in processing
information
 Spontaneous order
Human activity requires a, certain order
which is to say rules and institutions that
provide a basic frame work for people
interaction.

One concept of order is a planned order,

in which a ruler or a group of leaders set
goals and organise people activities to
achieve them.
An alternative to a planned order is a
system in which individuals , within certain
general rules , make decisions that result
in Spontaneous order
Hayek cites the development of language
, money and the first laws as examples of
such spontaneous order.
Spontaneous order protects and expands
the basic right to liberty and property.
 Robert Nozick- Entitlement
Theory
Entitlement Theory is a theory of private
property created by Robert Nozick .

The entitlement theory can be stated very

simply . A distribution is just “ if every one
is entitled to the holdings they possess”
Whether we are entitled to a certain
holdings is determined by tracing their
history.
Most of us what we possess comes from
others through transfers , such as
purchases and gifts.
As long as each transfer was just and the
original acquisition was just, then our
present holding is just.
 Nozick's entitlement theory
comprises 3 main principles

1 A principle of justice in acquisition -

This principle deals with the initial
acquisition of holdings. It is an account of
how people first come to own common
property, original settlers acquired by
clearing the land and tilling it .
2 A principle of justice in transfer - This
principle explains how one person can
acquire holdings , including voluntary
exchange and gifts.
3 A principle of rectification of injustice -
how to deal with holdings that are unjustly
acquired or transferred, whether and how
much victims can be compensated, how to
deal with long past transgressions or
injustices done by a government, and so
on.
Nozick believes that if the world were
wholly just, only the first two principles
would be needed .
Thus, Entitlement Theory would imply "a
distribution is just if everyone is entitled to
the holdings they possess under the
distribution" Unfortunately, not everyone
follows these rules: "some people steal
from others, or defraud them, or enslave
them, seizing their product and preventing
them from living as they choose, or
forcibly exclude others from competing in
exchanges" . Thus the third principle of
rectification is needed.
Back up
 Egalitarinisim
Egalitarianism (derived from the French word
égal, meaning equal) or Equalism is a political
doctrine that holds that all people should be
treated as equals and have the same political,
economic, social, and civil rights. Generally it
applies to being held equal under the law and
society at large. In actual practice, one may be
considered an egalitarian in most areas listed
below, even if not subscribing to equality in
every possible area of individual difference.
 Economic egalitarianism
Economic egalitarianism is a state of
economic affairs in which the participants
of a society are of equal standing and
equal access to all the economic
resources in terms of economic power,
wealth, and contribution. It is a founding
principle of various forms of socialism.
(1) is egalitarian, since it distributes
extensive liberties equally to all persons.
(2b) is also quite egalitarian, since it
distributes opportunities to be considered
for offices and positions in an equal
manner.
(2a) is not egalitarian but makes benefit
for some (those with greater talents,
training, etc.) proportionate to their
contribution toward benefiting the least
advantaged persons.
What does the Difference Principle mean? It
means that society may undertake projects that
require giving some persons more power,
income, status, etc. than others, e.g., paying
accountants and upper-level managers more
than assembly-line operatives, provided that the
following conditions are met:
(a) the project will make life better off for the
people who are now worst off, for example, by
raising the living standards of everyone in the
community and empowering the least
advantaged persons to the extent consistent
with their well-being,
and (b) access to the privileged positions
is not blocked by discrimination according
to irrelevant criteria.
The Difference Principle has elements of other
familiar ethical theories. The "socialist" idea (see
Distributive Justice) that responsibilities or
burdens should be distibuted according to ability
and benefits according to need is partly
contained within the Difference Principle. We
may reasonably assume that the "least
advantaged" have the greatest needs and that
those who receive special powers (hinted at
under "social inequalities") also have special
responsibilities or burdens. However, the merit
principle that the use of special skills should be
rewarded is also included in the Difference
Principle.
What (2a) does not permit is a change in
social and economic institutions that
makes life better for those who are already
well off but does nothing for those who are
already disadvantaged, or makes their life
worse.

Example: policies that permit nuclear

power plants which degrade the
environment for nearby family farmers but
provide jobs for already well-paid
professionals who come in from the big
cities.
The First Principle of Justice
The basic liberties of citizens are, roughly
speaking, political liberty (i.e., to vote and
run for office), freedom of speech and
assembly, liberty of conscience, freedom
of property; and freedom from arbitrary
arrest.
The first principle is more or less absolute,
and may not be violated, even for the sake
of the second principle.
The Second Principle of Justice
Rawls' claim in a) is that departures from
equality of a list of what he calls primary
goods – 'things which a rational man
wants whatever else he wants' – are
justified only to the extent that they
improve the lot of those who are worst-off
under that distribution in comparison with
the previous, equal, distribution.
An important consequence here,
however, is that inequalities can actually
be just on Rawls's view, as long as they
are to the benefit of the least well off
John Rawls' principles can be understood
as blending elements of merit, egalitarian,
libertarian, and "socialist" principles, they
are not an arbitrary synthesis but have
their own carefully worked out derivation
from a reasonable model of fairness
Self-interested rational persons behind the
Veil of Ignorance are given the task of
choosing the principles that shall govern
actual world. Rawls believes that he has
set up an inherently fair procedure here.
Because of the fairness of the procedure
Rawls has described, he says, the
principles that would be chosen by means
of this procedure would be fair principles.
 Rawls’s method

Rawls’s begins by asking us to imagine a

situation in which free and equal persons
,concerned to advance their own interests,
attempt to arrive at unanimous agreement
on the principles that will serve the basis
for constructing the major institutions of
society.
The approach taken by Rawls in a A
theory of justice is similar to traditional
contract theories , which assume that if
individuals in some hypothetical pre
contract situation would unanimously
accept certain terms for governing their
relations, then those terms are just and all
people have an obligation to abide by
them.
Crucial to any contract theory is
description of the pre contact situation
which is called original position
A distinctive feature of the original position
,as described by Rawls is the veil of
ignorance .
The individuals who are asked to agree on
the principles of justice must do so without
knowing many facts about themselves and
their situation.
Rawls conceives of the process as
“bargaining game” in which people are
free to offer proposals of their own and
reject those of others until unanimity is
achieved