Business Ethics as a Form of Practical Reasoning: What Philosophers Can Learn from Patagonia
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Business Ethics as a Form of Practical Reasoning: What Philosophers Can Learn from Patagonia Mark R. Ryan 1 Received: 30 May 2020 / Accepted: 12 October 2020/ # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract
As with other fields of applied ethics, philosophers engaged in business ethics struggle to carry out substantive philosophical reflection in a way that mirrors the practical reasoning that goes on within business management itself. One manifestation of the philosopher’s struggle is the field’s division into approaches that emphasize moral philosophy and those grounded in the methods of social science. I claim here that the task for those who come to business ethics with philosophical training is to avoid unintentionally widening the gap between philosophical theory and business management by emphasizing the centrality of practical wisdom (phronesis) to both good managment and to the moral life. Distinguishing my own approach from recent emphases on phronesis in management literature, I draw on the concepts of social practice and of narrative to tie practical reasoning to a company’s unique story. Practical reason, social practices and narrative are employed together to give an account of the art of management at Patagonia. The essay hopes to both provide a way for philosophers engaged with business ethics to see family resemblances between their practices and those of business management and to offer a pedagogical example useful for those in any discipline interested in viewing businesses ethically. Keywords Business ethics . Philosophy . Practical reason . Narrative . Social practice . Patagonia
Introduction: The Role of the Philosopher in Business Ethics “Is theory meant to guide decision making?” Responding to this question, Ronald Green and Aine Donovan claim that moral philosophers seek to assist human agents as they make decisions. (Green and Donovan 2009). Further, it is assumed that the resources philosophers bring to an applied field are expressed in the form of moral theories. Yet teachers of business ethics find themselves hampered in their attempts to help by the abstract nature of such
* Mark R. Ryan [email protected]
1
Department of Religious Studies, University of Dayton, HUM 316, 300 College Park, Dayton, OH 45469, USA
Humanistic Management Journal
theories. Following a familiar script, we begin by introducing our students to several moral theories such as deontology, utilitarianism and contractualism. We then move on to the consideration of cases, but find along with our students that our theories fail to give clear guidance when it comes to deciding on a course of action. In response, we teachers often strive to balance and modify the theories in play. Green and Donovan conclude, “by leaving students with the impression that theory is either employed ad hoc or irrelevant...these approaches often support a trend to relativism or amoralism among business students” (2009:26–27). As the example from how a business ethics class might go awry illustrates, a particular practice of bringing p
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