THE DIFFERENT NORMATIVE ETHICAL THEORIES COMMONLY USED IN BUSINESS DECISION MAKING

MORAL POSITIVISM THEORY OF THOMAS HOBBES

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) developed the social contract theory of political institutions, employing commitment to some form of psychological egoism.

Hobbes rejected medieval scholastic philosophy, preferring the new, modern, scientific ways of thinking on the rise in England and Europe.

He studies different forms of government.

Hobbes’s major work is titled:

Leviathan Or The Matter, Form, and Power of A Commonwealth Ecclesiastical and Civil

-He argued that people are naturally wicked and could not be trusted to govern.

Right is the frontispiece of the book, as it was published in 1651

He believed that an absolute monarchy was best.

Hobbes wants us to consider the relations that emerge among human beings in light of our common human nature, prior to there being any society or government imposing rules upon us. In doing this, he hopes to show

why we need government the character that government must have what our duties are to our government

In doing this, Hobbes is rejecting the Great Chain of being, and with it, the Divine Right of Kings, as the rational basis for governmental authority.

ETHICAL PHILOSOPHY

Hobbes believes that human being are SELFISH creatures

o “If men are naturally in a state of war, why do they always carry armsand why do they have keys to lock their doors?”

The basis of all moral laws, is LAWS OF THE STATE

GOOD- when it is in accordance with the state

EVIL- when it is forbidden by the state

Governments are created to protect people from their own selfishness and evil.

He believes in the rule of a King

Hobbes wrote “All mankind is in a perpetual and restless desire for power… that stops only in death.”

“War of every man against every man” and make life “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short”

BUSINESS APPLICATION

Business must follow laws and government regulation

Business enterprises must create company policies to maintain discipline and order within the organization

Business organization must promote the common good and the interest of the majority

Businessmen and managers must be law-abiding citizens

DIVINE CREATION THEORY

This theory says that there is a divine being, who has set down a finite series of rules that adheres claim can provide guidance to most, if not all, moral decisions

As a Metaethical theory, DCT states that …

‘Good’ = ‘approved of by God.

‘Right’ = ‘commanded by God.

As a Normative theory, DCT states that actions are right when they conform to God have will or respond to his commands.

The Euthyphro dilemma

According to Plato, a man called Euthyphro was asked:

Does God call good acts “good” because they are morally good? or

Are the acts morally good because God told us to do them?

Explaination:

The first statement are justified with reasons which means that God approves it because it is good in nature while the second statement is arbitrary depending upon God’s judgement of what he thinks is good.

Socrates’s dilemma with Euthyphro:

o Is the Law righteous (just) because God ordains it, or does God ordain it because it is Just?

Abraham’s problem:

o Religion does not always command what seems morally right

Knowledge and faith:

o How do we know with certainty what God commands, and when (or whom) we are to obey?

Some Important Contributions of Religion to Morality (Cook)

Religions powerfully influence the sort of person one tries to become (character)

Religious belief offers a powerful incentive to be moral

Religion is a powerful argument against relativism (although religious beliefs may be consistent with moral pluralism)

Religious convictions heighten the moral sensibilities and interpretive powers of most individuals

Analysis of Divine Mandate Theory

Divine Command theories assume belief in either divine beings or exemplary individuals.

Divine Command theories cannot cover all possible cases of moral decision.

Divine Command theories generally have a “no exception” clause, either explicit or implicit.

Command Theory has what may be called the “Euthyphro Problem” from the platonic dialogue which it originated.

Business Application

A good action (or an acceptable business decision) is an action that conforms to the commandments of God as reflected in the Bible and the teachings of the church.

A good action (or an acceptable business decision) is an action that conforms to the teachings exemplary non-divine beings like Buddha or Prophet Mohammad