BSR Module Week 4

Philippine Christian University
Sampaloc 1, Dasmariñas City, Cavite 4114

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
SY. 2023-2024
MODULE IN BUSINESS ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (GRADE 12)

QUARTER 3 - WEEK 4 (FEBUARY 12-16, 2024)
THE CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHIES AND THEIR IMPLICATION ON BUSINESS
Overview
“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.” – Marcus Aurelius
The philosophy of business considers the fundamental principles that underlie the formation and operation of a
business enterprise; the nature and purpose of a business, and the moral obligations that pertain to it. The subject
is important to business and management and is closely related to business ethics and political economy. It is
influenced significantly by philosophy, ethics, and economic theory.
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, YOU ARE expected to:
1. illustrate how these philosophies are reflected in business practices
2. Identify the classical philosophies and their implication for business principles and practices.
3. compare and contrast classical philosophies as they relate to the business setting
4. appreciate classical philosophies and belief systems
Disclaimer: This module is adapted and modified from the source materials listed in the references list. This is an
exclusive property of Philippine Christian University-Dasmariñas SHS and is provided only to enrolled students for their
academic use. This module is provided for free by the school through softcopy and/or printed media. Reproduction of
this module without official permission is prohibited.
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Test Yourself
What is Business Philosophy?
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How does ethics relate to philosophy?
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Discussion
Business ethics is part of the philosophy of economics, the branch of philosophy that deals with the
philosophical, political, and ethical underpinnings of business and economics. Business ethics operates on the
premise that the ethical operation of a private business is possible.
A. Socrates: The Gad-fly at the Marketplace
(469-399 B.C.E.) is one of the few individuals who could say has so shaped the cultural
and intellectual development of the world that, without him, history would be
profoundly different.
He is best known for the Socratic method of question and answer, his claim that
he was ignorant, and his claim that the unexamined life is not worth living, for human
beings. He was the inspiration for Plato, the thinker widely held to be the founder of
the Western philosophical tradition. Plato, in turn, served as the teacher of Aristotle, thus establishing the famous
triad of ancient philosophers: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
1. What Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Socrates
One way of defining the Socratic Method is as “a systematic process for examining the ideas, questions, and
answers that form the basis of human belief. It involves recognizing that all new understanding is linked to prior
understanding, that thought itself is a continuous thread woven throughout lives rather than isolated sets of
questions and answers.”
Entrepreneurs can find value in Socratic Method because they, too, are bombarded by assumptions based
on what others and they themselves believe to be the best plan of action for pursuing a business idea.
Entrepreneurial learning, or the acquisition of knowledge necessary for creating a business venture, is built
around the constant questioning and testing of these assumptions – theories about what we hold to be true –
for validity. These assumptions can range from beliefs about what the market wants, and where opportunities
lie, to the effectiveness of a new product feature.
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2. The Socratic Method and Entrepreneurial Learning
a. The Socratic Method provides a focus through clarity of purpose.

When a company clearly defines and communicates its belief system, it attracts customers and
employees who share similar beliefs around the world.
b. Use the Socratic Method to develop and reinforce an entrepreneurial mindset.

Reich states that the “Socratic method is better used to demonstrate complexity, difficulty, and
uncertainty than at eliciting facts about the world.” Most people view these set-off words as negative.
An entrepreneurial mindset involves interpreting complexity, difficulty, and uncertainty as an
opportunity to test assumptions, run experiments, and create knowledge from these activities.
3. Dare to disagree
Socrates insisted on our right to think for ourselves. Too often, he warned, humans sleepwalk through life,
simply going along with the crowd. This is dangerous for morality, particularly in corporate governance. When
corruption is uncovered, too often people say, “Everyone else was doing it.” But characters are our responsibility.
“the unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates
B. Plato: The Philosopher-King
(427-347 B.C.E.) is one of the world’s best-known and most widely read
and studied philosophers.
1. Combating the Relativism of the Sophists
Plato could see the danger this moral relativism posed for the state
and for the people who lived in it, and his attacks on the sophists showed
up their hollow bravado that so many took for wisdom. Plato’s Theory of
Forms, and the whole enterprise of the Republic, can be read as an
attempt to find a solid grounding for moral values in rational principles.
2. The Theory of Forms
In essence, the Theory of Forms represents Plato’s attempt to cultivate our capacity for abstract thought.
The Theory of Forms differentiates the abstract world of thought from the world of the senses, where art and
mythology operate. Plato also argued that abstract thought is superior to the world of senses. By investigating
the world of forms, Plato hopes to attain greater knowledge.
3. The Theory of the Tripartite Soul
In the Republic and the Phaedrus, Plato describes the soul as divided into three parts, labeled appetitive,
spirited, and rational.
4. Education for the Health of the State
In both the Republic and the Laws, Plato identifies education as one of the most important aspects of a healthy
state. Plato recognizes the need to teach children from a young age to live virtuous lives and seek wisdom. Plato
thinks that a child’s education is the last thing that should be left to chance or parental whim since the young
mind is so easily molded.
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“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.”
– Plato
C. Aristotle: All or nothing

(384-322 B.C.E.) is a towering figure in ancient Greek philosophy, making
contributions to logic, metaphysics, mathematics, physics, biology, botany, ethics,
politics, agriculture, medicine, dance, and theater.
1. Virtue and Happiness
The word happiness in the Ethics is a translation of the Greek term eudaimonia,
which carries connotations of success and fulfillment. For Aristotle, happiness is our highest goal. However,
Aristotle does not say that we should aim at happiness, but rather we do aim at happiness. Most people think of
happiness as physical pleasure or honor, but this is because they have an imperfect view of the good life. The
concept people have of happiness frequently does not line up with true happiness because people are generally
deficient in virtue. Virtue is a disposition to behave in the right manner, which is inculcated from a young age. A
person with the virtue of courage, for instance, will not only show confidence in the face of fear but will think of
this courage as a good thing.
2. Moral Education
A question of high importance in any investigation of ethics is how we can teach people to be good. Aristotle
is quite clear that he does not think virtue can be taught in a classroom or by means of an argument. His Ethics,
then, is not designed to make people good, but rather to explain what is good, why it is good, and how might set
about building societies and institutions that might inculcate this goodness.
3. The Doctrine of the Mean
One of the famous aspects of ethics is Aristotle’s doctrine that virtue exists as a mean state between the
vicious extremes of excess and deficiency.
Aristotle’s claim that virtue can be learned only through constant practice implies that there are no set rules
we can learn and then obey. Instead, virtue consists of learning through experience what the mean path is,
relative to ourselves, between the vices we may be liable to stumble into.
4. The Unity of the Virtues
Our word ethics descends from the Greek word ethos, which means more properly “character.” Aristotle’s
concern in Ethics, then, is what constitutes a good character. All the virtues spring from a unified character, so
no good person can exhibit some virtues without exhibiting them all.
5. The Life of Contemplation
The activity of wisdom is contemplation, so contemplation must be the highest activity of human life.
6. Implications to Business
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Aristotle is viewed as the intellectual godfather of the virtue theory of ethics. This facet of business ethics is
person rather than action based; meaning, it asks more about a person’s character in making ethical business
decisions.
James O’Toole (2004) says that Aristotle was the most practical and business-oriented of all philosophers
who asked ethical questions.
But of course, Aristotle never heard of a large business or corporation. Nonetheless, he did raise a set of
ethical questions that are directly relevant to corporate leaders who wish to behave in ethical ways.
1. Am I behaving in a virtuous way?
2. How would I want to be treated if I were a member of this organization?
3. What form of social contract would allow all our members to develop their full potential in order that
they may each make their greatest contribution to the good of the whole?
4. To what extent are the real opportunities for all employees to develop their talents and their potential?
5. To what extent do employees participate in decisions that affect their work?
6. To what extent do all employees participate in the financial gain resulting from their own ideas and
efforts?
If you translate Aristotle into modern terms, you will see a whole set of questions about the extent to which
an organization provides an environment that is conducive to human growth and fulfillment.
He also raises a lot of useful questions about the distribution of rewards in organizations based on the ethical
principle of rewarding people proportionately to their contributions.
Aristotle doesn’t provide a single, clear principle for the just distribution of enterprise-created wealth, nor
do I believe it would be possible for anyone to formulate a monolithic rule. Nonetheless, here are some
Aristotelian questions that virtuous leaders might ask:
1. Am I more than my share of rewards, more than my contribution is worth?
2. Does the distribution of goods preserve the happiness of the community?
3. Does it have a negative effect on morale? Would everyone enter into the employment contract under
the current terms if they truly had different choices?
4. Would we come to a different principle of allocation if all the parties concerned were represented at the
table?
Again, the only hard and fast principle of distributive justice is that fairness is likely to arise out of a process
of rational and moral deliberation among the participating parties. All Aristotle says is that virtue and wisdom
will definitely elude leaders who fail to engage in an ethical analysis of their actions. He tells us that the bottom
line of ethics depends on asking tough questions.
“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim, and end of human existence.” – Aristotle
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D. Immanuel Kant: Duty-Based Ethics
(1724-1804) is one of the most influential philosophers in the history of Western
philosophy. His contributions to metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics
have had a profound impact on almost every philosophical movement that followed
him.
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher who advanced the theory of
deontology, or deontological ethics – the theory of duty and obligation.
Deontology is a moral theory that is dependent on the Scriptures – which may
refer to rules, moral laws, and intuition. It is based on the Greek words “deon” and “logos,” meaning the “study
of duty.” It centers on the principles of 18th-century Immanuel Kant.
1. The Categorical Imperative
Along with the concept of goodwill comes a concept of duty to keep one’s promises, which is known as Kant’s
categorical imperative – an absolute and universally binding moral law. Kant believed in always telling the truth
because if we cannot believe what others will tell us, then agreements and even conversations with people are
not possible. Would you loan money to someone if you knew he or she had intentions of repaying even if he or
she promised to?
According to Kant, everyone has the obligation to perform moral duties to oneself as well as to other people.
There are two types of duties: hypothetical and categorical imperatives:
The hypothetical imperative is when an individual will perform a certain action to achieve the desired end
result.
The categorical imperative involves an individual performing a certain action as compulsory regardless of
the result or away from any personal influence.
Kant believes that the categorical imperative is the basis for determining whether one’s action is deemed to
be ethically correct. There are three maxims:
The first maxim: an action can only be considered ethically correct if it can be accepted or made into
universal law.
The second maxim: is that a person should be treated as an end and not the means to achieve an end.
The third maxim: each individual should act as a member of an ideal kingdom where he or she is both the
ruler and subject at the same time.
“Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.”
– Immanuel Kant
E. Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill: Utilitarianism
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was an English philosopher and political radical. He is
primarily known today for his moral philosophy, especially his principle of utilitarianism,
which evaluates actions based on their consequences.
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John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) profoundly influenced the shape of nineteenth-century
British thought and political discourse. His substantial corpus of works includes texts in
logic, epistemology, economics, social and political philosophy, ethics, metaphysics,
religion, and current affairs.
1. Utilitarianism
Revolves around the concept of “the end justifies the means.” It is the brainchild of philosophers John Stuart
Mill and Jeremy Bentham. It believes that outcomes are outcomes that result from an action that has a greater
value compared to the latter. It also states that the most ethical thing to do is to take advantage of happiness for
the good of society. As a result, utilitarianism depends on consequentiality.
In utilitarianism, the business principle holds that the morally right course of action in any situation is the one
that produces the greatest balance of benefits over harms for everyone affected. So long as a course of action
produces maximum benefits for everyone, utilitarianism does not care whether the benefits are preferences
produced by lies, manipulation, or coercion.
2. Two Types of Utilitarianism
There are two types of utilitarianism ethics practiced on the job, rule utilitarianism and act utilitarianism.
Rule utilitarianism is put in place to benefit the most people by using the fairest methods possible.
Rule utilitarianism differentiates between the material pleasures of the consumer and shareholders and
the higher pleasures of taking care of employees. This implies that there should be a code of conduct for how to
treat employees.
Act utilitarianism makes the most ethical actions possible for the benefit of the people.
In act utilitarianism, any action is permissible given that it increases pleasure for the greatest number of people,
and a successful business does exactly this. Therefore, there is no correct way to treat employees.
Preference utilitarianism looks at all the and keeping workers happy is one of the company’s preferences
because it determines how motivated people are and hence the productivity of the firm. For this reason, it is
important to treat employees properly.
In conclusion, the utilitarian principle to act in a way that results in the greatest good for the greatest
number is a popular method of ethical reasoning used by many managers and also presents problems in some
circumstances.
“The sad truth is that it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.”
– Jeremy Bentham
“A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case, he is justly
accountable to them for the injury.” – John Stuart Mill
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Activity #1(Written work)
Name: _______________________________________ Strand and Section: ________________
Date/Week No._______________________________ Score: ___________/20______________
________1. What is Socrates famous for saying?
a) I know nothing c) I know everything
b) I know a bit d) I know that I know nothing
________2. Who worked on defining logic and logical argument?
a) Socrates c) Aristotle
b) Plato d) Aristophanes
________3. What philosopher will be of most help in answering the question, 'What is real?" '?
________4. What philosopher will be of most help in answering the question, 'What is logic?” ?
________5. Kant claims that the moral law is given to each person by
a) society. c) God.
b) one’s own will. d) Nature.
________6. According to Kant, morality requires us to:
a) perform the action that leads to the greatest total happiness.
b) act only on maxims that we can to become universal laws.
c) behave only in such a way as a perfectly virtuous person would behave.
d) place the interests of others above the interests of ourselves.
________7. According to Bentham, the principle of utility is appropriately applied to:
a) individuals. c) both a and b.
b) governments. d) neither a nor b.
________8. Bentham claims that actions are right or wrong in virtue of:
a) the motives behind them. c) both a and b.
b) their consequences. d) neither a nor b.
________9. Systematic process for examining the ideas, questions, and answers that form the basis of human
belief.
a) Utilitarianism c) Theory of form
b) Socratic Method d) The republic
________10. What philosopher will be of most help in answering the question, 'What can we truly
know?’'?
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Activity #2 (Written work)
Name: _______________________________________ Strand and Section: ________________
Date/Week No._______________________________ Score: ___________/20______________
Research on classical philosophies, sayings, and/or doctrines. Fill out the table by answering the questions.
Chosen saying/s or Doctrine/s Does the doctrine contribute to Is the saying relevant to your
your present home or school future or career choice
situation?
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Criteria 10 7 5 3 1
Best and Important Some You fail to Applicable
most points are important make any points
applicable presented while points important are not
Quality of
points are unnecessary are points presented and
Presented
presented while content is addressed, but and analyze the full of
Content
unnecessary left out. not fully material unnecessary
content is left covered. presented. content.
out.
Generates Generates many Generates Generates few Does not
substantive clever, unique several clever, generate any
Originality clever, unique or clever, unique unique or ideas
or unusual ideas or unusual
unusual ideas unusual ideas ideas
Total Points 20
References:
Violeta L. Jerusalem, Marjueve M. Palencia, Jonas M. Palencia, BUSINESS ETHICS and SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY:
Concept, Principles, & Practices of Ethical Standard, Copyright © 2017 by Fastbooks Educational Supply, Inc.
Orjalo, Victoria G.&Frias, Solita A. Business Ethics and Social Responsibility: Principles, Policies, Programs, and
Practices. The Phoenix Publishing House, Inc. 2016
Prepared by: Checked by: Approved by:
Ericka A. Jimeno
Ejhyl Grace P. Villanueva Quennie S. Arcullo Mario S. Mecate, Ph.D.
Subject Teacher/s Subject Lead Teacher-Management 12 AVP for Basic Education/Principal
Page | 10- WEEK 4

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Philippine Christian University

Sampaloc 1, Dasmariñas City, Cavite 4114

MODULE IN BUSINESS ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (GRADE 12)

THE CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHIES AND THEIR IMPLICATION ON BUSINESS

a. The Socratic Method provides a focus through clarity of purpose.

b. Use the Socratic Method to develop and reinforce an entrepreneurial mindset.

C. Aristotle: All or nothing

Prepared by: Checked by: Approved by:

Page | 10- WEEK 4

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