Presentation of Business Ethics Scholastic Philosophy Scholastic Philosophy

Presentation of Business Ethics Scholastic Philosophy

Scholastic Philosophy • Scholasticism is a philosophical method used to evaluate, analyze, and criticize a dominant philosophical doctrine to come up with a new and more profound philosophical answer to the pervading questions. • Scholasticism is based on dialectic method, • Scholasticism is based on platonic philosophy. • Socratic Discussion is the base of Scholasticism.

Development of Scholasticism Ancient Period Dark Age (Religious Superstitions) Scholasticism (Early Renaissance to Enlightenment) Modern Period Scholasticism (Early Renaissance to Enlightenment) • Scholasticism is derived from the Latin word “schola” which means school. • The concept of scholastic philosophy emerged from a group of philosophers detached from the whimsical religious ideologies and baseless teachings and assumptions by Pope.

Contd… • Scholastic thought is also known for rigorous conceptual analysis and the careful drawing of distinctions. • It is based on the philosophy of Aristotle and Neoplatonism. • The present day ancient universities of Europe namely England, France, Italy, and Spain were established…. • Major figures of scholasticism includes: Anselm of Canterbury, Alexander of Hales, and so on.

Scholastic Ethics • Scholastic Ethics is based on Nicomachean Ethics and the Politics of Aristotle. • Scholastic ethics refers to the ethics of schoolmen in general term. • Scholastic Ethics is inclined towards Spiritualism.

Pillars of Scholastic Ethics 1. 2. 3. 4. The Existence of God The History of Creation Man as a image of God Virtue and Happiness

The Existence of God • There is existence of god, • All the fundamental rules and the way of conducting life are imposed by the supreme authority, the creator or the God. • A man who breaks the law is punished naturally making him unfit for rational happiness. • Based on both ethical consideration and theological consideration.

The Existence of God • To do right conscientiously and systematically is to build up habits of virtue; it is to form to oneself a character of goodness; it is to become naturally a fit subject for happiness.

The History of Creation • History of creation is associated with reality. • God is the supreme being so he neither has beginning nor ending, • Every effect necessarily has a sufficient reason or cause for its existence. For example: The emergence of global warming is the effect, and its causes are stored in history.

Man as the image of God • St. Thomas wrote: • “Man is made to God’s image, and since this implies, so Damascene tells us, that he is intelligent and free to judge and master of himself, so then, now that we have agreed that God is the exemplar cause of things and that they issue from his power through his will, we go on to look at this image, that is to say, at man as the source of actions which are his own and fall under his responsibility and control. ”

Man as the image of God • God is not only the efficient cause of man, but also his exemplar cause, • Man by the way of intelligence, freedom, and mastery, are all rooted in his being an image of God. • An ethical life can only be a life in conformity with the life of God. • In Hinduism, Perfectly Ethical Person is compared with Lord Ram.

Virtue and Happiness • Virtue refers to moral excellence. (Republic (380 BC. ), Plato) • Socrates has defined Happiness as the ultimate goal of life. • Human intellect guides the will towards the “Good”, who is god himself. • Man follow the path of being good, and must be example of his being.

Virtue and Happiness • Man is said to lie in between divinity and brutishness or rationality and animalism. • “ Since it is only the intellect that knows what is truly good from what is only apparent, it must guide instinctual passions and appetites toward what is truly good. ” -Summa Theologica

• According to Scholastics, “the right habitual use of practical reason creates moral virtues; and the habitual practice of contemplation, of course functioning in accordance with its proper excellence, is the highest form of intellectual virtue. Through these virtues one can achieve eudaimonia or happiness. ”

Scholastic Philosophy • Religion has great influence over scholastic ethics. • God is the supreme being and one who violates the law is actually disobeying god. • God is the creator of man and settles in every man in disguised form. • An ethical life is a life in conformity with the life of God. • Human intellect guides him or her towards good, the god himself

• “Even if you suffer injustice, never do injustice because when you suffer injustice your soul is not suffered, but when you do injustice, your soul will be in pain. ” – Platonism (Edited)

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