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PHILOSOPHY, BUSINESS AND SOCIETY
The aim of this module is to understand some of the basic ethical concepts in
professional life. For whether we think so or not, business managers, civil servants,
advertisers, sales representatives and employers are all practical philosophers. They
may not think explicitly in terms of philosophical arguments and theories, but every
strategic decision they make is based on philosophical assumptions that can be
articulated and assessed. This module examines some of the central philosophical
issues that arise in the course of professional life, including truth; manipulation; trust;
freedom; integrity; responsibility; and discrimination.
No prior philosophical training is required to take this module. Each topic will be
introduced without theoretical prerequisites, and the discussion of each topic will be
illustrated with concrete examples from actual professions and real life.
Preliminary Reading:
 A. Marcoux, ‘Business Ethics’, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2008,
Available online: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-business/
 M. Sandel, What Money Can’t Buy: the Moral Limits of Markets, London: Penguin,
2012.
Lectures: The lectures for this module will be held on Tuesdays from 6-7pm in the
Spring Term. The lectures will take place in Room X. The lecturer is Prof. Hallvard
Lillehammer ([email protected]).
Seminars: The seminars for this module will be held on Tuesdays from 7-8pm in the
Spring Term. They will be led by the lecturer and Associate Tutors.
Readings: Every week there is one key reading that is the focus of the seminar
discussion. One of the purposes of the seminar is to help you to understand the
reading, so do not worry if you have not fully understood the reading in advance.
Nevertheless, it is essential that you attempt the seminar reading each week if you are
to follow the lecture and to participate in the seminar discussion. In addition, there is
‘additional reading’ listed that will deepen your understanding and help you to get the
most out of the module. You are especially advised to cover the additional reading for
those topics on which you are planning to write an essay.
Essays (BA/Level 6): This module is assessed by one essay of around 3,000 words
(3200 maximum). It must be written in response to one of a list of set questions, one
from each lecture. For details concerning submission of the essay, including deadlines,
see the BA Handbook.
Prior to this assessed essay, you may also write up to two essays during the course,
taken from the titles below, and receive feedback on them from your seminar leader.
These can be useful practice for your eventual assessed essay. You should submit the
first such essay by the first seminar after reading week, and the second by one week
after the last seminar of term. [Notes: 1) You are always welcome to submit an essay
earlier than these dates; 2) the seminar leader should not be expected to comment on
the same essay more than once.]
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Essay (MA/Level 7): This module is assessed by one essay of around 3,500 words
(3700 maximum). It must be written in response to one of a list of set questions. For
details concerning submission of the essay, including deadlines, see the MA Handbook.
Moodle: Electronic copies of course materials are available through Moodle, at
http://moodle.bbk.ac.uk. You will need your ITS login name and password to enter.
Course content and readings
WEEK 1: What is professional ethics? An introduction to ethics in professional life
Essential Reading:
-J. R. Boatright, ‘Does Business Ethics Rest on a Mistake?’ Business Ethics Quarterly,
Vol. 9, No. 4, 1999, pp. 583-59. Available online:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3857936
Further Reading:
- J. Oakley and D. Cocking, Virtue Ethics and Professional Roles, Cambridge 2001,
Chapter 3: ‘A virtue ethics approach to professional roles’, pp. 74-94.
-M. Sandel, What Money Can’t Buy: the Moral Limits of Markets, London: Penguin,
2012, Chapter 3-4.
-R. H. Thaler & C. R. Sunstein, Nudge: Improving Decisions about health, wealth and
happiness, Part II, ‘Money’, pp. 113-166.
WEEK 2: Who cares? The ethics of professional detachment
Essential Reading:
- F. B. Bird and J. A. Waters, ‘The Moral Muteness of Managers’, California
Management Review, vol. 32 (no. 1), pp. 73-88. 1989.
Further Reading:
- H. Lillehammer, ‘Minding Your Own Business? Understanding Indifference as a
Virtue’, Philosophical Perspectives 28 (2014), 111-126. Available online:
http://www.hallvardlillehammer.com/uploads/2/1/1/3/21136986/virtue14pp.p
df
- J. Oakley and D. Cocking, Virtue Ethics and Professional Roles, Cambridge 2001,
Chapter 6: ‘Professional Detachment in Health Care and Legal Practice’, pp. 137171.
- G. Postema, ‘Moral responsibility in Professional Ethics’, New York University Law
Review 55, 1980, 63-89. Available from:
http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gerald_Postema/publication/264839520_M
ORAL_RESPONSIBILITY_IN_PROFESSIONAL_ETHICS_1/links/54df68ec0cf2966637
89e8c3.pdf
WEEK 3: Ethics for adversaries: thinking ethically in a competitive environment
Essential Reading:
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- A.I. Applbaum, Ethics for Adversaries: The Morality of Roles in Public and
Professional Life, Princeton 1999, pp. 15; 45-60.
Further Reading:
-M. H. Freedman, ‘Professional Responsibility of the Criminal Defence Lawyer: the
Three Hardest Questions’, Michigan Law Review, vol. 64, 1965, pp. 1469-1484.
Available online:
http://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&conte
xt=faculty_scholarship&seiredir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.co.uk%2Fscholar%3Fhl%3Den
%26q%3Dmonroe%2Bfreedman%26btnG%3D%26as_sdt%3D1%252C5%26as_sd
tp%3D#search=%22monroe%20freedman%22
-B. Williams, ‘Politics and Moral Character’, in his Moral Luck, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1981, pp. 54-70.
-T. Nagel, ‘Ruthlessness in Public Life’ in his Mortal Questions, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1979, pp. 75-90.
WEEK 4: Jobs for your friends? Nepotism and discrimination in professional life
Essential Reading:
- Prue Burns & Jan Schapper, ‘The Ethical Case for Affirmative Action’, Journal of
Business Ethics 83, 2008, 369-79. Available on JSTOR:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/25482383
Further Reading:
- R. J. Jones et. al. ‘Personnel Psychology and Nepotism: Should We Support AntiNepotism Policies?’, Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 2007.
Available online: http://www.siop.org/tip/Jan08/03jones.aspx
- Sophia Moreau, ‘What is Discrimination?’ Philosophy and Public Affairs 38 (2010):
143–179.
- George Sher, ‘Justifying Reverse Discrimination in Employment’, Philosophy and
Public Affairs 4, 1975, 159-170. Available obn JSTOR:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2265161
WEEK 5: Customers, clients and their desires: the ethics of advertising
Essential Reading:
-R. Crisp, ‘Persuasive Advertising, Autonomy and the Creation of Desire’, Journal of
Business Ethics, vol. 6 (no. 5), pp. 413-418.
Further Reading:
-J.Christman, ‘Autonomy in Moral and Political Philosophy’, The Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2009, Available online:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/autonomy-moral/
-G. Dworkin, ‘Behaviour Control and Design’, in his The Theory and Practice of
Autonomy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988, pp. 150-160.
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-R.H.Thaler & C.R. Sunstein, ‘Libertarian Paternalism’, The American Economic
Review, vol. 93, 2003, pp. 175-179. Available on JSTOR:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3132220
WEEK 6: Being Truthful: Truth, lies and bullshit in professional life
Essential Reading:
-L. Radoilska, ‘Truthfulness and Business’, Journal of Business Ethics 79, 2008, pp.
21-28. Available on JSTOR: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25075643
Further Reading:
- A. Carr, ‘Is Business Bluffing Ethical?’, Harvard Business Review vol. 46 (no. 1), pp,
143-53.
- H. Frankfurt, ‘On Bullshit’, in his The Importance of What We Care About,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 117-33.
- J. Saul, ‘Just go ahead and lie’, Analysis 72, 2012, pp. 3-9. Available on
http://analysis.oxfordjournals.org/content/72/1/3.full and JSTOR:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/41340787
WEEK 7: Being trustworthy: the values of trust in professional life
Essential Reading:
-G. G. Brenkert, ‘Trust, Morality and International Business’, Business Ethics
Quarterly, vol. 8 (no. 2), pp. 293-317.
Further Reading:
-R. Hardin, ‘Conceptions and Explanations of Trust’, in K. Cook (ed.), Trust and
Society, New York: Russell Sage Foundation, pp. 3-39.
- O. O’Neill, Autonomy and Trust in Bioethics, Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2002, Chapter 6.
- T. Simpson, ‘e-trust and Reputation’, Ethics and Information Technology, vol. 13,
pp. 29-38, 2011.
WEEK 8: Business and integrity: success, character and personal accountability
Essential Reading:
- G. D. Goodstein, ‘Moral Compromise and Personal Integrity: Exploring the Ethical
Issues of Deciding Together in Organizations’, Business Ethics Quarterly, vol. 10,
2000, pp. 805-819. Available via e-library.
Further Reading:
D. Koehn, ‘Integrity as a Business Asset’, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 58, pp. 125136. 2005. Available via e-library.
G. Taylor, ‘Integrity’, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volume,
55, 143-159. Available on JSTOR: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4106856
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- G. Scherkoske, ‘Two Cheers for Integrity?’, in his Integrity and the Virtues of
Reason: leading a convincing life, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013, pp.
1-32.
WEEK 9: Ethics and organizations: individual, collective and corporate agency
Essential Reading:
- M. Velasquez, 'Why Corporations Are Not Morally Responsible for Anything They
Do', Business and Professional Ethics, vol. 2, pp. 1-18. 1983.
Further Reading:
- S. Wolf, ‘The Legal and Moral Responsibility of Organizations’, in J. R. Pennock & J.
W. Chapman (eds.), Criminal Justice, Nomos 27, New York: New York University
Press, 1985, pp. 267-86.
- D. F. Thompson, Political Ethics and Public Office, Cambridge: Harvard University
Press, 1987, Chapter 2.
- C. Chapple, The Moral Responsibilities of Companies, Basingstoke: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2014, pp. 114-138; 184-200.
WEEK 10: The corporate citizen: social responsibility and business values
Essential Reading:
-M. Friedman, ‘The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits’, New
York Times Magazine, 13 September 1970.
Further Reading:
- G. Fooks, A. Gillmore, J. Collin, C. Holden, K, Lee, ‘The Limits of Corporate Social
Responsibility: Techniques of Neutralization, Stakeholder Management and
Political CSR’, Journal of Business Ethics 112, 2013, 283-299. Available via Birkbeck
e-library.
- C. Cosans, ‘Does Milton Friedman Support a Vigorous Business Ethics?’, Journal of
Business Ethics 87, 2009, 391-399. Available via Birkbeck e-library.
-T. Mulligan, ‘A Critique of Milton Friedman’s Essay ‘The Social Responsibility of
Business Is to Increase Its Profits’, Journal of Business Ethics 5, 1986, pp. 265-269.
Available via Birkbeck e-library.
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