In this brief response to Herbert De Vriese’s The Charm of Disenchantment, his attempt to link secularism and modernity is questioned. Criticism is leveled at De Vriese’s use of the correspondence between Voltaire and Frederick the Great without reference to the historical context, notably the confessional states that existed between roughly 1650 and 1800 in Europe. De Vriese’s apology for disenchantment and modernity is also questioned in the light of both modern religious and secular responses to modernity as exemplified by (...) the Dalai Lama and Bernard Stiegler. (shrink)
In this paper an assessment will be made of the state of Business Ethics as an academic discipline as well as on the extent to which theory on Business Ethics has been translated into practice within the South African society. First the way in which Business Ethics is defined will be examined. Then the issues within the field of Business Ethics that is considered to be most important will be addressed, as well as the reasons why it is believed to (...) be important to address them. From there the attention will be shifted to the way in which Business Ethics has been institutionalised at tertiary education level. An overview of important initiatives taken by the business sector themselves will also be reviewed. Then co-operation between business and academia on Business Ethics will be discussed. Finally an assessment will be made of what can be learned from Business Ethics elsewhere in the world and what can be offered in this regard. Also some future prospects of Business Ethics in South Africa will be explored. (shrink)
The King Report on Corporate Governance (1994) evoked unprecedented interest in corporate governance in South Africa. This does not mean that corporate governance was not an issue of concern before the release of this historical report. To the contrary, corporate governance in its broader sense has been at stake since the inception of the first publicly owned companies in South Africa. This article intends to give an overview of corporate governance in South Africa. It starts by making a distinction between (...) broad and narrow conceptions of corporate governance. Before applying this distinction to the practice of corporate governance in South Africa, a brief overview of the corporate landscape in South Africa is provided. Then the South African situation with regard to broad and narrow corporate governance respectively is analysed. The article ends with a discussion of the review of corporate governance that currently is in the making in South Africa. Throughout the article both the financial and ethical dimensions of corporate governance is attended to. (shrink)
As an alternative to attempts to impose models of personal moral development (e.g. Kohlberg) upon organisations we propose an evolutionary model of managing ethics in organisations. The Modes of Managing Morality Model that we suggest, is based on an analysis that explains why business organisations tend to move from less complex modes of managing ethics to more complex modes thereof. Furthermore, it also identifies the dominant ethics management strategies that characterise each of the stages. It is done in a way (...) that avoids claiming that the more advanced modes of managing ethics necessarily represent moral development by business organisations. Instead of claiming the organisations develop morally, we claim that organisations move through an evolutionary process of improving their sophistication in managing ethical performance. (shrink)
Moral dissensus is a distinct feature of our time. This is not only true of our post-modern culture in general, but also of business culture specifically. In this paper I start by explaining how modernist rationality has produced moral dissensus without offering any hope of bringing an end to it in the foreseeable future. Opting for a form of post-modernist rationality as the only viable way of dealing with moral dissensus, I then make an analysis of a number of ways (...) proposed by both specialists in the field of business ethics, as well as philosophers to deal with moral decision-making in this situation of moral dissensus. The conclusion reached is that none of these attempts succeeds in coming to terms with moral dissensus. I then formulate an alternative approach to moral decision-making which I call: Rational interaction for moral sensitivity. After explaining this approach, I defend it against some of the most obvious objections that might be raised against it in a business environment. When you''re talking birth control, what blocks it and freezes it out is that it''s not a matter of more or fewer babies being argued. That''s just on the surface. What''s underneath is a conflict of faith, of faith in empirical social planning versus faith in the authority of God as revealed by the teachings of the Catholic Church. You can prove the practicality of planned parenthood till you get tired of listening to yourself and it''s going to get nowhere because your antagonist isn''t buying the assumption that anything socially practical is good per se. Goodness for him has other sources which he values as much as or more than social practicality. (Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.). (shrink)
The relationship between ethics and trust is ambiguous as ethics can promote trust, whilst trust can simultaneously be abused resulting in unethical behaviour. In this contribution to the debate on trust and ethics the focus is specifically on the role that ethics can play in facilitating trustworthiness. The article starts with a definition of the concept trustworthiness. It then reports on an empirical longitudinal study on trustworthiness that was conducted in a South African company in the insurance industry. The facilitators (...) of trustworthiness that were identified in this study and their relative contributions to trustworthiness are then discussed. Finally the implications of these findings for the ethical conduct of managers are discussed. It is demonstrated how ethical managerial conduct can enhance the trustworthiness of managers. (shrink)
A global survey of Business Ethics as a field of teaching and research was launched in the second half of 2008. The launch of this survey coincided with the global financial meltdown that was triggered by the subprime crisis in the USA. As part of the global survey of Business Ethics, respondents from nine world regions were requested to provide information on the current focus of research in the field of Business Ethics in their respective countries. They were also asked (...) about the new challenges that they foresee arising over the next 5 years. The timing of the survey makes it possible to determine what the focus of research in the field of Business Ethics was before the start of the global economic crisis, whilst the responses that were given to the survey in response to the question about new challenges in the field of Business Ethics over the next 5 years give an indication of what the new focus areas in Business Ethics research might be after the onset of the global economic crisis. By critically comparing the focus areas of research in Business Ethics prior to the economic crisis to the new areas of research that are foreseen after the onset of the global economic crisis, some insights might be gained on how the global economic crisis is likely to affect the study of capitalism, finance and corporate responsibility in the field of Business Ethics. (shrink)
The paper starts by giving a historical and philosophical explanation for the current separation between theology and economics. It is then argued that postmodern culture offers the church and theology an opportunity to get reinvolved in the world of business, and especially in Business Ethics. Before opportunities for involvement is discussed, the question on the unique nature of Christians ethics is posed. The notion of Christian ethics as essentially an understanding of reality is proposed and defended against rival interpretations of (...) Christians ethics. Finally the role that the church and theology can play in developing business morality on the marco-, meso-, and micro-economic levels are discussed. (shrink)
This article concludes this special issue of the Journal of Business Ethics that focussed on the Global Survey of Business Ethics as field of Training, Teaching and Research. The article provides a comparative global analysis of the findings in the eight world regions that participated in this global survey viz. Central Asia, East Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, Oceania, South and South-East Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. The eight regions are compared with regard to their findings on the terminology used (...) to refer to Business and Economic Ethics, the prevalence of Business and Economic Ethics, themes covered in training and teaching programs on Business and Economic Ethics, themes covered in Business and Economic Ethics research, and major business ethical issues that are foreseen over the next 5 years. Broad patterns, continuities and discontinuities that emerged in a comparison across the eight regions are identified and discussed. Finally, the article is concluded by identifying some crucial issues for the further development of the field of Business Ethics. (shrink)
Underlying this paper is the conviction that it is of utmost importance that business ethics should indeed become an integral part of business culture in all, and therefore also in developing countries. It is not to be denied that business ethics has to a much larger extent become part of the business culture in developed countries than in developing countries. In this paper, I first of all wish to provide an explanation for the fact that business ethics is fighting an (...) uphill battle in becoming part of the business culture in developing countries. Secondly I want to give a thumbnail sketch of the preconditions that have to be fulfilled in order to stimulate the development of a moral business culture in developing countries. In order to achieve these goals I will focus mainly on Africa, and more specifically on South Africa. (shrink)
Business Ethics is often regarded as a low priority in newly formed democracies, because it seems there are more urgent demands that have to be dealt with first. In this paper it is argued that this perception is not only wrong, but also dangerous. A lack of morality in business can undermine exactly those priorities that newly formed democracies regard as most urgent.It starts by indicating why morality in business is a precondition for the legitimacy of a market economy as (...) well as for excellence in a global market economy. It continues to argue that ethics in business is also a precondition for establishing a legitimate political democracy. Once the necessity of moral business behaviour has been argued, the focus shifts to the main stumbling blocks that impede the development of moral business culture in newly formed democracies such as South Africa. (shrink)
The detrimental impact of fraud on organisations, the economy, and society makes the fight against it imperative. The objective of this article is to show that a proper understanding of the phenomenon of fraud is required in order to be able to undermine it. Such an understanding required firstly a sufficient definition of fraud that can distinguish it clearly from the related phenomenon of corruption. Secondly, a theoretical framework for understanding and explaining fraud is needed. After providing both such a (...) definition and a theoretical framework, the latter is then used in the analysis of interviews conducted with persons who were convicted on chargesof fraud in South Africa. The findings of this analysis are then used to suggest various avenues for fighting fraud. Among these suggestions are proposals indicating the role that ethical values can play in undermining fraud. (shrink)
Unbundling -- or the breaking up of conglomerates into smaller independent companies -- normally has very little to do with morality, because decisions to unbundle are usually taken on pure strategic business grounds. However, the way unbundling was introduced into the debate about the restructuring of the South African economy by the African National Congress (ANC), gave unbundling some very distinct moral undertones. In this paper the moral arguments in support of and in opposition to unbundling within the South African (...) context are identified. It is then argued that these rival sets of arguments can be related back to two different sets of moral convictions about redistributive justice. The author argues that the impact of the prevailing moral dissensus on moral decision-making should be given due consideration when dealing with moral disputes such as unbundling. In the final part of the paper an illustration is given of how the moral dispute about unbundling should be approached amidst the mentioned moral dissensus. (shrink)
The article provides an overview of the Sub-Sahara African region and the four sub-regions in which the 44 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa were divided for the purpose of the Sub-Saharan survey of Business Ethics as field of teaching, training and research. A brief overview of existing literature that reflects on training, teaching and research in the field of Business Ethics in the Sub-Sahara African region is given, after which the research process and methods that were used in the survey are (...) introduced. Then a comparative summary of the findings across the four sub-regions (Western Africa, Southern Africa, Eastern Africa and Francophone Africa) in the region is presented. The discussion of the findings commences with a discussion on the terminology that is used to refer to Business and Economic Ethics in Sub-Saharan Africa. It then provides an overview of the prevalence and distribution of Business Ethics as field of teaching, training and research in Sub-Saharan Africa that demonstrates the substantial growth in the field of Business Ethics since 2000 when an earlier survey was conducted. The focus areas in the field of Business Ethics are identified as well as the major themes that were found with regard to teaching, training and research in Business Ethics. Also the major challenges that are foreseen in the field of Business Ethics over the next 5 year are discussed. Finally, a number of concluding remarks are made that highlight unique features and challenges in the current state of Business Ethics in Sub-Saharan Africa. (shrink)
This article introduces the Global Survey of Business and Economic Ethics as field of training, teaching and research. For the purpose of the survey the world was divided in nine regions that cover all countries of the world. This special issue of the Journal of Business Ethics presents the findings of the global survey across eight of the nine world regions, viz. Central Asia, East Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, Oceania, South & South-East Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. This introductory (...) article starts with an overview of previous attempts that were made to survey Business Ethics as field of training, teaching and research on a global scale. A description will then be given of the regions in which the world was divided for the purpose of this survey as well as of the countries included in each of the nine regions. Finally the research process and methods that were used in the survey are introduced. (shrink)
This volume takes a “hard look at the soft practice” of corporate governance. It grew out of a series of contributions from the Third ISBEE World Congress on Business Ethics that took place on July 2004 in Melbourne.
Background There is a dearth of information on the prevalence of scientific misconduct from Nigeria. Objectives This study aimed at determining the prevalence of scientific misconduct in a group of researchers in Nigeria. Factors associated with the prevalence were ascertained. Method A descriptive study of researchers who attended a scientific conference in 2010 was conducted using the adapted Scientific Misconduct Questionnaire-Revised (SMQ-R). Results Ninety-one researchers (68.9%) admitted having committed at least one of the eight listed forms of scientific misconduct. Disagreement (...) about authorship was the most common form of misconduct committed (36.4%) while plagiarism was the least (9.2%). About 42% of researchers had committed falsification of data or plagiarism. Analysis of specific acts of misconduct showed that committing plagiarism was inversely associated with years in research (Fisher exact p-value = 0.02); falsifying data was related to perceived low effectiveness of the institution's rules and procedures for reducing scientific misconduct (X2 = 6.44, p-value = 0.01); and succumbing to pressure from study sponsor to engage in unethical practice was related to sex of researcher (Fisher exact p-value = 0.02). Conclusions The emergent data from this study is a cause for serious concern and calls for prompt intervention. The best response to reducing scientific misconduct will proceed from measures that contain both elements of prevention and enforcement. Training on research ethics has to be integrated into the curriculum of undergraduate and postgraduate students while provision should be made for in-service training of researchers. Penalties against acts of scientific misconduct should be enforced at institutional and national levels. (shrink)
The debate concerning the relation of the theory of education and the practice of education is not new. In Germany, these discussions are an integral part of the development of educational science in the eighteenth century which is closely connected to Johann Friedrich Herbart and Friedrich Schleiermacher. Their concepts illustrate different answers upon the question of how to connect theory and practice in education. And although those answers are embedded in a very specific horizon of ethical and metaphysical ideas, (...) the problems which are addressed in those discussions are still important in modern debates. The paper focuses upon the concepts of Herbart and Schleiermacher and presents those theories in the problematic context of the possibilities and limitations of educational theory and its importance for educational practice. (shrink)
Johann Arnason and Shmuel Eisenstadt's social theories have remarkably different origins. Yet each has moved onto common ground with the other over a period of time. They meet in historical sociology in dialogue over theories of state formation and images of civilisation. Each is engaged in a project of revising civilisations sociology that reaches an apex with the comparative study of Japan.Their groundbreaking contributions can be read critically against a wider background of debates about postcolonialism, the reputation of the (...) notion of civilisation and the state of area studies in the humanities and social sciences. (shrink)
In the missionary activities that Halle theologians developed in the first half of the 18th century Grotius' De veritate plays an interesting role that deserves exploration. To that purpose, the history and nature of the publication of missionary tracts in Halle will be surveyed, the role therein of Johann Heinrich Callenberg and his Institutum Judaicum at Muhammedicum described and the distribution and reception of the texts among the Muslims and Jews that were the target of the Halle missions all (...) over the world summarized and analysed. It is suggested that Grotius' De veritate, which was an atypical piece of apology in the Halle pietist setting, stands out among the other literature for its efficacy in the missionary process, due to its non-dogmatic character. (shrink)
En este trabajo intento mostrar que existen diferencias importantes entre las concepciones del Estado de Hermann Cohen y de Johann Gottlieb Fichte. Por lo tanto, concluyo que la tesis de la influencia de la filosofía fichteana en la teoría de Cohen es problemática. In this paper I try to show that there are important differences between Hermann Cohen's and Johann Gottlieb Fichte's conceptions of the state. Therefore I conclude that the thesis of the influence of the Fichtean philosophy (...) upon Cohen's theory is problematic. (shrink)
Johann von Oppolzer (1808â1871) is known as one of the most influential representatives of the Vienna School of Medicine . However, little is known about Oppolzerâs short but significant work at the Leipzig Medical School (from October, 1848 to March, 1850). Being not only an excellent physician and an outstanding teacher in the field of internal medicine, he was very open-minded with respect to new developments in medicine. This is shown by documents found in the archives of the university (...) of Leipzig. In 1849, in opposition to the other members of the medical faculty, Oppolzer voted in favour of the establishment of a chair of pathological anatomy and a chair of physiological chemistry at the Leipzig Medical School. (shrink)
Begegnung mit einem Klassiker der Pädagogik: In zehn überschaubaren Kapiteln werden Stationen des Lebens und Schaffens von Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827), dem Klassiker der Pädagogik schlechthin, so dargestellt, dass einerseits ...
In this chapter I shall examine some of Johann Georg Hamann’s claims about how philosophers misuse, misunderstand, and are misled by language. I will then examine how he anticipates things that Friedrich Nietzsche and Ludwig Wittgenstein say on this topic.
In this article we present and compare two early attempts to establish psychology as an independent scientific discipline that had considerable influence in central Europe: the theories of Johann Friedrich Herbart (1776—1841) and Franz Brentano (1838—1917). While both of them emphasize that psychology ought to be conceived as an empirical science, their conceptions show revealing differences. Herbart starts with metaphysical principles and aims at mathematizing psychology, whereas Brentano rejects all metaphysics and bases his method on a conception of inner (...) perception (as opposed to inner observation) as a secondary consciousness, by means of which one gets to be aware of all of one’s own conscious phenomena. Brentano’s focus on inner perception brings him to deny the claim that there could be unconscious mental phenomena — a view that stands in sharp contrast to Herbart’s emphasis on unconscious, ‘repressed’ presentations as a core element of his mechanics of mind. Herbart, on the other hand, denies any role for psychological experiments, while Brentano encouraged laboratory work, thus paving the road for the more experimental work of his students like Stumpf and Meinong. By briefly tracing the fate of the schools of Herbart and Brentano, respectively, we aim to illustrate their impact on the development of psychological research, mainly in central Europe. (shrink)
I. EITHER-OR? NEITHER! The main features of the Enlightenment were the same everywhere: the autonomy of reason, the solidarity of intellectual culture, ...
Glock’s most recent book is a critical examination of the views of Quine and Davidson. One of the novel features of the book that will prove helpful to most readers is Glock’s comparative treatment of the two. Glock not only thoroughly articulates their views, he also points out significant differences between their basic assumptions and between the goals driving their various projects. For example, Glock compares Quine’s ’radical translation’ project with Davidson’s ’radical interpretation’ project, pointing out interesting differences in assumptions (...) and purposes. Another unusual feature of the book is that Glock is himself fundamentally at odds with both Quine and Davidson, and holds views that are broadly Witttgensteinian. Thus, unlike most extant books on Quine and Davidson, Glock’s strives to make manifest various weaknesses of their arguments and views, rather than to show how they can be salvaged from what would appear to be devastating criticisms. However, while fundamentally critical, Glock’s book is not particularly polemical. He clearly and forcefully presents the views that he criticizes and defends positions of his protagonists from criticisms that he takes to be off-target or unfair. (shrink)
