Ethics in Business and Critical Thinking

A bit about Me George Belic Background PhD Candidate (graduating summer 2019) in Philosophy at U of Florida Masters in Philosophy from University of Alberta Computer Science (BSc.) from Ryerson! Email (primary): george.belic@sheridancollege.ca Email (secondary): SLATE Email Office: B588 Office Hours: Thursdays 1-2pm or by appointment

Course Information SLATE Your Responsibility Accommodations Syllabus, readings, and assignments Announcements about deadlines and course changes Your Responsibility Attend class and participate Be courteous and respectful to everyone in class Hand in all assignments on time Get in touch with me as soon as possible if there is an emergency Accommodations If working with Accessibility Center, get in touch as soon as possible

No Cell Phones! No Non-Class Laptop Use!

What is Philosophy? 1

Philosophical Problems Examples: Love: Am I treating my partner (wife, boyfriend) morally wrongly or not? Abortion: Should I abort a pregnancy? Does my partner have any say in the matter? War: Is my government acting wrongly by going to war? The Philosophers’ Way of Answering These Questions First: Understand what love, ethical worth of fetuses or morality of war are Second: look at the specific circumstances of your own decision, and then decide!

Many Areas of Philosophy Ethics Business Ethics Medical Ethics Animals Ethics Science Philosophy of Physics Philosophy of Biology Many Others Philosophy of Art

Main Branches of Philosophy Metaphysics: the study of general features of reality Epistemology: the study of nature and extent of human knowledge Ethics: the study of morally right/wrong actions Political Philosophy: the study of the nature and norms of political states/governments

Philosophy is Practically Useful 2

Philosophers have unique skills Analytical Skills and Problem Solving Critical Thinking Clear Writing Political Philosophy: the study of the nature and norms of political states/governments

Philosophy is good preparation for many other programs History History of Art Linguistics AAA

Philosophers do well on Entrance Exams Business School (MBA) Law School (LSAT) Any Graduate School (GRE) University in USA (SAT)

Philosophers have high incomes (in the long run)

Ethics and Business 3 With a Disclaimer

Central Concepts and Stake-Holders Business Ethics: the study of the nature, ethical norms of businesses, their employees and commerce Concepts Social responsibility, Moral Right/Wrong, Human Rights Conflict of Interest Whistle-Blowing Externalities Stake-holders and Their Relationships Public Citizens <-> Businesses Governments <-> Businesses Consumers <-> Businesses Employees <-> Employees Employees <-> Businesses Businesses <-> Businesses

Central Concepts and Issues Ethical Can a corporation or any other business be held morally accountable in the way that individuals are held accountable for crimes? What moral responsibilities do corporations have to society, employees and customers? What moral responsibilities do managers have to their employees? What rights do employees have? How should international corporations act in foreign countries? Are corporations responsible for externalities (bad consequences to society that result from their business practices)? Political and Economic Should governments govern or punish corporations for wrong doing? Is capitalism a good economic practice? Is it detrimental to democracy or well-being of citizens? Metaphysical what is a corporation?

Next Class: Critical Thinking Critical thinking: proper reasoning (in science, philosophy, moral decision making) and clarity of thought Two Kinds of Proper Reasoning Deductive Arguments (e.g. mathematical proofs) Non-Deductive Arguments (e.g. scientific arguments) Clarify of Thought By Definition By Dialectic: making objections, replies, counter-objections, and so on.