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Recent Work in Ethical Theory and Its Implications for Business Ethics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2015

Abstract:

We review recent developments in ethical pluralism, ethical particularism, Kantian intuitionism, rights theory, and climate change ethics, and show the relevance of these developments in ethical theory to contemporary business ethics. This paper explains why pluralists think that ethical decisions should be guided by multiple standards and why particularists emphasize the crucial role of context in determining sound moral judgments. We explain why Kantian intuitionism emphasizes the discerning power of intuitive reason and seek to integrate that with the comprehensiveness of Kant’s moral framework. And we show how human rights can be grounded in human agency, and explain the connections between human rights and climate change.

Type
Business Ethics Quarterly Twentieth Anniversary Forum, Part II: New Directions for Business Ethics Research
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 2010

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