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Business ethics and philosophical pragmatism

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International Journal of Value-Based Management

Abstract

Today it is common for business people to refer to themselves as pragmatists. There is, however, at least one significant difference between business pragmatism and traditional philosophical pragmatism: the attitude towards ethics. In this paper we discuss several approaches business pragmatists have taken toward ethics in business. We then describe the approach taken by one philosophical pragmatist, William James. We conclude that, pragmatically speaking, philosophical pragmatism is the superior view.

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Frederick, R.E., Petry, E.S. Business ethics and philosophical pragmatism. Int J Value-Based Manage 3, 55–67 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01732413

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01732413

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