PHILOSOPHERS: Business Organization Contribution in the Economic Development (2)

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Classical Philosophies

Classical Philosophies (LC 2.1)

Socrates (469–399 B.C.)

Philosophy:

  • "The unexamined life is not worth living."
  • Believed in ethics, reasoning, and responsible conduct.
  • Encouraged making informed, ethical decisions for a positive impact on the world.

Key Contributions:

  • Socratic Method: Asking questions to uncover the essence of concepts such as justice or holiness.
  • "Virtue is knowledge": Acting intelligently requires understanding the value or excellence (aretê) of things.

Key Teachings:

  1. Perseverance: "Falling down is not a failure. Failure comes when you stay where you have fallen."
  2. Humility and the Pursuit of Wisdom: "True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us."
  3. Commitment to Excellence: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is a habit."
  4. The Examined Life: "The unexamined life is not worth living."

Notable Quotes:

  • "Wisdom begins in wonder."
  • "An honest man is always a child."
  • "I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing."
  • "The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be."

Plato (427–347 B.C.)

Philosophy:

  • Student of Socrates; founded the Academy.
  • Argued senses provide illusions, and reason leads to true knowledge.
  • Reconciled views of Parmenides (Truth vs. Opinion) and Heraclitus (doctrine of change) with his Theory of Forms.

Key Contributions:

  • Ethical behavior: Avoid deception or manipulation.
  • Early works reflect Socrates’ teachings; later works reflect his own ideas.

Notable Quotes:

  • "Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
  • "A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers."
  • "The beginning is the most important part of the work."

Aristotle (384–322 B.C.)

Philosophy:

  • Student of Plato; founded the Lyceum.
  • Advocated the Golden Mean: Balance between extremes of human activity.
  • Identified four factors influencing the good life: individual differences, habit, social support, and freedom of choice.

Key Concepts:

  • Eudaimonia: Happiness as success and fulfillment.
  • Criticized materialism, high-interest lending, and monopolies but acknowledged profit's role in a virtuous society.

Notable Quotes:

  • "The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet."
  • "Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers."
  • "Quality is not an act, it is a habit."
  • "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

Confucius (551–479 B.C.)

Philosophy:

  • Emphasized personal and governmental morality, justice, and sincerity.
  • Stressed strong family loyalty, ancestor worship, and proper social relationships.

Key Contributions:

  • Promoted the family as the model for ideal governance.
  • Advocated the Golden Rule: "Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself."
  • Valued improvement and self-cultivation.

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