Ethical Philosophers

Immanuel Kant

1724 BCE

For Kant, reality could be discerned not through reasoning or sensory experience alone but only by understanding the nature of the human mind. Kant argued that sensory experience did not create the mind but rather that the mind created experience through its internal structures. And within the mind’s complex structures there also existed an inherent and unconditional duty to act ethically, which Kant called the “categorical imperative".

David Hume

1711 BCE

Hume famously wrote, “That the sun will not rise tomorrow is no less intelligible a proposition, and implies no more contradiction, than the affirmation, that it will rise.” In other words, our long-held assumptions and beliefs could be proven wrong at an instant’s notice. It’s sage advice for all business leaders working today. After all, as the saying goes, “Past performance is no guarantee of future results.”

Thomas Hobbes

1588 BCE

Thomas Hobbes’s moral and political philosophy is constructed around the basic premise of social and political order, explaining how humans should live in peace under a sovereign power so as to avoid conflict within the ‘state of nature’.[1] Hobbes’s moral philosophy and political philosophy are intertwined; his moral thought is based around ideas of human nature, which determine the interactions that make up his political philosophy.

SCHOLASTISM: Scotus

1265 BCE

One of the principles of Aquinas’s moral thought is that good should be done or pursued, and evil (or badness) avoided. Without this principle, other moral rules would have no force. The maxim “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is also quite fundamental, and sometimes interpreted as a rephrasing of the first principle. Others have interpreted it as an orientation to the fulfilment of everyone, now and in the future

Aquinas

1224 BCE

One of the principles of Aquinas’s moral thought is that good should be done or pursued, and evil (or badness) avoided. Without this principle, other moral rules would have no force. The maxim “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is also quite fundamental, and sometimes interpreted as a rephrasing of the first principle. Others have interpreted it as an orientation to the fulfilment of everyone, now and in the future

Protagoras

490 BCE

Protagoras is best known for the phrase often translated as "man is the measure of all things" by which he meant that everything is relative to individual interpretation. In this same way "right" and "wrong" are labels people use based on their own experience and interpretation and, finally, are only opinions.

Socrates

470 BCE

Socrates states no one chooses evil; no one chooses to act in ignorance.
We seek the good, but fail to achieve it by ignorance or lack of knowledge as to how to obtain what is good.
He believes no one would intentionally harm themselves. When harm comes to us, although we thought we were seeking the good, the good is not obtained in such a case since we lacked knowledge as to how best to achieve the good.

Plato

428 BCE

“Better a little which is well done, than a great deal imperfectly.” Plato knew all about quality content. Quality over quantity wins every time – as true now as it was in 300 BC . You’re better off heeding the wise words of Plato and putting up less content with more value. Core truths speak to human nature and the very heart of ethical business practices.

Aristotle

384 BCE

"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire.” In marketing, we appeal to customers with reason, ignite their passions, spark their desires, answer their needs (nature), depend on their habits, and often benefit from the winds of chance.

Augustine the Church Father

354 BCE

Augustine ethic was called the typical ethic that is eudaemonistic incharacter, which proposes an end for human conduct namely happiness. Butthis happiness is can only be found in God. The ethic of Augustine if primarily in the ethics of love

Epicureanism

307 BCE

Epicureanism nudges people toward the idea that the greatest happiness is found in pleasures that have a minimal cost associated with them. When you pay a high cost to enjoy a particular pleasure, then that pleasure is inherently dampened by what you’re paying to enjoy that cost. This obviously has huge implications for how modern people spend their money

Stoicism

300 BCE

Stoicism is the branch of ancient western philosophy that focuses on mindfulness, resilience, creativity and more, all of which allows us to flourish and live the good life, achieving eudemonia (translated from Greek as happiness, or human flourishing)