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Period: 551 BCE to 479 BCE
Confucius
One of the deepest teachings of Confucius might be the superiority of personal exemplification over explicit rules of behavior. His moral teachings emphasized self-cultivation, emulation of moral exemplars, and the attainment of skilled judgment rather than knowledge of rules. His teachings rarely rely on reasoned argument, and ethical ideals and methods are conveyed indirectly, by allusion, in\nuendo, and even tautology. His teachings require examination and context to be understood. -
Period: 470 BCE to 399 BCE
Socrates
Socrates, one of the first philosophers, insisted on our right to think for ourselves. Too often, he warned, humans sleepwalk through life, simply going along with the crowd.This is dangerous in questions of morality, and particularly in corporate governance. When corruption is uncovered, too often people say "everyone else was doing it". But our characters are our responsibility. Socrates was prepared to die rather than go against his conscience. -
Period: 428 BCE to 348 BCE
Plato
Like most other ancient philosophers, Plato maintains a virtue-based eudaemonistic conception of ethics. That is to say, happiness or well-being (eudaimonia) is the highest aim of moral thought and conduct, and the virtues (aretê: ‘excellence’) are the requisite skills and dispositions needed to attain it. If Plato’s conception of happiness is elusive and his support for a morality of happiness seems somewhat subdued, there are several reasons. -
Period: 384 BCE to 322 BCE
Aristotle
Aristotle was a great biologist as well as a great philosopher. He based his ethics on a psychological theory of human nature, insisting that we are naturally virtuous, rational, social and happiness-seeking. Governments and organisations need to build the best systems to let humans fulfill their natural drives. Humans want to believe in something and to serve it. Appeal to your employees' best nature and they will answer that call. -
Period: 341 BCE to 270 BCE
Epicurus
Epicurus was a fourth century Greek philosopher who taught, rather scandalously, that the aim of life was simply to be as happy as possible here on Earth, before we die and dissolve back into the atomic universe. He warned that humans are very bad at being happy, and very good at inventing reasons to be miserable. Philosophy should teach us how to be happy. It teaches us how to bring our attention to the present moment. It also teaches us to limit our desires to what is easy to get. -
Period: 20 to 101
Musonius Rufus
Musonius Rufus was known as the Socrates of Rome. He was another Stoic, who taught that philosophy cannot just be theoretical. You can't just study ethics, you have to practise it, every day, to get into good habits. You also need to keep track of your progress, to see how you're doing. You can't just rely on your intuitions. In organisational terms, keeping track of ourselves means trying to take an evidence-based assessment of our performance. -
Period: 46 to 120
Plutarch
Plutarch, the ancient Greek historian and educator, understood that humans are incredibly social creatures, who constantly observe the people around them and imitate them. Unfortunately, people often grow up surrounded by bad role models. However, we can steer people, by providing them with better patterns to imitate. In organisational terms, that means your employees will watch how you act, and whether or not you follow through on your promises. And they will imitate you. -
Period: 55 to 135
Epictetus
Epictetus grew up a slave in Rome, and then became a Stoic philosopher. Both of these positions were incredibly precarious. Epictetus coped with this insecurity by constantly reminding himself what he could control and what he couldn't. We can control our thoughts, beliefs and attitudes, but everything else is out of our control . Focus on what you can control, and you will feel a measure of autonomy even in chaotic situations.