Good business and good ethics
An article on the encyclical “Fides et Ratio” (Faith and Reason) helps to understand more about a complex and delicate issue
A business culture focussed on Christian ethics and in particular Catholic ethics. A particular view of managing production organisations. A view that needs to be understood well, so as to avoid, right from the start, the idea of the “do-gooder” which, in effect, is not actually part of Christian business ethics. Read “Fides et Ratio: Saint John Paul II on the Ground of Business Ethics” by Jim Wishloff (of the University of Lethbridge), is a good starting point to explore a certainly complex and, among other things, constantly evolving topic.
Wishloff starts his reasoning from the idea of good business performance and uses the theme for an in-depth study of the encyclical Fides et Ratio of St. John Paul II. The author, it is explained immediately, promises to link the text of this document with the entire corpus of Catholic social thought.
The article – published in one of the latest issues of the Journal of Religion and Business Ethics – first explores the content as a sort of “toolbox” on the subject, and then moves on to analyse the Christian view of enterprise management more closely. Later, Wishloff goes on to consider “business culture” seen through the eyes of Christian ethics. In his conclusions, Wishloff underlines that the business culture that springs from the understanding of reality offered by a philosophy of being and of Christian revelation contrasts with that developed by the modern mind’s rejection of the combination of faith and reason.
This is certainly not always an easy read, but Jim Wishloff’s piece is still a good read for those who want to understand more about the Christian business ethics that now play such an important role in the debate on the relationship between profit and social responsibility.
Fides et Ratio: Saint John Paul II on the Ground of Business Ethics
Jim Wishloff (University of Lethbridge), Journal of Religion and Business Ethics, Vol. 4, Article 3
An article on the encyclical “Fides et Ratio” (Faith and Reason) helps to understand more about a complex and delicate issue
A business culture focussed on Christian ethics and in particular Catholic ethics. A particular view of managing production organisations. A view that needs to be understood well, so as to avoid, right from the start, the idea of the “do-gooder” which, in effect, is not actually part of Christian business ethics. Read “Fides et Ratio: Saint John Paul II on the Ground of Business Ethics” by Jim Wishloff (of the University of Lethbridge), is a good starting point to explore a certainly complex and, among other things, constantly evolving topic.
Wishloff starts his reasoning from the idea of good business performance and uses the theme for an in-depth study of the encyclical Fides et Ratio of St. John Paul II. The author, it is explained immediately, promises to link the text of this document with the entire corpus of Catholic social thought.
The article – published in one of the latest issues of the Journal of Religion and Business Ethics – first explores the content as a sort of “toolbox” on the subject, and then moves on to analyse the Christian view of enterprise management more closely. Later, Wishloff goes on to consider “business culture” seen through the eyes of Christian ethics. In his conclusions, Wishloff underlines that the business culture that springs from the understanding of reality offered by a philosophy of being and of Christian revelation contrasts with that developed by the modern mind’s rejection of the combination of faith and reason.
This is certainly not always an easy read, but Jim Wishloff’s piece is still a good read for those who want to understand more about the Christian business ethics that now play such an important role in the debate on the relationship between profit and social responsibility.
Fides et Ratio: Saint John Paul II on the Ground of Business Ethics
Jim Wishloff (University of Lethbridge), Journal of Religion and Business Ethics, Vol. 4, Article 3