Business Ethics Presentation Final v1

8/8/2019 Business Ethics Presentation Final v1

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Ethics and Environment

Group MembersMuhammad Waqas

Bilal Iqbal HameedKamran JakaKashif


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Ethics and Environment

Human Beings ethical decision regarding environment

Should we continue to clearcut forests for the sake of humanconsumption?

Should we continue to make gasoline powered vehicles?

What environmental obligations do we need to keep for futuregenerations?

Is it right forhumans to knowingly cause the extinction of aspecies for the convenience of humanity?


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Business and Environment

Environment is a primordial concept in thecontemporary business

Contemporary business from its inception continued tomanipulate the environment in different manners.

This is because in contemporary business humanstarted to commoditize the environment formaximization of theirown self interests.

For the sake of profit businesses are manipulating theenvironment which is extremely harmful to the natureand to the mankind itself.


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Copenhagen Conference (2009)

Copenhagen conference was organized in 2009 to reach aconsensusregarding deteriorating environment of the glob dueto extreme business activity by some particulareconomicpowers of the world.

The idea was presented by the scientist to decrease the earthtemperature by 2 degree centigrade by decreasing the emissionof harmful gas in the atmosphere.

The summit was a failure as upcoming powers china and India

refuses to decrease their industrial production scales as theyare suppose to be the superpowerof the future.

This failure of the summit gives us clear indication that theenvironment problem in the contemporary business issuch aserious concern that environment bosses of the globe had

failed to get theirdemands approved from the economic powerof the world.


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Environmental Manipulation Through Ages

Greek Period

ENVIRONMENT IS MOTHER

No manipulation of the environment in this age because of

the divine conception of the earth.

Christianity

According to Christian beliefs mankind started to manipulatethe environment after the first sin.ForAugustine, Adam andE

ve transformed human nature aftercommitting thisparticularsin which issuppose to be the responsible for thegeneral condition of Sinfulness in human being.


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White Lynn (Social Critique)

Lynn Townsend White, Jr. a professorof medieval historyat Princeton, Stanford, according to him advent ofChristianity is the start of manipulation of environment.

However

this

exploitation was

not thatseve

re in natu

re.

His main area of inquiry was the role of technologicalinventions in the middle ages. He conjectured thatChristian middle ages Were the root of ecological crisis inthe 20th century.

He believed that man relationship with the environments inthe 20th Century is was always dynamic one. Hesuggested that what People do about theirecologydepends on what they think Of themselves in relation tothings in theirenvironment.


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Modern Period

FrancisBeacon

Men have sought to make a world from theirown conceptionand to draw from theirown minds all the material which they

employed, but if, instead of doing

so, they had con

sultedexperience and observation, they would have the facts and not

opinions to reason about, and might have ultimately arrived atthe knowledge of the laws which govern the material world

Bacon proposed that knowledge is power, with thisstatement he actually gave indication that matter ispossible commodity of exploitation formankind.

Therefore we can say that period ofFrancisBacon is thehistorical start of manipulation of environment.


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Environment and Kantian Ethics

Kant's theoretical philosophy aggrandizes the human subject insuch a way that World as an object of knowledge derives itswhole meaning and epistomologico And ontologico status fromthissubject.

Kant'sCopernican revolution in theoretical philosophy makesthis Aggrandization (alleviation) of the human subject possible

Copernican Revolution

In order to known by ourminds object must confirm to our

mental status, not otherwise

Kant proposed that ourmind have certain rational structure andWhatevercan be known must be known in terms of thatstructure.Every object claiming to be a subject of knowledgehad to confirm to thisrational structure


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How the Earth is being Exploited

In 2005 Rolles Royce launched a perfume with marketvalue of $50,000/-

There were only 350 bottles of the perfume launched by

the brand.

It was the only perfume whose testing was not allowed asone puff of that perfume cost $850 to a company as itcontains essence of 1800 flowers.

This is a clearexample of how a human exploits the naturefor the sake of theirown benefits Roles Royce used 1800flowers for just one puff of that expensive perfume.

The stock of the perfume wassold in advance andgenerated healthy cash flows to a company but it wassurely not a good sign for the environment.


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Environment and Kantian Ethics (Cont.)

There are always two reaction of any philosophical theory, intendedand unintended.Exploitation of environment followingKant shouldbe termed as is unintended reaction of Kant's philosophy.

Kant's philosophy gives usimpression that human will manipulatethe environment. He actually gave the autonomy to the rational mindonly.Now the big question is what rational mind is?

Kant argued that the innerstructure of man depicts the structure ofglobe i.e. Human being can manipulate the environment as per theirown benefits if they see it in their favor.

Kant presented his argument in such a way that human presentedhuman as ultimate end which implies a hidden message that universeis out there foryou and you can exploit the nature and theenvironment as per your discretion.

Kant's theory of universibility implies that my wish is universal law and

I can do whatever in relation to my law.


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Kant's 2nd Categorical Imperative

Kant in hissecond formulation manifest the aggrandizationof human Concept as alleviated being.

Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your

own person or in the person of any other, always at thesame time as an end and nevermerely as a means to anend."

Therefore in line with above discussion we can saythat Kant's philosophical theory not directly butindirectly gives impression to human to manipulatethe environment as perhis orher discretion. Ifaindividual loves to make profithe can do it by anymeans even by disturbing the environment.


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Environment in Islamic Concepts

the environment is not in the service of the presentgeneration alone. Rather, it is the gift ofGod to all ages,past, present and future.

Man is a distinct part of the universe among all otherchange of being, this does not provide him with the powerto dominate and destroy the natural environment.

This distinction gives man a high sense ofresponsibilitywhich has two dimension

Reading/comprehending the real and true meaning ofnatural order

Constructing a moral obligation which necessarily arise fromthe Quran and nature perse.


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Environment in Islamic Concepts (cont.)

Ye people! Adore yourGuardian-Lord, who created you andthose who came before you, that ye may have chance to

learn righteousness. Who has made the earth your couch,

and the heavens

your

canopy; ands

ent downr

ain fr

om theheavens; and brought forth therewith fruits foryoursustenance; then set not up rivals unto God when ye know

(the truth). (2:21-22)

When everything has been created forhuman beings, the

use of all these things limited and restricted by the Quranitself as an ethical ground.


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Environment in Islamic Concepts (cont.)

First, the fact that everything has been created bymeasure and has an orderand everything isinterdependent with everything else implies that humanss

hould/mus

t take into account this

inter

connectedness

when dealing and interacting with the natural environment.

Second, the Quran itself declares that "Eat and drink, butwaste not by excess; verily He loves not theexcessive"(7:31),"and do not cause corruption in the earth,

when it has been in order.(26:151-152) Thus, in short, asGod has created this world and

entrusted it to human beings alone, they are not theowners and masters of the natural environment.They areonly trustees, stewardships on earth.


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Environment According to Quran

And the earth we have spread it out wide, and placedon it mountains firm, and caused life of every kind to growon it in a balanced manner, and provided means of

livelihood for

you as

well as

for

all living beings

whos

esustenance does not depends on you. (15:19)

Greater indeed than the creation of man is the creation ofthe heavens and the earth. (40:57)

By stressing that humans are only a small part of theuniverse, the Qur'an points out the absurdity of theanthropocentric world-view

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Business Ethics Presentation Final v1