In recent years, many disciplines have become
interested in the scientific study of morality. However,
a conceptual framework for this work is still lacking.
In The Moral Background, Gabriel Abend develops just
such a framework and uses it to investigate the history
of business ethics in the United States from the 1850s
to the 1930s. According to Abend, morality consists of
three levels: moral and immoral behavior, or the
behavioral level; moral understandings and norms, or the
normative level; and the moral background, which
includes what moral concepts exist in a society, what
moral methods can be used, what reasons can be given,
and what objects can be morally evaluated at all. This
background underlies the behavioral and normative
levels; it supports, facilitates, and enables them.
Through this perspective, Abend historically examines
the work of numerous business ethicists and
organizations - such as Protestant ministers, business
associations, and business schools - and identifies two
types of moral background. ''Standards of Practice'' is
characterized by its scientific worldview, moral
relativism, and emphasis on individuals' actions and
decisions. The ''Christian Merchant'' type is
characterized by its Christian worldview, moral
objectivism, and conception of a person's life as a
unity. The Moral Background offers both an original
account of the history of business ethics and a novel
framework for understanding and investigating morality
in general. |
|