CollectivePhronesisin Business Ethics Education and Managerial Practice: A Neo-Aristotelian Analysis

Journal of Business Ethics · 2022 · Volume 181 · Issue 1

Abstract

The aim of this article is to provide an overview of various discourses relevant to developing a construct of collectivephronesis, from a (neo)-Aristotelian perspective, with implications for professional practice in general and business practice and business ethics education in particular. Despite the proliferation of interest in practical wisdom within business ethics and more general areas of both psychology and philosophy, the focus has remained mostly on the construct at the level of individual decision-making, as in Aristotle’sNicomachean Ethics. However, he also made intriguing remarks aboutphronesisat the collective level in hisPolitics: remarks that have mostly eluded elaboration. The aim of this article is practical and revisionary, rather than exegetical and deferential, with respect to Aristotle. Nevertheless, just as most of the literature on individualphronesisdraws on Aristotle’s exposition in theNicomachean Ethics, the obvious first port of call for an analysis of collectivephronesisis to explore the resources handed down to us by Aristotle himself. The lion’s share of this article is, therefore, devoted to making sense of Aristotle’s somewhat unsystematic remarks and the lessons we can draw from them about collective managerialphronesisand business ethics education.

Keywords

Collectivephronesis, Aristotle, Managerial (business) practice, Wisdom of crowds, Business ethics education

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