Global Ethics for IBA
Global Ethics
2025/2026
,Lecture 1
Ethics: what?
● Ethics ≠ morality !
○ Morality: society’s (more or less) shared moral beliefs, intuitions, norms and
values. So morality is what people believe.
○ Ethics: philosophical (systematic, critical, …) reflection on morality. Thinking
critically about those beliefs.
● Most people grow up to be moral, without doing ethics.
● But: existing moral beliefs, intuitions and norms can turn out to be problematic after
critical reflection.
○ Any historical examples? → people once believed slavery was morally
acceptable. That was part of their morality at the time.
● Watch this knowledge clip on ethics (4:11 min) HERE.
● Ethics ≠ moralizing !
“Ethics is concerned with examining both the internal coherence of our moral reasons and their
strengths and weaknesses in justifying how we lead our lives and run our societies.” (Engelen &
Sie 2020)
● Ethics (critical reflection on existing moral norms, beliefs, …) is very open to possibility
of being wrong (humility, openness). → Ethics is not about judging people, it’s about
understanding and improving our moral thinking.
● Moralizing (preaching, telling others right vs wrong) embodies opposite attitudes
(overconfidence, closed-mindedness).
Ethics: why ?
● Even if we (as persons, companies, societies) already have moral beliefs, norms and
values, ethics can help …
○ ✓ … understand what their implications are;
○ ✓ … see whether they are justified or not;
○ ✓ … identify wrongs and injustices that lack justification;
○ ✓ … figure out what to do when those conflict (moral dilemmas);
○ ✓ … balance those against each other;
○ ✓ … challenge those beliefs and value systems.
Ethics for IBA: what and why?
● Moral issues inevitably pop up, both in everyday life and in key societal domains.
● These include how companies are run, how employees, managers, … interact with each
other, how products affect consumers, …
● How companies (including you in the future) deal with ethical issues matters to you, your
co-workers, your company and the world.
1
,→ Need for critical reflection on different levels:
● Micro: individual employees, managers, consumers, …
○ ✓ E.g. What should I do when a colleague makes a sexist remark?
● Meso: companies, each with their own cultures, priorities, strategies, policies, …
○ ✓ E.g. Should a company promote a culture of inclusivity and, if so, how?
● Macro: legal, political, institutional, … frameworks that govern the interactions between
companies, people, ….
○ ✓ E.g. Which kind of discrimination should be prohibited by law and why?
One reason why (business) ethics is relevant for IBA students is that philosophical skills and
attitudes help make for good business people!
→ Cf. ‘five why’ or ‘root cause’ analysis, often used in process management (designing, refining
and managing processes in production, IT, HR, …).
Rational
● Argumentation, justification, conceptual clarification
● Systematic reflection
Critical
● Contestation, not content with obvious answers
● Radical reflection (going to roots)
Broad
● Scope is broad, nothing is off limits
● Reflection on broader context
Another reason is that ideas about moral values, principles and responsibilities (of individuals,
companies, …), or about how to design and govern businesses and markets have an impact.
“The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are
wrong are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed, the world is ruled by little else.”
- (John Maynard Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, 1936,
p. 383)
→ The way we think about markets, responsibility, fairness and regulation eventually becomes:
laws, business models, corporate cultures and economic systems. So if our ideas are flawed, the
systems we build will also be flawed. Ethics helps prevent that.
Three main ethical theories
Ethical and normative questions can be answered in different ways.
Different ethical theories formulate different answers to key ethical questions.
1. Consequentialist (and utilitarian) theories
a. Cf. knowledge clip HERE (9:23 min) Maximize desirable consequences!
2
, 2. Deontological theories
a. Cf. knowledge clip HERE (10:00 min) Respect ethical principles, rights and
duties!
3. Virtue ethical theories
4. Cf. knowledge clip HERE (8:28 min): Develop virtues and become the best possible
person!
→ Consequentialism and Utilitarianism
● Consequentialism: consequences are the only thing that matters, morally speaking.
● Utilitarianism: utility is the only thing that matters, morally speaking.
● Maximize overall sum of utility, minimize harm.
● Weigh off consequences of different alternatives and create the best possible outcome or
‘greatest good for greatest number’ (Jeremy Bentham).
● Companies that do well (badly), from a consequentialist perspective, are those that
generate the (uncontroversially) best (worst) consequences.
→ Deontology
● Deontology: morality requires you to do the right thing (fulfilling one’s duties, respecting
others’ rights and abiding by ethical principles) for the right reasons.
● Cf. Immanuel Kant’s ‘categorical imperative’: “Act only on that maxim by which you
can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.”
● Would a world be possible where everyone would act on your maxim? If no, it’s
immoral! If everyone acted like you, would the world still work? If not → the action is
immoral.
● E.g. stealing, committing fraud, lying, breaking contracts, …
● Companies that do well (badly), from a deontological perspective, are those that respect
(violate) uncontroversial ethical principles and inviolable (human) rights.
→ Virtue Ethics
● Virtue ethics: try to become a good person by developing virtuous character traits, such
as patience, generosity, diligence, honesty, …
● Less focus on actions (what should one do?), more on character (what kind of person
should one be and become?).
● Aristotle on practical wisdom (phronesis): virtuous people automatically know how to
deal with (often complex) circumstances.
● Companies that do well (badly), from a virtue ethical perspective, are those where virtues
(vices) thrive and are rewarded (punished).
3
Global Ethics
2025/2026
,Lecture 1
Ethics: what?
● Ethics ≠ morality !
○ Morality: society’s (more or less) shared moral beliefs, intuitions, norms and
values. So morality is what people believe.
○ Ethics: philosophical (systematic, critical, …) reflection on morality. Thinking
critically about those beliefs.
● Most people grow up to be moral, without doing ethics.
● But: existing moral beliefs, intuitions and norms can turn out to be problematic after
critical reflection.
○ Any historical examples? → people once believed slavery was morally
acceptable. That was part of their morality at the time.
● Watch this knowledge clip on ethics (4:11 min) HERE.
● Ethics ≠ moralizing !
“Ethics is concerned with examining both the internal coherence of our moral reasons and their
strengths and weaknesses in justifying how we lead our lives and run our societies.” (Engelen &
Sie 2020)
● Ethics (critical reflection on existing moral norms, beliefs, …) is very open to possibility
of being wrong (humility, openness). → Ethics is not about judging people, it’s about
understanding and improving our moral thinking.
● Moralizing (preaching, telling others right vs wrong) embodies opposite attitudes
(overconfidence, closed-mindedness).
Ethics: why ?
● Even if we (as persons, companies, societies) already have moral beliefs, norms and
values, ethics can help …
○ ✓ … understand what their implications are;
○ ✓ … see whether they are justified or not;
○ ✓ … identify wrongs and injustices that lack justification;
○ ✓ … figure out what to do when those conflict (moral dilemmas);
○ ✓ … balance those against each other;
○ ✓ … challenge those beliefs and value systems.
Ethics for IBA: what and why?
● Moral issues inevitably pop up, both in everyday life and in key societal domains.
● These include how companies are run, how employees, managers, … interact with each
other, how products affect consumers, …
● How companies (including you in the future) deal with ethical issues matters to you, your
co-workers, your company and the world.
1
,→ Need for critical reflection on different levels:
● Micro: individual employees, managers, consumers, …
○ ✓ E.g. What should I do when a colleague makes a sexist remark?
● Meso: companies, each with their own cultures, priorities, strategies, policies, …
○ ✓ E.g. Should a company promote a culture of inclusivity and, if so, how?
● Macro: legal, political, institutional, … frameworks that govern the interactions between
companies, people, ….
○ ✓ E.g. Which kind of discrimination should be prohibited by law and why?
One reason why (business) ethics is relevant for IBA students is that philosophical skills and
attitudes help make for good business people!
→ Cf. ‘five why’ or ‘root cause’ analysis, often used in process management (designing, refining
and managing processes in production, IT, HR, …).
Rational
● Argumentation, justification, conceptual clarification
● Systematic reflection
Critical
● Contestation, not content with obvious answers
● Radical reflection (going to roots)
Broad
● Scope is broad, nothing is off limits
● Reflection on broader context
Another reason is that ideas about moral values, principles and responsibilities (of individuals,
companies, …), or about how to design and govern businesses and markets have an impact.
“The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are
wrong are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed, the world is ruled by little else.”
- (John Maynard Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, 1936,
p. 383)
→ The way we think about markets, responsibility, fairness and regulation eventually becomes:
laws, business models, corporate cultures and economic systems. So if our ideas are flawed, the
systems we build will also be flawed. Ethics helps prevent that.
Three main ethical theories
Ethical and normative questions can be answered in different ways.
Different ethical theories formulate different answers to key ethical questions.
1. Consequentialist (and utilitarian) theories
a. Cf. knowledge clip HERE (9:23 min) Maximize desirable consequences!
2
, 2. Deontological theories
a. Cf. knowledge clip HERE (10:00 min) Respect ethical principles, rights and
duties!
3. Virtue ethical theories
4. Cf. knowledge clip HERE (8:28 min): Develop virtues and become the best possible
person!
→ Consequentialism and Utilitarianism
● Consequentialism: consequences are the only thing that matters, morally speaking.
● Utilitarianism: utility is the only thing that matters, morally speaking.
● Maximize overall sum of utility, minimize harm.
● Weigh off consequences of different alternatives and create the best possible outcome or
‘greatest good for greatest number’ (Jeremy Bentham).
● Companies that do well (badly), from a consequentialist perspective, are those that
generate the (uncontroversially) best (worst) consequences.
→ Deontology
● Deontology: morality requires you to do the right thing (fulfilling one’s duties, respecting
others’ rights and abiding by ethical principles) for the right reasons.
● Cf. Immanuel Kant’s ‘categorical imperative’: “Act only on that maxim by which you
can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.”
● Would a world be possible where everyone would act on your maxim? If no, it’s
immoral! If everyone acted like you, would the world still work? If not → the action is
immoral.
● E.g. stealing, committing fraud, lying, breaking contracts, …
● Companies that do well (badly), from a deontological perspective, are those that respect
(violate) uncontroversial ethical principles and inviolable (human) rights.
→ Virtue Ethics
● Virtue ethics: try to become a good person by developing virtuous character traits, such
as patience, generosity, diligence, honesty, …
● Less focus on actions (what should one do?), more on character (what kind of person
should one be and become?).
● Aristotle on practical wisdom (phronesis): virtuous people automatically know how to
deal with (often complex) circumstances.
● Companies that do well (badly), from a virtue ethical perspective, are those where virtues
(vices) thrive and are rewarded (punished).
3
