Information, Knowledge

and Wisdom


Where is life lost in living
Where is wisdom lost in knowledge
Where is knowledge lost in information
-----T.S.Eliot
Facts and information are gathered.
Knowledge is understood to be some thing
that can be taught.
Wisdom is something whose elements are
understanding, insight, good judgment,the
capacity to live well and guiding the conduct
well.
VIRTUE THEORY


Aristotle, an early Greek Thinker proposed
one of the most influential theories of ethics
called Virtue Theory. According to this theory
virtues or morally good habits develop
only through training and repetition.
Just as individuals develop other kinds
of practical abilities through practice
and repetition, so also he argued
humans acquire their moral ability
when they are taught and habituated by
their families and communities to think
feel, and behave in morally appropriate
ways.
Why be moral? What a human being
should be. We all have reason to
support good practice since we all want
our lives to go well - our own lives - but
this is not necessarily a selfish want -
typically, we see our own lives as going
well only if lives of our close friends
parents, children and other group
members go well.
The moral virtues are just those traits
of character we need in order to have
best chance of making our lives go
well.
Virtues relate to fundamental universal
facts about human nature and
conditions of living tolerably, they are
of critical importance for all people
everywhere.

Courage, Temperance, Generosity, Self-
control, Honesty, Sociability, Modesty, and
Fairness or Justice are all virtues.
He claims that much more attention must be
paid to peoples character .
Our behavior reflects our being. We are what
we repeatedly do. Character is measured in
the routine challenges of work and private
life in small choices we make between what
we would like to do and what we should
do.
The core of Aristotles account of moral
virtue is his doctrine of the mean.
According to this doctrine, moral
virtues are desire regulating character
traits, which are at a mean between
more extreme character traits (or
vices). For example in response to the
natural emotion of fear, we should
develop the virtuous character trait of
courage.

The virtue of courage, then, lies at the
mean between the excessive extreme of
rashness, and the deficient extreme of
cowardice. Aristotle is quick to point out
that the virtuous mean is not a strict
mathematical mean between two
extremes.
For example, if eating 100 apples is too
many, and eating zero apples is too little,
this does not imply that we should eat 50
apples, which is the mathematical mean.
Instead, the mean is rationally determined,
based on the relative merits of the
situation.
That is, as a prudent man would
determine it. He concludes that it is
difficult to live the virtuous life primarily
because it is often difficult to find the
mean between the extremes. Action is the
response made to desire, and here,
Aristotle insist one can respond too much
or too little. The correct response lies
between extremes. This is the doctrine of
mean.
In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle went on to work out
the means, excess, and deficiencies for various
virtues.
A rational assessment of each new situation and a
choice made on the light of new conception.
What is needed in addition to intellectual excellence
is moral excellence.

The following table summarizes Aristotles
discussion of some of these virtues:

Vice (Excess) Virtue( Mean) Vice (Deficit)
Type of feeling or action:
Fear: Too much fear ( i.e. cowardice) Right
amount of fear. ( i.e. courage) Too little fear (i.e.
foolhardiness)
Confidence: Too much confidence (i.e. recklessness).
Right amount of confidence ( i.e. courage) Too
little confidence ( i.e. cowardice)
Pleasure: Too much pleasure (i.e. Licentiousness/
self- indulgence). Right amount of pleasure (i.e.
Generosity) Too little pleasure (i.e. Stinginess)
Large scale giving :(i.e. Vulgarity) right amount of giving (i.e.
magnificence) too little giving (i.e. Being cheap)

Claiming honor: Too much (i.e. Vanity). Right amount (i.e.
Humility) (i.e. Pride vice)

Anger: Toomuch (i.e.Short temperedness). Right amount
(i.e. Good temper) Too little anger (i.e.
incredibility/apathy)

Retribution for wrongdoing: Injustice Justice Injustice

Social Interaction: Obsequiousness Friendliness
Surliness
Giving amusement: Buffoonery Wittiness Boorishness
Is there any conflict between living well
and Being in Business?
There is no inherent conflict between the
two. Aristotle says these two concepts are
embedded in community and the ultimate
aim is to live a good life. The main issues
here is what is that living well amounts to?


Aristotelian approach to business is that a
good corporation is one that is not only
profitable but that provides a morally
rewarding environment I which good
people can develop not only their skills
but, also their virtues