Pragmatism

Unlike other philosophic approaches, pragmatism posits no ideal, ultimate, absolute principles of right and wrong. Good and bad are determined by the application of human intelligence to the problems at hand and by the effect that negotiated compromises have on the lives of individuals and the communities in which they live. Pragmatic philosophy is an outgrowth of the earlier work of Charles H. Peirce, William James, John Dewey, and George Herbert Mead and later extensions by C. I. Lewis, W. V. O. Quine, and Richard Rorty. The [Page 1652]approach generally adheres to a correspondence theory of truth: Truth consists of a relation to reality. The competing coherence theory associates truth with some specified set of propositions.

Pragmatic concepts have been applied to ethical issues in business by Sandra B. Rosenthal, Rogene A. Buchholz, Joshua Margolis, and William C. Frederick. Rosenthal and Buchholz developed a pragmatic theory of the corporation that emphasizes the inseparability of the corporation and society. They further argue that these reciprocal relationships define the corporation's moral responsibilities to employees and the communities whose lives are affected by corporate operations.

Pragmatism is an analytic approach that emphasizes the continuity of experience and nature, the relationship of organism and environment, and the derivation of truth and value from the lived experiences of humans in social and organizational contexts. Values emerge from applying human intelligence to problems encountered in the course of everyday living, where both past and present experience provide guides for resolving practical dilemmas. Human goal seeking is an ongoing process of finding, adjusting, and improving the means appropriate to achieving the sought ends-in-view. This means-ends process implies no ultimate, predetermined, absolute goal, end, or purpose to be attained beyond the immediate need to confront and resolve a problematic situation. Knowledge gained in the course of resolving such matters becomes instrumental in addressing future issues and dilemmas.

Pragmatists cultivate an open-ended view of human possibilities, relying on human intelligence based on prior experience to support reliable ways of confronting problems. The sources of human experience are the many diverse and pluralistic social and cultural traditions resulting from historical and evolutionary developments extending far back in human times. Culture and nature are intertwined and coevolved aspects of human development, providing a broad base of experience and values selectively useful for supporting life in the present.

A pragmatic approach to business ethics begins within the workplace, identifies the values in contention, ascertains the respective goals and interests of the contending parties, proposes negotiations to establish an instrumental way to compromise opposing viewpoints, and seeks a pluralistic solution satisfying an optimum number of ends-in-view. Pragmatism recognizes that any resolution achieved today is subject to continued revision and improvement tomorrow. Hence, human pragmatic experience yields an ongoing, continuous means-ends activity that enables business operations to continue while achieving some of the goals sought by both business and nonbusiness participants.