RT Article
T1 From Homo-economicus to Homo-virtus: A System-Theoretic Model for Raising Moral Self-Awareness
JF Journal of business ethics
VO 155
IS 1
SP 191
OP 205
A1 Friedland, Julian
A1 Cole, Benjamin M.
A2 Cole, Benjamin M.
LA English
YR 2019
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1785667963
AB There is growing concern that a global economic system fueled predominately by financial incentives may not maximize human flourishing and social welfare externalities. If so, this presents a challenge of how to get economic actors to adopt a more virtuous motivational mindset. Relying on historical, psychological, and philosophical research, we show how such a mindset can be instilled. First, we demonstrate that historically, financial self-interest has never in fact been the only guiding motive behind free markets, but that markets themselves are representations of our individual and collective moral identities. Building on this understanding, we review the research on how economic incentives crowd out virtue-oriented concerns. We then introduce the concept of moral self-awareness (MSA), an evolving mindset informed by reflection on moral identity, namely what one’s actions say about oneself given the impacts (positive or negative) on others or society that one’s action may effect. MSA comprises three fundamental aspects of virtue-oriented reasoning: pride, shame, and guilt. Finally, we offer a four-stage model anchored in systems theory, yielding ever more refined motivating strategies for maximizing human flourishing and social welfare externalities.
K1 negative externalities
K1 Positive externalities
K1 Moral shaming
K1 Moral priding
K1 Ethical decision making
K1 Moral Progress
K1 Moral Motivation
K1 Moral self-awareness
K1 economic incentives
K1 Capitalism
DO 10.1007/s10551-017-3494-6