This paper describes how a family of ethical concepts can be taught through focusing on how values play out at the most basic level – in the sphere of everyday business interactions. If our goal is to create an "ethical business culture," it makes sense to attend to our treatment of one another in the simplest, and most frequently occurring of duties. The paper examines the kinds of daily interactions common to many business settings – attending meetings, sharing information, taking (...) phone calls, utilizing common resources – and demonstrates how these practices set up encounters in which lived moral values can make a difference in the quality of life, morale, and company productivity. (shrink)

David Hume argues that the prevalence of human sympathizing justifies our attributing to humans a certain degree of benevolence. This move from sympathy to having a concern for others has been challenged by recent critics. A more fine-grained look at Hume’s concept of sympathy may reveal the reasons why he thought that experiencing sympathy implied having a benevolent attitude. Two arguments from the Treatise are analyzed and found wanting. It is suggested that Hume’s confusion may derive from ambiguities surrounding the (...) term “sympathy” and a lack of attention given to the intentional aspects of sympathizing. (shrink)

David Hume argues that the prevalence of human sympathizing justifies our attributing to humans a certain degree of benevolence. This move from sympathy to having a concern for others has been challenged by recent critics. A more fine-grained look at Hume’s concept of sympathy may reveal the reasons why he thought that experiencing sympathy implied having a benevolent attitude. Two arguments from the Treatise are analyzed and found wanting. It is suggested that Hume’s confusion may derive from ambiguities surrounding the (...) term “sympathy” and a lack of attention given to the intentional aspects of sympathizing. (shrink)

Philosophers have long suspected that in good literature, there is something of value to be found for doing philosophy. Plato, for example, delights in quoting the poets, despite his reservations about their social influence. As we have, more recently, sought to energize our teaching methods by supplementing lecture and discussion with novels and short stories, as well as film, music, and poetry, we may struggle with lingering suspicions about this expenditure of valuable class time or worries about whether we are (...) making the best use of these supplemental resources. More than tokening assent to the value of literature for philosophy, what is overdue is a careful discussion of exactly what it is that literature brings to philosophical inquiry, along with, perhaps, a demonstration of how literature can be most effectively utilized. This is just what is provided by Anthony Cunningham in The Heart of What Matters. (shrink)