Both theorists and practitioners of capitalism seem to be losing confidence in the merits of business. Three times as many students say that college has given them a worse view of capitalism than a better one. More professional philosophers favor socialism than capitalism. And about a quarter of people in business think their jobs are useless. But evidence also shows that these attitudes can change—for instance, spotlighting the long-term benefits of profit helps reduce anti-profit beliefs.
Our project explores how profitable commercial activity not only enriches oneself and others, but contributes to a meaningful and well-lived life. We want to marry philosophy’s study of meaning and business schools’ study of commerce by exploring the parallels between the imperative individuals feel to fill their lives with purpose and the imperative of a business to know what its business is.
We will launch a new postdoctoral doctorate at the John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University to train a new generation of uniquely philosophically-minded business ethicists. Additionally, we will organize workshops and publish research that examines the harmony between a business’s need for a mission and an individual’s need for meaning.
Our project also has a teaching component. We will merge ethical and entrepreneurial lessons into business education at WVU through experiential learning projects that ask students to create value for themselves and others, reflect on their career ambitions, and confront moral dilemmas. More specifically, we will integrate the Purpose Project into the education of every student at the John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University by reinventing our Business Ethics course. The goal is to deepen students’ understanding of how they consume and work, their own moral motivations and those of others, how for-profit and non-profit activity compare as means of doing good in the world, and more.
