Professional activity, like our personal life, involves morality and personal responsibility. Ethics seeks to reflect on this by providing concepts and a framework for moral behaviour. Formally, ethics is the branch of philosophy that considers what is good and bad in human life and which actions are right or wrong. In a more general sense, ethics tries to determine how we ought to live.

In this course we will firstly explore the history of ethical thought. Secondly, we will discuss some key ethical concepts and issues that can help to shape sound moral reasoning and correct behaviour in professional life. Thirdly, we will study a branch of ethics termed “areteology”, in which the central claim is that certain traits of character (virtues) are essential for good behaviour. We also discuss how character has an influence on business leadership.