The existentialist public administrator
International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior
ISSN: 1093-4537
Article publication date: 1 March 2003
Abstract
The philosophical roots of existentialism can be found in the writings of Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, and Camus. Sartre used existentialism to frame the social and political issues of the day after World War II and Camus helped popularize the philosophyĆs focus on individualism and personal freedom. Existentialism provided justification for challenging public officials and regimes and was embraced again by public administrators and citizens frustrated by the failures of foreign and domestic policies in the 1960s and 1970s. Today existentialism and transcendentalist phenomenology remain strong alternatives to empiricism as a methodology in the study of human behavior. They provide a philosophical basis for determining and applying ethical standards, as well as a basis for encouraging public administrators to address major societal problems rather than being overly focused on management technique and administrative process.
Citation
Waugh, W.L. (2003), "The existentialist public administrator", International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 432-451. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOTB-07-03-2004-B007
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2004 by PrAcademics Press