The philosophical roots of development ethics
International Journal of Social Economics
ISSN: 0306-8293
Article publication date: 29 November 2018
Issue publication date: 29 March 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the philosophical roots of development ethics as a field of study with its interdisciplinary character.
Design/methodology/approach
The conceptual and historical evolution of development ethics is unfolded through Aristotle’s philosophy.
Findings
The authors argued that Aristotle’s philosophy, incorporating the concepts of “a good life” and “a good society,” defines ethical development and influences contemporary development ethics.
Originality/value
Development ethics is a relatively new field of study within social sciences and determines the ethical perspective of development in a holistic and normative manner. It is important to understand the antecedents, pioneers and contemporary practitioners of development ethics and how they are related. Based on the authors’ knowledge, there has been limited research regarding the origins of the concept of a “good society” as a determinant factor of development. In this context, Aristotle’s philosophy incorporating the concepts of a “good life” and a “good society” is the founding determinant in the study of ethical development.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the two reviewers and to Robert Scott for his valuable comments. The authors of this paper have not made their research data set openly available. Any enquiries regarding the data set can be directed to the corresponding author
Citation
Marangos, J., Astroulakis, N. and Triarchi, E. (2019), "The philosophical roots of development ethics", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 46 No. 4, pp. 523-531. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-05-2018-0279
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited