image3.emf

Microsoft_Word_Document.docx

PERSONAL WORLDVIEW AND BUSINESS ETHICS 1

PERSONAL WORLDVIEW AND BUSINESS ETHICS 6

Personal Worldview and Business Ethics Assignment

Your Name

University

Date

Instructor’s Name

STEP 1

To what extent should personal religious beliefs impact our decisions about business ethics

Your reply goes here.

To what extent do your personal religious (or non-religious) beliefs about life impact your sense of business ethics and personal decision-making?

Your reply goes here.

Does it seem odd to connect every belief we have about life back to what we believe about God?

Your reply goes here.

Article 1- “What is a worldview and why is it important to me?”

Has your answers to either of the first two questions changed after reading article 1?

Your reply goes here.

Do you believe in absolute truth? Is there more than one way/religion to understanding absolute truth about God and the meaning of life?

Your reply goes here.

Do you believe that humans have free will in their decisions, or are they entirely a product of their personal environment, circumstances, upbringing, etc.

Your reply goes here.

Are things such as true love, beauty, and justice really possible, or are those values totally determined by cultural beliefs and norms?

Your reply goes here.

STEP 2

Have your answers to any of the last questions changed after reading article 2?

Your reply goes here.

So far in what you’ve read and in what you’ve experienced in life, does it seem odd or offensive to see Jesus Christ as the foundation for life and meaning?

Your reply goes here.

STEP 3

Have your answers to either of the last two questions changed after reading article 3?

Your reply goes here.

Now that you’ve read all of the articles, how has your view of meaning, ethics and your own worldview changed? What questions or comments do you have about what you’ve read?

Your conclusion goes here.

References

[Your Personal Worldview references go here]

Business Ethical Practices

[Your Business Ethical Practices section goes here]

Introduction

Ethical Practices #1

Ethical Practices #2

Conclusion

References

[Your Business Ethical Practices references go here.]

image4.png

image1.emf

Microsoft_Word_97_-_2003_Document.doc

“Worldview, Philosophy, Faith and Ethics” Reading

ARTICLE 1: What Is a Worldview and Why Is It Important to Me?

The first set of questions in part 1 asked you to evaluate the extent to which you seek to apply faith, values, and philosophy to your personal and business decisions. To really have a sound foundation for ethical decisions, we have to have an understanding of how our worldview influences the decisions we make and how we perceive reality.

Too often, we barely understand what our worldview is all about and how it impacts decisions. As such, our decisions in life may or may not be informed by sound principles. This is true even for Christians, who may even have unbiblical ideas influencing their worldview. The non-Christian faces a different challenge: trying to make sense of life in a meaningful way without a Biblical, theistic starting point. All of this will be discussed in the series of article for this assignment.

Defining Worldview

· A worldview is the intellectual, emotional, and perhaps even spiritual framework by which we apprehend reality and assign meaning to life.

· Everyone has a worldview; it may not be very developed, but nevertheless, everyone is approaching life based upon one.

The Worldview “House”

· To speak metaphorically, our worldview is the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual “home” in which we live all of our lives. It may change drastically, undergoing serious renovations or damage as we go through life, but it is always with us nevertheless. Furthermore, regardless of how nice the house is on the inside (furniture, upholstery, decorations, etc., etc.), if that worldview home is not built upon a solid foundation, or a strong skeletal framework, it will not be a very safe or suitable home in which to live.

· Ironically, the two most important things of any house—the foundation and the framework—are the components that most people don’t think about when they look at a house, because these two components are unseen and therefore often ignored.

· Likewise, though people are quite comfortable articulating their beliefs about politics, religion, business, relationships, the meaning of life, etc., etc., they rarely look at the crucial assumptions underneath those beliefs, because by their nature, these beliefs are assumed and therefore taken for granted.

Defining Presuppositions

· Presuppositions are the crucial, yet often unspoken assumptions about the origin of life, truth, individuality, and values that serve as the foundation and framework for one’s worldview.

· As we’ll see throughout the assignment, everyone has certain assumptions that they make about life. These presuppositions must be evaluated if we are going to have a sound worldview for ethical soundness, because they pertain to the foundation and framework of our worldview house.

Presuppositions and the Worldview “House”

These key presuppositions can be assigned to two categories: foundational presuppositions and framework presuppositions. Again, think of these two terms in the context of a home. Obviously, a home needs a solid foundation and skeletal framework. The same is true for one’s worldview.

First, we will discuss the importance of foundational presuppositions. The case will be made here that to have a sound worldview “home”, only a certain type of foundation can be in place. Just as an actual house couldn’t be built upon a foundation of banana pudding and expect to be sound, so a worldview cannot be based upon faulty presuppositions.

In reality, there are only two choices for foundational presuppositions, and as will be discussed below, only one of those two options can actually support the full weight of one’s worldview home through trying times.

CHOOSING YOUR FOUNDATION

Foundational Presuppositions: An intellectual starting point or “foundation” of the worldview home. There are only two options:

· The presence of eternal, impersonal, non-living, infinite matter, (this option includes both the secular atheistic adherence to non-living matter as well as more Eastern approaches, in which some cosmic force, though eternal and spiritual, is not personal)

· A eternal, personal, living, infinite creator being

Why these two?

We have to start with the question of how life started because that is the source of all meaning. We may claim to derive our sense of right and wrong from our family upbringing, or society or culture, or the laws of the land, but all of those are not original determinants—they came into being and are determined by whatever it was that brought life and meaning into existence in the first place. We therefore have to back to the very beginning. That is why we are only focusing on the two starting points mentioned above.

We have to assume that our metaphysical starting point must be eternal in origin, or else it is not a starting point, since something else would have come before it. Therefore, the fact that both starting points are eternal is valid, and as such, the eternal requirement would negate any type of mythology in which the gods were created.

On the possibility of a sentient, personal and infinite creator being or beings, certainly this passes as a possible starting point. We cannot surmise as to whether or not it would only be one entity, or multiple entities, but we know that regardless of number, they must be eternal.

The other possibility, which is totally opposite, is that of eternal, non-living matter. Besides the fact that it is eternal, which is a prerequisite for any starting point, there is nothing else in common with the personal, infinite creator being. Following is an explanation of how these two possible starting points are both mutually exclusive and exhaustive of all possibilities.

1. One is living, the other is non-living. These two attributes are totally opposite of one another; as an entity cannot be both, or partial of these two extremes. No other possibilities exist.

2. One is personal, and the other is non-personal. Again, there is no room for an intermediary position here. One cannot have both personality and non-personality.

3. It follows that creation deriving from the former is predetermined, whereas creation from the latter is a chance happenstance. Non-living matter cannot plan to initiate a new development in itself; all processes must be random. On the other hand, it is appropriate to conceive of an intelligent creator being planning creation.

Simply stated, there really are no other possibilities other than these two, which is to say that they are mutually exclusive. They embody the full range of possibilities. A major theme of these articles is that only the God of the Bible—and no other religious starting point—will suffice, but that argument will be made later. For now, it is important to note that whoever this God is, he/she/it must be eternal, personal, and sentient, or else this “god” starting point will be no different from the impersonal, eternal starting point.

CONCLUSION

Some might argue that they do not make any decisions—or at least very few—while thinking about what they believe about God or random chance. They would claim that they make decisions based upon circumstances, past experiences, legal ramifications and other types of consequences, and in the end, what works best for them. These same people might even claim to believe in some type of God. But when people make this argument, they are in reality being influenced by their views of God in ways of which they are not quite aware, and as the case will be made in subsequent articles, the foundation of their worldview home may very well be something akin to banana pudding—which tastes great with vanilla wafers, but is less than satisfying for a sure foundation.

ARTICLE 2: Adding the Framework—Ontology, Epistemology, & Axiology

What are the implications for having a foundation based solidly upon a belief in an intelligent Creator being versus a foundation based upon a non-theistic, random chance starting point? This article will provide an answer to that question by looking at our framework presuppositions—those key assumptions about who we are as humans ( ontology) and whether or not there is absolute truth ( epistemology) and values ( axiology).

These framework presuppositions, like the skeletal framework of a house, are built directly upon the foundation of the home. If the foundation is bad, the framework will be flawed, and the entire structure will be damaged. So it is with our worldview homes.

SOLUTION

A personal worldview is an individual’s perspective on the nature of reality, including beliefs about the purpose and meaning of life, the nature of knowledge, and the role of morality. Business ethics are the principles and standards that govern the behavior of businesses and their decision-making processes.

The two are related in that an individual’s personal worldview can influence their approach to business ethics, as an individual’s beliefs about morality and the greater good may shape their understanding of what is considered ethical behavior in a business setting.