Ruy Lopez

I have a question on formal or "trade" terminology. Would like to know if there is a technical term for a certain "way of thinking" that I got used to. I would like to hear more about it from Philosophy professionals as well as from Board participants.

This way of thinking is encouraged in business school (MBA). That is where I got it and found it helpful in analysis.

Basically it says that beliefs, actions, phenomena and the like should not be viewed as good or bad; definitely not as angelic or devilish. Rather, one should ask why the event took place; what the motivation of the doer or originator was; without regard for ethics or morality or at least while suspending judgment.

This manner of thinking needs a reference point though; something as banal and pragmatic as PROFIT or RETURN ON INVESTMENT. With clear objectives like these, it is indeed easy to assess whether a course of action is FUNCTIONAL OR NOT to the business. An example.

Assume that shopping for groceries over the internet from a central warehouse has become reliable, more economical and fraud-resistant that more than 50% of shoppers stop going out. A functional businessman could not care if supermarket chains and malls go under with thousands out of work and businesses bankrupt. It is not his job to worry about others.

Is there a philosophical term for this? If people wish to discuss, I'm also open.

Laurentius

As a Sunday philosopher I'd call it method= a certain type of thinking that starts from a reference poing according to which an entire system of thought can be developed.

The method one uses determines the type of philosophy that is generated, and, implicitely, the morality - no matter how amoral it may seem or claim to be.

AVE

Ruy Lopez

Laurentius: You hit the nail on the head. I am more of a problem solver than a philosopher and never thought out my philosophy though I had been living it. What is described is indeed a METHOD and implicitly I add my values and philosophy to the DECISIONS made.

Thank you.

Hugo Holbling

I think the term you're looking for is praxeology. The methodology behind it - as propounded by von Mises - is to study the effect of an action (the means), ceteris paribus, and hence evaluate whether the action is suitable to attain the desired end or ends. The only judgement that may be made is to call a means "bad" if its consequences are undesirable from the point-of-view of the person proposing it. Hence, praxeology is supposed to be wertfrei.

If you're interested in this subject then i suggest taking a look at Mises "Human Action" (it's online, i think). Whether or not the conclusions he drew (and those who now presume to speak for him draw today) are sound is another matter entirely.

Ruy Lopez

A bigger thanks HUGO. This is exactly what I want. It is about getting to know better who I am.