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Confucian and Aristotelian Ethics: A Global Model for Leadership

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Leadership through the Classics

Abstract

The paper focuses on a model for leadership inspired by Confucian and Aristotelian theories of the virtuous person. It addresses its descriptive and normative aspects and outlines the necessary training in order to become such a leader. Confucian and Aristotelian ideas of the cardinal virtues outline a recast profile for the contemporary leader that underlines both moral integrity and enhanced ability to act contextually. The leader’s conduct aims at creating the proper conditions for global harmony and collective and individual well-being. The training consists of empowering individuals to realize their interconnectedness with collective, even planetary, interests and acquiring the skill to implement their theoretical knowledge into creative works.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    S. Angle gives an account of the subject in the virtue ethics perspective. However, he addresses the issue of the Confucian response to dilemmas in terms of emotional reaction rather than in terms of structural organization (Angle 2009, pp. 93–111).

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Correspondence to Marianna Benetatou .

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Benetatou, M. (2012). Confucian and Aristotelian Ethics: A Global Model for Leadership. In: Prastacos, G., Wang, F., Soderquist, K. (eds) Leadership through the Classics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32445-1_9

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