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Abstract

In this chapter, the notion of “purpose” is discussed. It is shown that it has a long tradition in Western philosophy and that it also plays a crucial role in business ethics. Without “purpose,” or concomitant, notions such as “goal” or “result,” human rationality seems to be at risk. This, however, is not to suggest that we cannot be critical about the way this notion functions in philosophy and society.

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Correspondence to René ten Bos .

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© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

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ten Bos, R. (2013). Purpose. In: Luetge, C. (eds) Handbook of the Philosophical Foundations of Business Ethics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1494-6_31

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1494-6_31

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-007-1493-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-1494-6

  • eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law

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