Behavioral Ethics – A Case for Reformation in Normative Business 2017

The conference took place in Lutherstadt Wittenberg from June 28 until June 30, 2017.

Philipp Schreck (Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg) and Thomas Donaldson (The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania) jointly organized the first Wittenberg Business Ethics conference. The Wittenberg Center for Globale Ethics hosted the conference. 

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[item title="Programm"]

• Behavioral Ethics_Programm

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[item title="Thematic Focus of the Conference"]

The conference took the 500th anniversary of the European Reformation as an opportunity to discuss the broader implications of systemic reform in business research and the field of business ethics, especially in the relationship between normative and empirical research. To this end, a selected group of leading business ethics scholars, economists, psychologists, and philosophers from Europe and Overseas presented and discussed their ideas in Wittenberg. The venue was apt, for in Wittenberg in 1517 Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses against indulgences onto the door of the All Saints' Church, launching the Protestant Reformation.

The objective of the conference was to encourage dialogue on the following questions: In which way is behavioral ethics relevant to the goals of normative business ethics? Do the recent findings in experimental ethics constitute needed reforms in business ethics? The 500 year Reformation Anniversary offers an excellent occasion for reflection on such questions. The “Reformation” symbolizes diverse societal achievements, including the individual and her pursuit of free self-interest. However, the expansion of human freedom is inextricably tied to questions of responsibility. This tension between individual freedom and responsibility is a constitutive element of the meaning of the Reformation.

At the same time, individual freedom and responsibility lie at the heart of the debate on behavioral ethics. Particularly because so much experimental research has identified various cognitive and situational constraints on individual freedom, it prompts questions about the boundaries of individual responsibility.

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[item title="Organisational Committee"]

• Prof. Dr. Philipp Schreck, Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg
• Prof. Dr. Thomas Donaldson, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

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