PrefaceIn an interview in 1986, the late Erwin Chargaff, professor of biochemistry at Columbia University, answered a question if there is or there should be a place for ethics in science.
"There should be [a place for ethics in science], but can't be. Any kind of delving into nature could be said to be sacrilegious. An American Indian prayed to the tree when he had to cut it down and asked for forgiveness. This is, of course, incompatible with any of our activities today, incompatible with science. In the 17th century, science began to cross the ethical frontier when it began delving into nature. Of course, for a while everything was fine because of the relative inefficiency of "modern science". They were so far from serious harming that this issue did not arise until our century, mainly by nuclear fission, nuclear energy, and now genetic energy, which comes from the nucleus. We have crossed the line of ethics and it is all too late now... Ethics may still be present in the laboratory, in small things that are not published. Some people do not conduct animal experiments. In my opinion, there cannot be ethics in science. This is an essentially unethical occupation. Perhaps some of its areas are less so, but you see, theoretical physics has led to the atomic bomb, and astronomy is now occupied by the Star Wars. Science has lost its innocence, is incompatible with ethics. If you want to be an ethical person, be an accountant or something." (Chargaff, 1987, p.883)[1]
Unfortunately, the experiences of more than three decades since the interview suggest that not only science but also economy and business seem to be incompatible with ethics and ecology. In the midst of worsening climate change, when unpredictable consequences of the possible ecological breakdown already significantly enhance suffering of human and non-human beings, and when we had better get to know the idea of "deep adaptation", what can we expect from business itself at its best? The book is about what ecologically conscious business organizations are like, in what respect can they serve as inspiration for us to become more ecologically conscious beings and how can we start to creatively work for the betterment of the world. Part I Introduction
1 Ecology and Business
The introductory chapter reviews the motivation why the study of ecologically conscious business organizations and particularly their value background and business models is important in general and within the social science context. It briefly presents the framework of the research behind the book through short summary of previous studies and methodological issues. It ends with a preview of the structure of the book. Research confirms that we nowadays live in the era of the Anthropocene when human activities have significant and global impact on Earth's ecosystems. Biosphere-transforming activities of humanity - primarily through the operation of societies and economies becoming global - by today have reached such an extent that results in incomparably higher, harmful and largely irreversible changes compared to other species. It is not only our well-being, but also the survival of our own and other living being that are at stake.
To have a chance to alleviate the ecological crisis affecting our planet, spreading of ecological consciousness and a praxis focusing on the restoration of the natural environment is needed. This may enable the economy to function again as a system embedded in nature and society.
Part II Ecological Consciousness in Business Context
2 The Importance of Business Models
In this book, the concept of "business" is understood as business organization or business enterprise. In business and management literature, there are no standard, widely accepted definitions for these terms but the priority of profit motive seems to be essential. However, ethi
About the Author: András Ócsai is an assistant professor at the Business Ethics Center at Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary. Before joining Corvinus University of Budapest in 2010, he worked for several multinational companies and in the Hungarian public sector. His research interests include business ethics, ecological consciousness, Buddhist economics, and spirituality in business. He is a member of the European SPES Institute (Leuven, Belgium) and serves as the Hungarian national contact for Globethics.net (Geneva, Switzerland)
