Cicero And Business Ethics

Cicero And Business Ethics

Cicero on Business Ethics
Marcus Tullius Cicero, A well known orator, lawyer, politician and philosopher whose life coincided with the decline and fall of the Roman Republic. According to Cicero, politics was placed above philosophical study; in fact, it was a means to achieve more political action.  
The philosophy of Cicero was widely read in the 19th century. It was Cicero’s Hortensius which became the turning point in his sinful life and he turned towards philosophy and God. His philosophy had a political purpose: the improvement and the defense of the Roman republic. The basic concept in his writings was his belief that all the politicians of that era were not virtuous enough to lead. They were corrupt unlike the Romans of the earlier days of history. This loss of virtue was the main reason for the difficulties and problems that were in the Republic. Cicero hoped to influence the politicians through his writings so that they may focus on the improvement of individual virtue and the stability of the society rather than paying all their attention on fame, wealth and power (Dominik and Hall 250-284)
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The writings of Cicero need no introduction. His style of writing, eloquence and his erudition, explains the reader about the historical and the political background of his era.   He is an artist, who delivers his speeches like he is painting a complete picture of the life of a person in words. The picture is comprehensive with complete ups and downs of a story. On the other hand, if we look Cicero as a professor, he is teaching his jury the real meaning of justice and modesty. He explains the ways to execute justice, in terms of moral arguments, customs and the proper interpretation of the law (Langlands 100-122).
There are various readings of Cicero which can be divided into three categories. All of the work done by Cicero has a political purpose and the main thing is that none of the work can actually define the real thoughts of Cicero. Specially, one...