Aesthetics as a Foundation for Business Activity

This paper identifies the ultimate justification for business activity as an aesthetic justification. Aesthetics, loosely defined as the appreciation of beauty, subsumes both ethics and economics within an holistic justificatory mechanism for business decisions. Five essential qualities of aesthetic judgment are identified: disinterest, subjectivity, inclusivity, contemplativity, and internality. The quality of aesthetic judgment, exercised by the individual through the organization, will determine the extent to which business activity enhances quality of life. John Dobson is Professor of Finance at California Polytechnic State University. His primary area of interest is financial ethics, in particular how the theory of ethics relates to financial side of business activity. He has published articles on ethics and finance in various academic journals, and has published two books, both of which investigate the synthesis of finance and ethics. His current research focuses on the connections between psychology, finance theory, and moral philosophy.