In recent years, many disciplines have become interested in the scientific study of morality. However, a conceptual framework for this work is still lacking. In The Moral Background, Gabriel Abend develops just such a framework and uses it to investigate the history of business ethics in the United States from the 1850s to the 1930s.According to Abend, morality consists of three levels: moral and immoral behavior, or the behavioral level; moral understandings and norms, or the normative level; and the moral background, which includes what moral concepts exist in a society, what moral methods can be used, what reasons can be given, and what objects can be morally evaluated at all. This background underlies the behavioral and normative levels; it supports, facilitates, and enables them.Through this perspective, Abend historically examines the work of numerous business ethicists and organizations-such as Protestant ministers, business associations, and business schools-and identifies two types of moral background. "Standards of Practice" is characterized by its scientific worldview, moral relativism, and emphasis on individuals' actions and decisions. The "Christian Merchant" type is characterized by its Christian worldview, moral objectivism, and conception of a person's life as a unity.The Moral Background offers both an original account of the history of business ethics and a novel framework for understanding and investigating morality in general.

In recent years, many disciplines have become interested in the scientific study of morality. However, a conceptual framework for this work is still lacking. In The Moral Background, Gabriel Abend develops just such a framework and uses it to investigate the history of business ethics in the United States from the 1850s to the 1930s.According to Abend, morality consists of three levels: moral and immoral behavior, or the behavioral level; moral understandings and norms, or the normative level; and the moral background, which includes what moral concepts exist in a society, what moral methods can be used, what reasons can be given, and what objects can be morally evaluated at all. This background underlies the behavioral and normative levels; it supports, facilitates, and enables them.Through this perspective, Abend historically examines the work of numerous business ethicists and organizations-such as Protestant ministers, business associations, and business schools-and identifies two types of moral background. "e;Standards of Practice"e; is characterized by its scientific worldview, moral relativism, and emphasis on individuals' actions and decisions. The "e;Christian Merchant"e; type is characterized by its Christian worldview, moral objectivism, and conception of a person's life as a unity.The Moral Background offers both an original account of the history of business ethics and a novel framework for understanding and investigating morality in general.

Introduction 11. Moral Causes 12. Business Ethicists 53. History, Morals, and Markets 104. The Arguments 155. The Plan 20Chapter 1. The Moral Background 281.1. Morality as an Object of Inquiry 281.2. What the Background Comprises 331.3. What Makes the Background a Background 521.4. Background Theorists 561.5. What the Background Is For 66Chapter 2. Ethics as a Business Proposition 712.1. Glaucon's Challenge 712.2. Today's Business Ethicists 762.3. The Business Case 792.4. Do the Right Thing 842.5. Policy and Self-Interest 882.6. Yesterday's Business Ethicists 952.7. Balance Sheets 992.8. He Profits Most Who Serves Best 106Chapter 3. Christian Motives 1153.1. Enlightened Scots 1153.2. Springs of Action 1203.3. Machiavellian Appearances 1263.4. Compromises 1323.5. Duties and Motives 1423.6. The Religion of the Heart 1483.7. One Question Too Many 156Chapter 4. The Good of American Business 1614.1. The Pesky Calf 1614.2. The Chamber 1654.3. Government Will 1744.4. The Principles of Business Conduct 1834.5. Codes of Ethics 1904.6. American Business 1954.7. The Uses of Ethics 202Appendix 205Chapter 5. The Good of American Society 2075.1. Inculcating Ethics 2075.2. Business Schools 2105.3. The Intellectual and the Ethical Arguments 2245.4. Ethics at Work 2345.5. The Good of America 249Chapter 6. Standards of Practice 2606.1. Types 2606.2. The Science of Ethics 2646.3. Science and Ethics at the Business School 2766.4. Cases 2826.5. Metaethics 2906.6. Service and the Golden Rule 299Chapter 7. The Christian Merchant 3067.1. Moral Exemplars 3067.2. Mammon 3107.3. Ambivalence 3167.4. Metaphysics 3267.5. Stewardship 3327.6. Stewardship Metaphysics 3417.7. Spheres 347Conclusion 3571. Business Is Business 3572. Back to the Background 3643. The Science of Morality 3724. Whither the Science of Morality? 379Acknowledgments 387Index 389