If Socrates Run General Motors

¶ … Aristotle Ran GM

Query and Book Review

Morrison, Thomas V. (1998) If Aristotle Ran General Motors. Owl Books.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote his most formative text upon "Ethics." Thus to apply his four fold philosophy about the dimensions of human experience to self-help in the context of business development may seem strange. Yet Aristotle also emphasized human excellence, stressing that the intellectual dimension and orientation of human life is to aim at truth; the aesthetic human striving aims for beauty; the moral human impulse is for goodness; and the spiritual is for unity, or unified growth and development. All of these principles, suggests the author in the step-by-step fashion to the genre, are exemplified in companies that succeed in the current business environment.

Thus, as suggested by Thomas V. Morrison, a company that has recently endured adversity, such as Martha Stewart Omni media, continues to succeed because it has an intellectual dimension or corporate philosophy of life beyond the fortunes of its founder. It might be said to aim at the truth that human beings wish to add to the amenities of their home. They wish to make their daily surroundings comforting and beautiful, aesthetically. They strive to use purchased crafts to create a moral ideal of goodness as well, to give their children and grandchildren as well as themselves the kind of life they aspire to on the level of the eye as well as the mind. Spiritually, improving the home with one's own hands is a good endeavor as well. Despite Martha Stewart's personal difficulties, this is why her company has remained strong, Morrison might suggest -- because it embodies the four Aristotelian principles.