What is Ethos? (Business Ethos)

What is ethos?

- Set of beliefs, ideas, etc. about social behaviour and relationships associated with a particular group of people or a particular type of activity or the distinctive spirit of a period (age) (eg. National ethos, class ethos, sportsperson ethos, gender ethos, medieval ethos, Indian ethos)

- Ethoses are mores. Mores are conventions, especially conventions of morality.

- Ethos is part of Aristotelian trio: Ethos, pathos, logos. - Ethos: Ethical appeal, credibility of the individual/ institution depends on

its ethos. One’s ethos are long standing ethical values drawn from one’s milieu.

- Pathos: Emotional appeal, pathos set emotional appeal towards individual/ emotion. Corporate Social Responsibility related actions, for instance, are measures to appeal pathos.

- Logos: Logical appeal- supported by deductive or inductive reasoning. - From Aristotelian point of view one’s influence on others are determined

by these three factors. - For Aristotle ethos is dependent on a certain configuration of phronesis

(practical wisdom), arête (excellence, being the best one can be), and eunoia (of beautiful mind), while that configuration is dependent on ethos.

- Phronesis- arête-& eunoia- construct one another- that result in ethos. - None of these elements construct themselves in isolation. - The manifestation of loops (prudence, virtue, and good will) and the

creation of the system (ethos) are simultaneously intertwined processes. - Like health cannot be separated from nutrition, non-abuse, serene

attitude, good ecology etc., ethos depends upon Phronesis- arête-& eunoia.

- Ethos "should result from the speech, not from a previous opinion that the speaker is a certain kind of person".- i.e ethos happens; it is not kept readymade to follow!

- Ethos is constituted in the flow of activities within the pragmatics of situations.

Dr.P.Madhu

13 July 1012