Synopsis of lecture:

"Business practitioners do not commonly argue over what exactly "business" means. Similarly, business ethicists begin with the assumption that we all know what business is and the task of the ethicist is to apply ethics to this commonly understood practice. What is oddly overlooked is that in the field of Business Ethics, our conception of "business" is just as important as our concept of "ethics". William Kline will argue that the reason business ethics is NOT an oxymoron is because business IS ethics. Profit and loss record whether a business is successful, but it is a handful of moral rules that determines what should count as business in the first place. While economics may study business, its birthplace is firmly within moral philosophy."

William Kline is an assistant professor of Liberal Studies at the University of Illinois at Springfield.  He received his B.A. in Economics from Grove City College and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Bowling Green State University. His areas of expertise include Business Ethics, and Social and Political Philosophy. He has published in some of the top business ethics journals, where he has consistently focused on liberty, commerce, and moral responsibility.  His courses include Philosophy of Business, Radical Capitalism, and Liberty Studies.  He has lived and taught in Hungary and enjoys learning the language.