TMU CSR Institute zoom session: Business, Ethics and Excellence in Action Sports -- in Conversation with Professor Glen Whelan

The Institute for the Study of Corporate Social Responsibility at Toronto Metropolitan University(TMU) is pleased to co-sponsor* an online interactive zoom talk, Business, Ethics and Excellence in Action Sports -- in Conversation with Professor Glen Whelan, on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 from 12 pm to 1:30 pm, Toronto time (details below).

To register (no cost, everyone welcome) click HERE (external link)  then press the "reserve a spot" button.

To access the zoom on Wednesday, October 30 at 12 noon (Toronto time), click HERE (external link)  to patch in for the live session. This session is exclusively a zoom event: there is no in-person component.

Information will be provided during the session re: how to submit questions.

About this talk

Business and (narrow) self-interest are often portrayed as running counter to the ‘the spirit of sport’. Virtue ethicists informed by the work of Alasdair MacIntyre, for example, suggest that both businesses motivated by profits, and athletes that are similarly motivated to realise external goods (e.g., status, financial wealth, winning), cannot fully realise, and can potentially undermine, sporting excellence. In advancing an alternative perspective – and in using action sports (e.g., mountain biking, skateboarding) to illustrate my reasoning – Dr. Whelan proposes that businesses and entrepreneurs motivated towards external goods can play a fundamental role in the creation of sporting practices, and the internal goods and notions of excellence associated therewith. Dr. Whelan also suggests that athletes that are primarily motivated towards external goods such as status and winning can realise levels of sporting excellence that surpass those provided by any athletes that are presumedly motivated by ‘the love of the game’. More generally, Dr. Whelan asks what is it that motivates people to engage in rich, complex and communal activities like action sports practices, and suggest that profit motivated businesses can play a positive role in the development of personal virtue and how we perceive our social responsibilities.

These and other issues will be addressed in this "in conversation" session.

About Prof Glen Whelan

Glen Whelan (whelan.glen@uqam.ca) is at ESG UQÀM. His research focuses on politics, technology, and the ways in which business shapes moral and social norms. His book Megacorporation: The infinite times of Alphabet (Cambridge University Press, 2021), advances a philosophical perspective on business-society relations. Glen is Special Issues Editor for the Journal of Business Ethics. He also serves on the editorial boards of Business & Society and Business Ethics Quarterly.

*This research seminar is organized by the TMU Law and Business Department, and is co-sponsored by the TMU Institute for the Study of Corporate Social Responsibilty, and the Ted Rogers Leadership Centre at Ted Rogers School of Management Institute (the Business Ethics Speaker Series).

About the Moderator: Prof Sareh Pouryousefi

Sareh Pouryousefi is an Assistant Professor at the Law and Business Department, Ted Rogers School of Management.

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