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Scientific Article details

Title Sustainable Development and Well-Being: A Philosophical Challenge
ID_Doc 78729
Authors Painter-Morland, M; Demuijnck, G; Ornati, S
Title Sustainable Development and Well-Being: A Philosophical Challenge
Year 2017
Published Journal Of Business Ethics, 146, 2
DOI 10.1007/s10551-017-3658-4
Abstract This paper aims at gaining a better understanding of the inherent paradoxes within sustainability discourses by investigating its basic assumptions. Drawing on a study of the metaphoric references operative in moral language, we reveal the predominance of the 'well-being = wealth' construct, which may explain the dominance of the 'business case' cognitive frame in sustainability discourses (Hahn et al. in Acad Manag Rev 4015:18-42, 2015a). We incorporate economic well-being variables within a philosophical model of becoming well (Kupers in Cult Organ 11(3):221-231, 2005), highlighting the way in which these variables consistently articulate a combination of 'objective' and 'subjective' concerns. We then compare this broad understanding of well-being with the metaphors operative in the sustainable development discourse and argue that the sustainability discourse has fallen prey to an overemphasis on the 'business case'. We proceed to draw on Georges Bataille to challenge the predominance of these value priorities and to explore which mindshifts are required to develop a more comprehensive understanding of what is needed to enable 'sustainable development'.
Author Keywords Sustainable development; Well-being; Metaphor; Georges Bataille
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Social Science Citation Index (SSCI); Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Social Science & Humanities (CPCI-SSH)
EID WOS:000416806300004
WoS Category Business; Ethics
Research Area Business & Economics; Social Sciences - Other Topics
PDF https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10551-017-3658-4.pdf
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