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Existentialism : The Teleological Suspension Of The Ethical

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There is a concept in Kierkegaardian existentialism that is quite interesting, particularly because in the current case it appears to be relevant for a very bizarre reason. Kierkegaard writes of the “teleological suspension of the ethical,” that is, the suspension of ethical rules for behavior in order to follow a higher, divinely-imposed law (McDonald, 1996). The example that Kierkegaard writes of is Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Isaac, a willingness that required that he suspend his ethical obligations in support of the telos provided by God. Milton Friedman certainly does not come across as a Christian Existentialist, so one wonders precisely how this concept is relevant to his thoughts on the duties of corporations. The answer is quite simple: for Friedman, the “divine law” that warrants a teleological suspension of the ethical is the accumulation of wealth. In order to accumulate wealth, the ethical obligations of all persons involved in a corporation can be suspended under the pretense that they together form a corporation that is and ought to be amoral and profit-hungry. I am being somewhat tongue-in-cheek, of course, because I doubt that Friedman would describe his position in these terms, but I am pointing to what I believe is a key reason that Friedman’s argument fails. In this short paper, I will first present what I believe are Friedman’s most fundamental arguments. I will then present my reasons that these arguments fail. Finally, I will discuss

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