{"id":1103,"date":"2025-10-31T08:20:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T08:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/2025\/10\/31\/2025-10-31-lecturer-preaches-honorable-business\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T23:09:32","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T23:09:32","slug":"2025-10-31-lecturer-preaches-honorable-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/2025\/10\/31\/2025-10-31-lecturer-preaches-honorable-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Lecturer preaches honorable\u00a0business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Julia Kramer<\/a> · Contributing Writer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Otteson
Otteson addresses students in Sticht about honorable business. \u2014 JULIA KRAMER<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

James Otteson, a professor of philosophy and business at Notre Dame, discussed how to practice business honorably in Sticht Lecture Hall on Oct. 23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Otteson lectured on \u201chonorable business,\u201d the same name as his 2019 book, promoting a countercultural argument to the zero-sum gain commerce theory. Otteson addressed that many perceive his topic as an oxymoron and believe students who pursue business are only out to make money to the detriment of society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople see business profit as necessarily in conflict with the social good,\u201d Otteson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not a conventional topic for a business lecture, which was why he was asked to come and speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I really wanted students to grasp are some of the philosophical underpinnings of what it is that they are doing when they are entering the business world,\u201d Associate Professor of Economics Caleb Fuller said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Otteson argued that for there to be a \u201cjust and humane society,\u201d the world needs a \u201cproperly functioning market economy.\u201d He further stipulated that this economy could bring genuine value to the world by improving the lives of others through honorable business. Then Otteson transitioned to build the case that this genuine value is only made through cooperative behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople (falsely) think, sort of instinctively, that if you are successful, it will have to come at somebody else\u2019s expense,\u201d Otteson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Otteson also posed the two main ways people get things from others: taking and asking. Otteson then discussed that for much of history, from the pharaohs to the Romans, humans have chosen the \u201ctake\u201d option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConquer, usurp, take, steal,\u201d Otteson said. \u201cThat\u2019s what we (humans) do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Otteson pointed out that this approach only results in a \u201czero-sum transaction\u201d that never creates new value. Moving around wealth does not create value, and in cases of war, it often results in negative value. Otteson revealed that this economic trend shifted after the 1800s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going from $3 earned a day to $56, humanity has never been richer than it is today, according to Otteson, who challenged the audience to guess what changed. After allowing students to try and puzzle through it themselves, he shared what he believed to be the explanation behind this huge economic shift, or \u201cGreat Enrichment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not in institutions,\u201d Otteson said. \u201cIt was a shift in morality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Per Otteson, people learned that it was only through moral, cooperative exchanges, where both individuals benefited, that true wealth and value could be brought into the market. Otteson then argued that it is this truth that is the basis for \u201chonorable business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Otteson highlighted that businesspeople not only should reject extractive or taking practices, but they should also engage in genuine cooperation and treat people with the respect that is best for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAn honorable businessperson should always strive to behave honorably, no matter what, even when people around (them) are not doing it,\u201d Otteson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important for students also to think about what the lines are: Think now, \u2018what are the lines I will not cross, no matter what?\u2019 And when you come up with a couple of those, don\u2019t cross them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Otteson demonstrated that business, like any other degree or occupation, can be pursued, not merely for personal or material gain, but to bring \u201cgenuine value\u201d into the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, understanding what role business can play in a Christian\u2019s life is not something that can be summarized in one lecture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUse your unique time, talent and treasure to benefit not only yourself, but others,\u201d Otteson said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

James Otteson, a professor of philosophy and business at Notre Dame, discussed how to practice business honorably in Sticht Lecture Hall on Oct. 23. Otteson lectured on \u201chonorable business,\u201d the same name<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":2131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[186],"tags":[14,80,38],"class_list":["post-1103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus","tag-front-page","tag-julia-kramer","tag-issue-2025-10-31"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2025-10-31-04-lecturer-preaches-honorable-business-1-v2.jpg",1089,1280,false],"thumbnail":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2025-10-31-04-lecturer-preaches-honorable-business-1-v2.jpg",128,150,false],"medium":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2025-10-31-04-lecturer-preaches-honorable-business-1-v2.jpg",255,300,false],"medium_large":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2025-10-31-04-lecturer-preaches-honorable-business-1-v2.jpg",768,903,false],"large":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2025-10-31-04-lecturer-preaches-honorable-business-1-v2.jpg",871,1024,false],"1536x1536":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2025-10-31-04-lecturer-preaches-honorable-business-1-v2.jpg",1089,1280,false],"2048x2048":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2025-10-31-04-lecturer-preaches-honorable-business-1-v2.jpg",1089,1280,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Ian Schartner","author_link":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/author\/schartnerij23\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"James Otteson, a professor of philosophy and business at Notre Dame, discussed how to practice business honorably in Sticht Lecture Hall on Oct. 23. Otteson lectured on \u201chonorable business,\u201d the same name","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1103"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2199,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1103\/revisions\/2199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}