Philosophy aims at individual liberation through cessation of pain and suffering. The world around what we see is full of miseries and suffering. Human life is a saga of suffering, pain and happiness. Although happiness is there when we take the proportion of suffering and pain - it is not equated or balanced. Human beings from time immemorial have been probing into this existential issues and asking the question - how to eliminate pain and suffering? Or how to bring about eternal happiness in this life? This book will delve deeper into the naked realities of life which affirm the necessity of CSR for the welfare and progress of the society.

CSR encompasses broad questions about the changing relationship between business, society, and government. An authoritative review of the academic research that has both prompted, and responded to, these issues, the text provides clear thinking and perspectives on CSR and the debates around it.

No one is a born philosopher or everyone is born as a philosopher. We can look at it either way. Most of us use the philosophy or the so called reasoning mind for finding happiness of the self and come out with a selfishness philosophy to boost the ego and its gimmicks. For them, I guess the philosophy would be to liberate themselves from the pain and suffering, as they seek ways and means of happiness for the self. However, there are many who would think altruistically for the happiness of themselves as well as of other human beings. This book, discusses a few eastern and western existential and pragmatic philosophers whose philosophies have influenced me in my life and gave meaning and depth to my life and triggered the interest to undertake this philosophical study on CSR and its impact on the society.

Presenting an analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in India, this book looks at the unique roots of the concept in India. It examines Gandhi’s philosophical moorings that inform India’s approach to CSR, and the role of civil society in setting an agenda for championing the rights of the stakeholders. The book goes on to focus on the role of the government in grooming the Indian business to be sensitive of its social concerns. Drawing on rich empirical data, the book shows that CSR in India cannot be conceptualized in ethnocentric terms. Arguing that it is not about ‘the typical Indianness’ of the articulation, it emphasizes the point that CSR in India needs to be conceptualized in a wider perspective by taking into account its philosophical roots with reference to the prevalent socio-economic and political context. The book is a valuable contribution to the literature on CSR, and is of interest to scholars of Asian Studies, business and development studies.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) expresses a fundamental morality in the way a company behaves toward society. It follows ethical behavior toward stakeholders and recognizes the spirit of the legal and regulatory environment. The idea of CSR gained momentum in the late 1950s and 1960s with the expansion of large conglomerate corporations and became a popular subject in the 1980s with R. Edward Freeman's Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach and the many key works of Archie B. Carroll, Peter F. Drucker, and others. In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008–2010, CSR has again become a focus for evaluating corporate behavior. First published in 1953, Howard R. Bowen’s Social Responsibilities of the Businessman was the first comprehensive discussion of business ethics and social responsibility. It created a foundation by which business executives and academics could consider the subjects as part of strategic planning and managerial decision-making. Though written in another era, it is regularly and increasingly cited because of its relevance to the current ethical issues of business operations in the United States. Many experts believe it to be the seminal book on corporate social responsibility. This new edition of the book includes an introduction by Jean-Pascal Gond, Professor of Corporate Social Responsibility at Cass Business School, City University of London, and a foreword by Peter Geoffrey Bowen, Daniels College of Business, University of Denver, who is Howard R. Bowen's eldest son.

What is CSR? Can there be a single definition possible? What is CSR anyway? Until, last few decades of twentieth century, there was no explicit mention of the term Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR anywhere, though it was present. So this book will give in-depth overview of the theoretical aspects such as definitions, evolution, and philosophical impetus of the term CSR.

This book examines and analyzes the challenges programmes for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development are facing in global management practice. It looks at the dichotomy of a general and popular demand for responsible and resilient management, and the counterplayers that impact the positive effect of such efforts. The book assembles latest research looking at the root causes for this opposition, and new case studies that showcase the dilemma and possible solutions to overcome it. Overall, the book juxtaposes short terminism within CSR programmes and longer term sustainable development, mis-allocation of resources and failed promises associated with CSR, and sketches pathways how CSR and sustainable development can be directed towards the most pressing issues.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an important issue in contemporary business, management and politics, especially since the launch of the United Nations Global Compact in 2000 as an initiative to encourage businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on them. This book examines the theory and practice of CSR in Asia. The philosophical and ideological underpinnings of CSR are rooted in Anglo-American and European principles of liberal democratic rights, justice and societal structures. This book not only considers the impact of Western CSR practices in Asia, but also provides much needed Asian perspectives on this issue. It investigates the operation of CSR in different countries across Asia, including China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and Bangladesh – comparing the different meanings given to CSR, and the varying degrees of success experienced in different national contexts. This book argues if CSR is ever to revolutionize the manner in which we trade then it is needs to open itself up to the full variety of social responsibility as it occurs around the world. The book re-maps and refines debates about CSR as a global phenomenon, and will be of great value to professionals making strategic decisions in the global business environment.

The cognitive science of religion is a new discipline that looks at the roots of religious belief in the cognitive architecture of the human mind. The Roots of Religion deals with the philosophical and theological implications of the cognitive science of religion which grounds religious belief in human cognitive structures: religious belief is ’natural’, in a way that even scientific thought is not. Does this new discipline support religious belief, undermine it, or is it, despite many claims, perhaps eventually neutral? This subject is of immense importance, particularly given the rise of the ’new atheism’. Philosophers and theologians from North America, UK and Australia, explore the alleged conflict between truth claims and examine the roots of religion in human nature. Is it less ’natural’ to be an atheist than to believe in God, or gods? On the other hand, if we can explain theism psychologically, have we explained it away. Can it still claim any truth? This book debates these and related issues.

This book argues for the inclusion of the corporation as an integral element of political philosophy. It begins with a historical evaluation of the corporation as a constituent of political society. It shows how Adam Smith, Hegel, and Marx conceived the role of the corporation in relation to the state, the market and civil society, before moving on to the rejection of the corporation as a genuine moral and political agent by Rawls and Habermas. The next chapter of the book presents the corporation as a collective that possesses political and moral agency. The author outlines four distinct political philosophies of corporate responsibility: the Aristotelian conservative-virtue ethical conception; the market liberal theory; the social liberal theory of corporate citizenship and political CSR; and Marxist-inspired critical theories. It is argued that the social liberal theory provides a better justification compared to its rivals. The third and final group of chapters applies the social liberal conception – called the social liberal corporation – to important contemporary issues, including human rights in global supply chains, financial and digital firms, sustainability and climate change. Corporate Responsibility and Political Philosophy will appeal to political philosophers, political theorists, and applied ethicists, as well as scholars in other disciplines working on issues related to business ethics, organizational ethics, sustainability and corporate social responsibility. As it provides a comprehensive introduction to corporate responsibility it is also relevant to sustainability professionals who seek an overview of the theoretical debate on corporate responsibility.