"On the Possibility of Business as an Object of Study in Christian Ethics"

WDB Lecture Series

Dr. Jooho Lee: Wednesday, January 27, 2027 | Noon | Payson Library, Surfboard Room

Business can be distinguished from other forms of human activity by the centrality of profit-seeking, which refers to any set of activities that are undertaken for the sake of engaging in the market process to buy inputs and sell outputs to realize economic gains that exceed their costs. Although Christian ethicists have been reflecting on subjects such as work, capitalism, and markets for a long time, the centrality of profit-seeking in business merits further scholarly attention because there are no obvious solutions to the ethical issues that it raises. Business apologists tend to ignore or underestimate the ethical problems whereas its critics tend to conflate them with other concerns that do not necessarily attach to it. One possible way forward may be to pay closer attention to the role that the price mechanism plays in coordinating knowledge and to ask if profits can be pursued for the sake of inviting others to join in the Missio Dei.

About the Speaker: Jooho Lee is Associate Professor of Business Ethics and Law and the Project Lead for the Faith and Business Initiative at Pepperdine University. He received his PhD in business ethics and legal studies from the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. His research draws on theology, philosophy, law, and economics to answer fundamental questions concerning the nature and value of business.