An Economic Initiative

Who are we?

A School of Philosophy:

• In a time of increasing specialization, philosophy helps us to reflect upon and understand our lives and our actions. Neither scientific-technical thinking nor economic reasoning alone offers the necessary philosophical orientation. Through a variety of methods, such as the analysis of the structure and presuppositions of arguments, philosophy serves as an instrument for uncovering the fundamental questions of life.
  

A Jesuit School:

• The School of Philosophy is run by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). The Basque soldier-turned-saint Ignatius of Loyola founded the Order in the sixteenth Century. The school’s goal is to establish a convincing connection between spirituality and the great philosophical questions and arguments over Truth, human nature and the Absolute. In this way, we create a space where questions about the meaning of life and work, values and religion can be freely and seriously discussed. These discussions take on special importance in view of today’s religious fundamentalisms.
  

A School in Dialogue:

• Rather than philosophizing in an ivory tower, our faculty grapples with the most pressing problems of the day and engages the urgent questions of our rapidly globalizing society (e.g. interreligious and intercultural dialogue, bioethics, industrial outsourcing, etc.). In addition, we engage in an interdisciplinary dialogue between science, technology, economy, social policy, and current worldviews. The School of Philosophy prepares future leaders to serve in such fields as the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, economics, media, education, and religion. We search out interlocators in all areas of society.
  

What do we do?

reflect

• Philosophy is the art of thinking and logical argumentation. In this sense, philosophy is useful when the way of proceeding in a decision, project, etc. is not all that clear. For example, with philosophical texts students learn to formulate clear theses, differentiate and evaluate arguments, and to discover problematic presuppositions in an argument.

advise

• The human, spiritual, and mental accompaniment of those in search of advice has been a major task of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) for almost 500 years. We would like to make this experience available to leaders in business and society. Our goal – through the critical application of modern methods of individual coaching and group training and supervision seminars – is to help you to formulate the most probing questions and to develop the most creative solutions.
  

decide

• One goal of the Society of Jesus is to view problems objectively and to analyze them according to clear criteria. This was Ignatius of Loyola’s approach to individuals and their lives as well as to the urgent political, social, and cultural questions of his time. In an increasingly pluralistic and secular society with a wide range of cultural and religious values, the School of Philosophy offers guidance to leaders concerning public life.
  

Our Offering: An Economic Initiative

• Training days and weekends on values, life-work balance, Human Resource Management
• Intensive Seminars on the great philosophers organized as “thinking workshops” – argumentation.
• Lectures in the historical and contemporary philosophy as well as the application of philosophical reasoning to actual problems – applied philosophy
• Workshops on questions of ethics, views of the human, intercultural communication and global responsibility –without such information about and orientation towards other cultures globalization cannot succeed
  
• Business ethics, criticism of ideologies, and philosophical values - discourse
  

What we have done so far

Learn about our past cooperation with such corporations as Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Siemens and BASF by linking to the »auswärtigen Tätigkeiten« (external activities) of our professors and lecturers.

We reflect together with you

Please contact the Chancellor of the School of Philosophy:

Dr. Dina Brandt
Kaulbachstraße 33
80539 München

+49 (89) 2386-2311

info@hfph.mwn.de

Dr. Dina Brandt will direct your inquiry to the most suitable member of our faculty.