Ethical Approaches to the Study of Political Executives

Abstract

Abstract The contemporary study of the ethics of political executives lacks a coherent focus. Although the extensive study of political executives includes many studies of important ethical issues reviewed at length here, the field of executive studies still lacks a common language or grammar about relationships between ethics and executives. This chapter proposes a fresh start to the search for greater intellectual coherence through recovery of neglected ‘foundation stone’ of executive ethics in the writings of Enlightenment philosopher and statesman, Francis Bacon (1561‒1626). Bacon’s Essays can help contemporary students of executive studies learn much about ethics of public leadership from a seasoned statesman, whose influential ‘Baconian method’ was intended to shape governance as much as natural science. The chapter notes alternative accounts of executive ethics derived from rival political theories, such as the realism of Machiavelli and the idealism of Kant.