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Morten Sørensen Than­ing

Associate Professor

Subjects
Decision-making Organisation Democracy Ethics Philosophy

Primary research areas

Prac­tic­al philo­sophy, in par­tic­u­lar the­or­ies of eth­ics, polit­ics, judge­ment and learn­ing
My philo­soph­ic­al re­search cen­ters on eth­ic­al and polit­ic­al prob­lems. I am also in­vest­ig­at­ing the nature of situ­ated judge­ment, the know­ledge ex­pressed in such judge­ments, and the aims of edu­ca­tion. My ap­proach is based on the Kan­tian and Hegel­i­an tra­di­tion and on the per­spect­ive of philo­soph­ic­al her­men­eut­ics.
Or­gan­iz­a­tion the­ory from a norm­at­ive per­spect­ive
I ap­ply my work in prac­tic­al philo­sophy to norm­at­ive the­or­ies of man­age­ment and busi­ness eth­ics. I am in­ter­ested in the nature of good work-life and the role and lim­its of the mar­ket. I also ex­am­ine the jus­ti­fic­a­tion of man­age­ment au­thor­ity as well as the role of busi­ness cor­por­a­tions in a flour­ish­ing so­ci­ety.
Learn­ing, the­or­ies of edu­ca­tion and demo­crat­ic cit­izen­ship
I ap­ply the per­spect­ive of philo­soph­ic­al her­men­eut­ics and the­or­ies of Bildung to ques­tions about the role of de­lib­er­a­tion, judge­ment, learn­ing and cul­ture in or­gan­iz­a­tions. My re­search also aims to ad­dress the broad­er ques­tion about the prop­er aims of edu­ca­tion in a demo­crat­ic so­ci­ety.

My re­search re­defines the aims of busi­ness, man­age­ment and work

What is the nature of freedom and its role at work? What is the role of business and markets in a flourishing society? How should a democratic society educate its citizens? What does it mean to exercise good judgement? What justifies the exercise of authority in work organizations? These are questions that are central to my research in practical philosophy and organization theory. I apply my research to our contemporary conceptions of business and management. The philosophical perspective I employ argues that the aims of business and management should be re-connected with broader ethical and political ideals. In particular, I am interested in what it means for an organization and for an individual to pursue the ideals of autonomy and the common good.