The Enlarged Mentality: Common Ground for Leadership

Defense Date

3-12-2008

Graduation Date

Spring 1-1-2008

Availability

Campus Only

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

PhD

Department

Communication and Rhetorical Studies

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

Ronald C. Arnett

Committee Member

Janie Harden Fritz

Committee Member

Kathleen Glenister Roberts

Keywords

communications, imagination, judgment, phronesis, public, rhetorical competence, sensus communis

Abstract

This paper seeks to define and examine the enlarged mentality as a common ground for business leadership. Hannah Arendt, in her Lectures on Kant's Political Philosophy, offers a concise characterization the enlarged mentality saying, "To think with an enlarged mentality means that one trains one's imagination to go visiting"(43). The enlarged mentality encompasses theoretical constructs such as judgment, imagination, sensus communis, rhetorical competence, and phronesis that operate in concert with the political, economic, and social realities of a global marketplace. The constancy and the universality of these characteristics should not be used, however, to develop a homogenous profile of a static corporate leader, nor should they be used to portray a leader as a contemplative generalist. Rather, these constructs offer a common ground from which to operate in response to simultaneous demands presented by particular political, economic, and social challenges and offer a preliminary template for the selection, development, and retention of corporate leaders. This paper explores the connection between Hannah Arendt's enlarged mentality and effective leadership in the business community, as grounded in the work of Immanuel Kant.

Format

PDF

Language

English

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