Abstract
This article’s goal is to understand innovation factors (e.g., job autonomy and knowledge sharing) through the lens of a neo-Aristotelian theory based on evolutionary science in order to show that this paradigm of analysis provides a richer understanding of this organizational phenomenon, and consequently better support for the deliberation on what measures to implement when the objective is to make the organization prone to innovate.
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Notes
It is important to note that: i) Aristotle dedicated much of his time to observations, especially of living beings, to develop his theories (instead of considering that this world is a source of total deception), proposing that human beings have parts of the soul that animals and vegetables have (Aristóteles, 2018, NE 1102a26-1103a10), which makes his philosophy compatible with evolutionary science (Fowers, 2015, p. 6); and ii) his speculations, to a large extent, were validated by empirical studies, such as that of the human being, as the only possessor of the rational part of the soul, is also the only being capable of leaving the province of perception and entering the dimensions of explanations (see Aristóteles, 2012, Met, A1, 980a22-982a11; Povinelli & Dunphy-Lelii, (2001). However, Aristotle's ideas are predominantly static, so to speak, because, although they consider evolution in desires and behaviors through the acquisition of virtues, they do not contemplate the notion that living beings are products of evolution. On the other hand, evolutionary science is still at an early stage of development (Osmo & Borri, 2024; Zagaria et al., 2020), and therefore we understand that it still needs philosophical speculations to reach maturity. Having said all this, we see the theory used as the basis of this article as promising, since it is a systematic fusion of Aristotle's philosophy with evolutionary science.
The focus of this article is not to promote significant advances in the theory itself, but to show how it can be applied in organizations to make them prone to innovation.
In addition to this measure, another is important, that of teaching communication skills so that non-authoritarian leaders do not give the impression of being authoritarian.
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Flavio Osmo and Maryana Madeira Borri wrote the main manuscript text.
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Osmo, F., Borri, M.M. Lessons from a Neo-Aristotelian Theory Based on Evolutionary Science to the Field of Organizational Innovation. Integr. psych. behav. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-024-09845-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-024-09845-9