Echoes of Sartre: using existentialism as a living philosophy to inform the teaching of the soft accounting theory, business ethics & ecological sustainability courses

Abstract

This paper considers, in a series of reflections, how existentialist philosophy might be used to inform the teaching and management of the traditionally conceptualized and conventionally elective 'soft' courses of Accounting Theory, Business Ethics and Sustainability. The purpose is to explore the locations from which the teaching of accounting might offer critical evaluation on the interactions of the individual (for example, student and teacher) and society (for example, employment as 'an accountant' in business, the profession and academia).