Steve Jobs and Philosophy

Book excerpt: In Steve Jobs and Philosophy sixteen philosophers take a close look at the inspiring yet often baffling world of Steve Jobs. What can we learn about business ethics from the example of Jobs? What are the major virtues of a creative innovator? How could Jobs successfully defy and challenge conventional business practices? How did Jobs combine values and attitudes previously believed to be unmixable? What does it really mean to “think different”? Can entrepreneurs be made or are they just born? If Jobs didn’t make any major inventions, just what was his contribution? How is Jobs’s life illuminated by Buddhism? How does a counter-culture transform mainstream culture? What does Jobs teach us about the notions of simplicity and functionality in design? How do Jobs’s achievements alter the way we think about technology in relation to human life? The chapters cover vital issues in ethics, business, aesthetics, and technology. They are followed by a fascinating appendix listing all the philosophers mentioned in the book, along with explanations of their lives and key themes in their thoughts. Steve Jobs and Philosophy is aimed at readers interested Jobs himself, in entrepreneurship, in technology, culture, and values.