Entangled normativity : Practical wisdom in the Indian ethico‑onto‑epistemological world

D'souza, Sylvia and Introna, Lucas (2026) Entangled normativity : Practical wisdom in the Indian ethico‑onto‑epistemological world. Journal of Business Ethics. ISSN 0167-4544

Abstract

The ongoing debate on the normative/descriptive divide in business ethics research continues to focus on how to integrate the two. The ontological entanglement of the normative/descriptive is acknowledged by many; however, the focus remains on integration in disciplinary, theoretical, or methodological terms. The integration view tends to invoke a special form of normativity which is universal, ahistorical, acontextual, and detached from the social. Integration then is about how to bring this universal normativity closer to the descriptive sphere, without losing the distinctiveness of either. We offer a different angle in this paper, shifting the focus from integration to entanglement. We take the ontological entanglement of the normative/descriptive as our starting point which means that we do not start with a prior concept of normativity. We show how the normative and descriptive are profoundly entangled in the Indian social world with its own history, traditions, metaphysical assumptions, institutions, practices, values, and so on. In doing this, we surface how the normative/descriptive complexly co-constitute each other in practice in the social, and how it is in this concrete space of entanglement that local forms of ethical expression are habitually cultivated and channelled. Specifically, we draw upon Aristotle’s theory of ethical action to illuminate how practical wisdom as a form of relational intuition termed atmatusti is exercised by a dharmic disposition in its aspiration for good karma/moksa in the Indian onto-epistemological sphere.