René Villemure
Guiding Innovation: Ethicist, Philosopher, Field Visionary, and Global Innovator Redefines Boundaries and Inspires Ethical Excellence

René Villemure’s Design Truth

“Everyone knows the word “ethics” but most are unaware of its full meaning.”

About René Villemure

Ethicist, philosopher, field visionary and global innovator, René Villemure devised as early as 1998 such concepts as Ethical Reports©, Ethical Management Model©. He authored the design of the Ethics & Values© management model. In 2005, he was recognized by the Chair in Ethical Management at HEC-Montreal as one of “120 international figures” who made key contributions to the development of integral ethics. Since 2009, René Villemure teaches “Corporate Governance & Ethics” at Laval University’s Director’s College and regularly holds ethics seminars at the Institut Français des Administrateurs (IFA), in Paris. In 2010, he was identified as one of the “200 Pathfinders to the Future” by the Observatoire des tendances.

He also had the honor of penning the preface to Henry Mintzberg’s book « Conversations with Henry Mintzberg ». In 2012, René Villemure designed key programs: Brand Ethical DNA©, Ethics Without Borders©, and Socially Exemplary Organizations©. He also undertook a vast, forward-looking ethics analysis, global in scope, towards the creation of an Ethical democracy model. The ongoing study project aims to update the existing democratic models in light of biggest foreseeable challenges of the next three decades. These include soaring demographics, the rise of social media and Big Data use in the emancipation process of individuals, and the related environmental risks associated with these major trends.

Over the years, he has presented over 600 conferences, over three continents, on ethics and culture.
In 2014, he created the BoardEthics / L’Éthique pour le conseil programs, this innovative programs aims to measure ethical awareness of corporate directors. He has been an Associate Member of the Michaëlle Jean Foundation since 2014. René Villemure holds a degree in Philosophy from the Université de Sherbrooke.

Could you please tell us about who has been the biggest influence on your approach to ethics?

Curiously, my approach to philosophy is not inherited from philosophers per say. My biggest influence is threefold: Ludwig Wittgenstein, Franz Kafka and Fernando Pessoa – the first for his theory of language, the second for his views on absurdity, and the last one for his work on abstraction. Wittgenstein thought that there were no philosophical or ethical problems; there are only misunderstandings, or misinterpretations, of ideas due to inappropriate use of language. Language, or, we would now say linguistics or semiotics, is the path to problem solving. My biggest influence, per say, is abstraction.

What lessons have you learned since you began your work?

Truth is an illusion. People are ready to believe anything that will give them peace of mind; some of them call this peace of mind “Truth”. Following on Wittgenstein’s work, we always have to dig, sometimes very deep, into people’s expression of “their” truth in order to find the “question behind the question” and, therefore, a wider definition of this illusion we call “Truth”.

It would be naïve to believe that all people will “get together” and adopt one set of moral values but, with a lot of work in concretising abstraction through language, we may find ourselves in front of 15 sets of moral values and, within these 15 sets, I strongly believe that we can find enough common denominators to attenuate most tensions.

How is your work received internationally?

My work around the world revolves around conferences, consulting with head of States, promoting a Brand’s ethical DNA, and promoting BoardEthics. Innovators have accepted all of these ventures early – I call them “ethical innovators”. They are people that will look over and above simple management principles and will try to reach or achieve “goodness” on a larger scale. My most interesting project was to work around the geo-political impact of ethics and values around the world and how to make it interesting for Global Brands.

Can human beings achieve spontaneous morality by opening themselves further to some basic expression of nature, or must we create and adopt a set of moral guidelines?

Human nature is simple. Humans make it more complicated. Even though many may disagree, there is a “basic set” of values upon which all human agree; some call it “humanities”. Most groups (nationality, ethnicity, religious, etc.) will express these values in a manner that will, sometimes, make them look as opposed but, in reality, they are not.

Just for an illustrative purpose: let’s say there are 240 “sets” of moral values around the world. It would be naïve to believe that all people will “get together” and adopt one set of moral values but, with a lot of work in concretising abstraction through language, we may find ourselves in front of 15 sets of moral values and, within these 15 sets, I strongly believe that we can find enough common denominators to attenuate most tensions. The mistake that is often made is to believe that “justice” and “law” are synonymous. A law can be “legal” while being unfair. An ethical value will never be unfair.

How can we even begin to formulate the right questions about ethics?

Just before formulating the question, we have to accept the idea that ethics is “thinking a bit less about ourselves and a bit more about others”. The only ethical question is: “What can I do to be fair to others”?

Is ethics the next innovation tool to narrow the gap between smart solutions and real, human solutions?

Ethics is at the junction between human and smart solutions. However, we have to make sure that the solutions always lean a bit more on the human side.

What do you think about the potential universality of ethics in human societies? Is it outdated for modern global societies?

“Fair” should not have the goal of being universal. Universal, while ensuring equality is sometimes unfair to some. We have to remember to put people before processes; we have to make sure we know “Why?” we do something before knowing “How?” to do that same thing. A “How” is always useless and often seems unfair without a “Why”.

Is it more useful to theorise a new conception of ethics or to try to re-design the one which already exists?

Re-design is the key word here. I think that human nature hasn’t changed much over the years. Challenges are different than they were one hundred years ago, of course, but, from an ethics point of view, human remains similar: They want protection, they want more for themselves, etc. I don’t think we should hesitate to revisit classical philosophy and adapt or re-design its teaching and lessons in order to help us face moderns problems.

What would an ethics without a sense of ‘self’ be like?

Ethics is essentially about the “self” in interactions with others. There is no need for ethics without “others”. We should however distinguish between the sense of “self” and selfishness.

Is it even possible to design ethics?

Ethics is about “doing good” or “acting good” in a given context. In these few words lays the essence of ethics. Laws or policies are designed to govern “in general”, whereas ethics is essentially about context: what should I do in these circumstances? What’s best in this context?

What are the powers, and the limits, of ethical design for governments?

Governments are a special breed. They should instil a sense of ethical understanding within citizens, corporations, and to their own employees. Unfortunately, governments too often use ethics to strictly ban or forbid certain behaviours. Seldom will they talk about the positive component of ethics. “Not acting bad” is not ethics, it is civility. “Acting good” is much harder. Ethics is about goodness and fairness, not just about forbidding behaviours.

Could you choose and shortly describe one of your projects that defines your design attitude in relation to the public context?

I think ethics and the arts are joined at the hip. Although “Beauty” is not necessarily “good”, “goodness” is always beautiful. One of my goals is to make goodness beautiful and attractive.

The best design sometimes comes from restriction. How important is for ethicists to decode the critical issues?

Restrictions will force you to think alternatively. If you want to do so, you first have to know “from what are you seeking an alternative?” Before speaking, an ethicist has a duty to know as much as possible of the world we live in; he has to read “weak social signals”, try to see beyond the tyranny of daily opinions and determine what “weak social signals” will grow into “strong social signals”.

Is it possible to design ethics?

Young philosophers must read beyond philosophy – way beyond philosophy. Literature, anthropology, sociology, linguistics, and arts are all connected and offer a rich gateway to a more comprehensive vision of the world.

What would you like to achieve over the next 5 years?

Nowadays, the only reference to ethics is through non-ethics. Over the next five years, I would like to make ethics, instead of “non-ethics”, an everyday topic.

Where do you see ethics heading in the next 5-10 years?

Younger generations seem to be genuinely more attracted to ethical values; they seem, for the time being, to want more in terms of “goodness”. I think ethics will experience the same growth and reach the same level of awareness that environmental issues had over the last 25 years.

How would you describe your daily role and responsibilities?

Listen, look, and articulate ethical situations in order to demystify them and make the average citizen aware that we all have power over events.

In your opinion, what is your strongest skill?

The ability to link numerous elements that don’t seem to be in relation and make something new out of them. Culture, politics, literature, philosophy and music, for example, make for a great conference topic.

What is your personal motto?

Nommer, c’est dire avec du sens.

INTERVIEW

19th January 2015
Interview by Michela Ventin