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Discerning Possibilities for Action: A Typology of Approaches to Moral Imagination
Author(s) -
Hargrave Timothy J.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
business and society review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 1467-8594
pISSN - 0045-3609
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8594.2012.00408.x
Subject(s) - situational ethics , typology , action (physics) , moral obligation , sociology , epistemology , obligation , power (physics) , dilemma , ideal (ethics) , social psychology , moral dilemma , moral disengagement , morality , social dilemma , psychology , political science , law , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics , anthropology
Abstract The existing literature on moral imagination proposes that actors can best respond to ethical dilemmas by tailoring their actions to the practical demands of the situation. It has done little to develop this insight, however. To address this gap, I used institutional theory to identify six ideal type approaches to moral imagination. I proposed that in addressing ethical dilemmas, the morally imaginative actor takes account of two situational factors: first, the social construction of the unmet ethical claim or obligation which constitutes the ethical dilemma, and in particular whether or not it is broadly perceived to be legitimate; and second, its own degree of power. The framework presented represents the first attempt to systematically enumerate approaches to moral imagination and identify their boundary conditions.