Moral Imagination

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Moral Imagination
Moral Imagination
What it is and why you need it in the business,
law, and life
USD Academy for Financial and Estate
Planning November 9, 2005
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Moral Imagination Overview

• The Scandal Approach to ethics
• The challenge
• An example of moral imagination
• Its not just what we do, but how we do it
• From either-or to both-and
• Discussion

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Business Ethicsno shortage of scandals

• Adelphia
• Enron
• HealthSouth and Scrushy
• Imclone and Martha Stewart
• Tyco's WorldCom
• Qwest Communications
• Dick Grasso's controversial pay package
• Exxon Mobil profits (9.9B for 3rd quarter)

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Legal Government Ethics

• Ralph Inzunza and Michael Zucchet
• Duke Cunningham
• I. Scooter Libby
• San Diego pension scandal

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The Scandal Approachto Ethics

• Points out what is wrong
• Usually with other people
• Too easy
• Doesnt provide leadership

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Another ApproachMoral Imagination

• The real moral challenge how to create goodness
  out of bad situations
• Moral imagination can help us to do that.

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Truth and Reconciliation Hearings

• In South Africa and several South American
  countries, after the overthrow of repressive
  regimes, leaders faced a difficult challenge
  whether or not to hold trials for the crimes
  committed by the previous regime.
• To hold trials threatened to continue an unending
  cycle of recriminations and bitterness
• Not to hold trials seemed to condone the crimes
  of the past and devalue the suffering of the
  persecuted

• Truth and reconciliation hearings showed moral
  imagination, looking for a way of combining both
  accountability and healing.

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Nelson Mandela

• In a nation scarred by deep bitterness and
  hatred, Mandela saw the possibility of goodness
  in an evil world

• Invitation to his jailer to attend inauguration
• Wearing the Springbok cap

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Its not just what we do, but how we do it The
role of moral imagination in informing our actions

• Not only is it important to do the right thing,
  but to do the right thing welland this requires
  moral imagination.
• Example 1 Telling the truth well
• Giving clients bad news
• Example 2 Disciplining students
• Pacific Northwest example
• Example 3 Helping your child to understand the
  world. What happens, for example, when your
  child sees a teacher not being fair? Seeing
  injustice in the world?

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Moral Imagination and Finding a Common Ground

• Moral imagination allows us to find the common
  ground beneath seemingly irreconcilable
  positions.
• The challenge to imagine a possibility that
  preserves the shared value linking apparently
  incompatible positions.
• Imagination allows us to discernrecall Ignatius
  beautiful phrase, the discernment of the
  spiritthe possibilities of goodness in a
  situation, and this is essentially an imaginative
  act.
• The real moral challenge is figuring out how to
  bring goodness out of bad situations.

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The Moral Sweet Spot

• One of the goals of moral imagination is to find
  the moral sweet spot, that is, the point at
  which altruism and self-interest coincide.

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Either/Or

• In business, law and the social
  sciencespsychology, sociology, political
  science, sociobiology, economicsdiscussions of
  selfishness and altruism often presume that these
  are polar opposites, sometimes even mutually
  exclusive.
• Often in business, we must choose between
  self-interest and helping other people.

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Visualizing the Dichotomy

• One model sees selfishness and altruism as
  opposite ends of a continuum
• The more altruistic you are, the less selfish you
  are, and vice versa.

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A different way of looking at things

• In this presentation, I shall argue that this
  dichotomy is both mistaken and misleading in
  harmful ways.

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Lets Think about This in a New Way

• Instead of seeing this one a single scale, we can
  see egoism and altruism as two independent axes

Conceptualizing the issue in this way allows some
actions to be done both for the sake of others
and for ones own sake, and avoids falling into a
false dichotomy between altruism and egoism.
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The Moral Sweet SpotReconciling Egoism and
Altruism in the Real World

• Ideally, we seek a society in which self-interest
  and regard for others convergethe green zone.
• Egoism at the expense of others and altruism at
  the expense of self-interest both create worlds
  in which goodness and self-regard are mutually
  exclusivethe yellow zone.
• No one want the red zone, which is against both
  self-interest and regard for others.

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On-line music,intellectual property on the web
The Moral Sweet Spot
Benefits Authors distributors

• We can see the challenge in regard to on-line
  music and other intellectual property
• Often, it is harder to pay for music than to
  pirate it, at least until iTunes

iTunes?
Most pay-for-music sites
Helpsusers
Hurtsusers
Napster, etc.
No on-lne musicat all
Hurts Authors distributors
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Stem cell research

• The challenge of stem cell research has been to
  find a way to derive the benefits of stem cell
  research without the destruction of human embryos
• Now, scientists are developing wayssuch as
  regressing adult skin cellsthat fall into the
  green zone.

The Moral Sweet Spot
Helpsembryos fetuses
Ban on using humanembryosembryo adoption
Regressingadultskin cells
Helpsthose who are ill
Hurtsthose whoare ill
Stem cellresearch that Destroys embryos
Ban on usinghumanembryos?
Hurtsembryos fetuses
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Wal-Mart vs. Costco
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NIH Scientists
Reduce conflict of interest, Retain incentives
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Designing Laws Regulations

• This framework not only allows us to discern ways
  in which we can act, but it also provides
  guidelines for constructing laws regulations.
• The best laws regulations maximize the green
  zone, minimizing yellow and red.
• The worse laws regulations minimize the green
  zone, maximizing yellow and red.

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The Worst Societies
Little possibility forwin-win solutions
Some who sacrificefor common good

• A society that continually forces individuals to
  choose between their own self-interest and the
  interest of others establish win-lose scenarios.
• No one want the red zone, which is against both
  self-interest and regard for others.

High Altruism
Self-interestand regardfor othersconverge
Self-sacrificingaltruism
High Egoism
Low Egoism
Not beneficialto selfor others
Self-interestat expenseof others
Low Altruism
Drug addictionAlcoholism, etc.
Many out justfor themselves
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The Best Societies
Maximizingthe Sweet Spot

• Ideally, we seek a society in which self-interest
  and regard for others convergethe green zone.

Some self-sacrifice
High Altruism
Self-sacrificingaltruism
Self-interestand regardfor othersconverge
Low Egoism
High Egoism
Not beneficialeither to selfor others
Self-interestat the expenseof others
Low Altruism
Some self-interestat expense of others
Few lose-losesituations.
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Small Group Topics

• Discuss examples in your own profession of ways
  to hit the moral sweet spot.
• What are some of the examples you have seen of
  best practices in regard to moral imagination?
• What are some of the laws regulations in your
  profession that force you and your clients to
  choose between self and other, between altruism
  and self-interest.

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Conclusion

• Visit us on the web at
• http//ethics.sandiego.edu

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Unused Slides

• Stem cell research

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The Promise of Stem Cells
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The Danger of Stem Cells
Day 3 Eight Cells

• Human embryonic stem cell research and therapy
  begin with human embryos, sometimes as early as
  the eight-cell stage.
• Are these human beings at this stage? Are we
  killing human beings at this stage?