Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Challenging the 'million zeros'
T2 - the importance of imagination for business ethics education
AU - Rozuel, Cecile
PY - 2016/9
Y1 - 2016/9
N2 - Despite increasing presence of 'ethics talk' in business and management curricula, the ability of business ethics educators to question the system and support the development of morally responsible agents is debatable. This is not because of a lack of care or competence; rather, this situation points towards a more general tendency of education to become focused on economic growth, as Nussbaum (2010) claims. Revisiting the nature of ethics education, I argue that much moral learning occurs through the imagination, and not solely through the rational mind. Individuals are complex, and a great part of what we are lies below the threshold of consciousness. In this respect, ethics education must take into account the psyche and its influence on conscious behaviour, which can best be apprehended through the imagination. Echoing Jung's concerns about unconscious and indiscriminate masses (the 'million zeros' of the title), I thus explore how imagination and creative material contribute to enhancing both self-knowledge and ethical reflection in the context of organisational life and business education. I especially consider how moral development and social awareness are tied up with individual psychological understanding, and argue that Jung's analytical psychology offers insightful tools to explore our individuality.
AB - Despite increasing presence of 'ethics talk' in business and management curricula, the ability of business ethics educators to question the system and support the development of morally responsible agents is debatable. This is not because of a lack of care or competence; rather, this situation points towards a more general tendency of education to become focused on economic growth, as Nussbaum (2010) claims. Revisiting the nature of ethics education, I argue that much moral learning occurs through the imagination, and not solely through the rational mind. Individuals are complex, and a great part of what we are lies below the threshold of consciousness. In this respect, ethics education must take into account the psyche and its influence on conscious behaviour, which can best be apprehended through the imagination. Echoing Jung's concerns about unconscious and indiscriminate masses (the 'million zeros' of the title), I thus explore how imagination and creative material contribute to enhancing both self-knowledge and ethical reflection in the context of organisational life and business education. I especially consider how moral development and social awareness are tied up with individual psychological understanding, and argue that Jung's analytical psychology offers insightful tools to explore our individuality.
KW - Creative writing
KW - Education
KW - Fiction
KW - Imagination
KW - Jung
KW - Moral development
U2 - 10.1007/s10551-015-2639-8
DO - 10.1007/s10551-015-2639-8
M3 - Journal article
VL - 138
SP - 39
EP - 51
JO - Journal of Business Ethics
JF - Journal of Business Ethics
SN - 0167-4544
IS - 1
ER -