Despite increasing the 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.
Although most of us understand and accept that we play different roles in different settings, the moral implications of an unquestioned role-based world are serious. The prevalence of roles at the ...expense of 'real' people in organizations jeopardizes our ability to exercise full moral agency and ascribe moral responsibility, because 'we were only fulfilling our role obligations'. This reasoning does not sustain ethical scrutiny, however, because individuals are always present behind the role, though they may lack awareness of their ability to choose and act as fully fledged individuals. The article argues that moral responsibility requires us to move away from a role-based life game which leads us to compartmentalize and forget who we are and what we value at a significant cost. On the contrary, an understanding of the process of compartmentalization and a greater awareness of the complex yet holistic nature of the self contribute to furthering moral integrity and responsibility.
In this paper, we explore how the emotions of eco‐anxiety and eco‐anger can be perceived as potentially constructive responses to the climate crisis. We examine the context in which these emotions ...are experienced and expressed in light of the relationship between human beings and Nature. We argue that these eco‐emotions are both visceral and numinous, and that this dual characteristic is critical when determining how best to respond to eco‐anxiety and eco‐anger. We propose that a suitable approach to this challenge is to draw from the imagination and the symbolic domain, and we offer personal reflections on what this process may look like.
Dans cet article les auteurs explorent comment les émotions d’éco‐anxiété et d’éco‐colère peuvent être perçues comme des réponses potentiellement constructives à la crise du climat. A la lumière de la relation entre les êtres humains et la nature ils étudient le contexte dans lequel ces émotions sont ressenties et exprimées et soutiennent que ces éco‐émotions sont à la fois viscérales et numineuses. Les auteurs suggèrent que cette double caractéristique est cruciale quand il s’agit de déterminer comment répondre au mieux à l’éco‐anxiété et l’éco‐colère. Ils suggèrent que l’approche qui convient pour relever ce défi est de s’appuyer sur l’imagination et le domaine symbolique. Des réflexions personnelles sont données afin d’illustrer à quoi pourrait ressembler ce processus.
In diesem Artikel untersuchen die Autoren, wie die Emotionen von Öko‐Angst und Öko‐Wut als potentiell konstruktive Reaktionen auf die Klimakrise wahrgenommen werden können. Sie untersuchen den Kontext, in dem diese Emotionen erlebt und ausgedrückt werden, im Lichte der Beziehung zwischen Mensch und Natur und argumentieren, daß diese Öko‐Emotionen sowohl viszeral als auch numinos sind. Die Autoren schlagen vor, daß dieses duale Merkmal entscheidend ist wenn es darum geht zu bestimmen, wie man am besten auf Öko‐Angst und Öko‐Wut reagiert und sie regen an, einen geeigneten Ansatz für diese Herausforderung darin zu sehen, aus der Vorstellungskraft und dem symbolischen Bereich zu schöpfen. Es werden persönliche Reflexionen darüber angeboten, wie dieser Prozeß aussehen könnte.
In questo articolo, gli Autori esplorano come le emozioni di eco‐ansia ed eco‐rabbia possono essere percepite come risposte potenzialmente costruttive alla crisi climatica. Esaminano il contesto in cui queste emozioni sono vissute ed espresse alla luce della relazione tra gli esseri umani e la natura e sostengono che queste ecoemozioni siano sia viscerali che numinose. Gli autori suggeriscono che questa duplice caratteristica è fondamentale nel determinare il modo migliore per rispondere all'eco‐ansia e all'eco‐rabbia e propongono che un approccio adeguato a questa sfida sia quello di attingere dall'immaginazione e dal dominio simbolico. Vengono offerte riflessioni personali su come potrebbe essere questo processo.
Авторы статьи исследуют возможность воспринимать эмоции эко‐тревоги и эко‐опасности как потенциально конструктивные ответы на климатический кризис. Они рассматривают контекст, в котором данные эмоции переживаются и выражаются в свете отношений между человеком и природой, и утверждают, что эти эко‐эмоции являются одновременно висцеральными и нуминозными. Авторы полагают, что эта двойственная характеристика имеет решающее значение при определении того, как лучше реагировать на эко‐тревогу и эко‐опасность, и призывают использовать воображение и сферу символического. Предлагаются личные размышления о том, что может представлять собой этот процесс.
En el presente trabajo, los autores exploran como las emociones de eco‐ansiedad y eco‐enojo pueden percibirse como respuestas potencialmente constructivas a la crisis climática. Se examina el contexto en el cual estas emociones son experimentadas y expresadas a la luz de la relación entre seres humanos y naturaleza, y se argumenta que estas eco‐emociones son tanto viscerales como numinosas. Los autores sugieren que esta característica dual es crítica al momento de determinar el mejor modo de responder a la eco‐ansiedad y al eco‐enojo, y proponen que un abordaje apropiado a este desafío se basa en la imaginación y en el domino simbólico. Se ofrecen reflexiones personales acerca de cómo puede manifestarse este proceso.
生态焦虑和生态愤怒的语境化:对内脏和神性情感的试探性回应。
在本文中, 作者探讨了生态焦虑和生态愤怒的情绪可能是对为对气候危机的建设性反应。他们研究了这些情绪被体验和表达的背景, 并与人类与自然的关系相关联, 认为这些生态情绪既是内脏的又是神圣的。作者认为, 在我们要决定如何最好地应对生态焦虑和生态愤怒时, 这种双重性的特征至关重要, 他们提出应从想象和意象的领域寻求应对这一挑战的合适方法。对于这一过程可能出现的情况, 作者进行了个人的反思。
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to highlight the parallels between the ethical concept of moral imagination and the psychoanalytical concept of active imagination. A model combining both ...concepts is then proposed and discussed. The paper argues that such synthesis is necessary to understand the process of moral deliberation, as well as to foster more consistent moral choices in organisations.Design methodology approach - The paper is conceptual, and builds upon relevant literature from the field of business ethics and analytical psychology.Findings - Imagination is a thoroughly ambivalent concept, which can be used to pursue moral as well as immoral goals. Moral imagination is an important element influencing decision making, but its quality depends on the state of balance of the psyche. A sound and effective moral imagination must be grounded in a healthy psyche, and needs the assistance of active imagination (or other similar activities) to achieve this. Such inner work is especially necessary for leaders to clarify their moral values and capabilities.Research limitations implications - The Active and Moral Imagination (AMI) model proposed has not been empirically tested; therefore its implications are tentative at this stage. The paper does not discuss in detail other psychological activities which may be complementary to active imagination.Practical implications - Managers and leaders should reflect on their own unconscious, so as to understand the deeper mechanisms influencing their decisions and behaviours.Originality value - The paper presents an interdisciplinary approach to the role of imagination in ethics.
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to review the links between ethics, leadership and psychology, and to introduce the papers for the special issue of the Journal of Management Development.Design ...methodology approach - The paper provides a conceptual review of issues attached to research in the field of responsible leadership psychology.Findings - Individual organisational members affect and are affected by the organisation's collective psyche, and all are potential leaders; therefore, all should care about their "inner life" and reflect on the interrelationships between their ethical responsibility, their psychological world, and their interaction with others.Originality value - The paper shows that self-enquiry and understanding the unconscious influences on ego-consciousness are essential for nurturing ethical awareness and responsible action as leaders, followers and more generally as organisational agents.
Research on organisational storytelling has shed light on different types of narratives. A specific story type, organisational myths, has caught the interest of some scholars in the field, but has ...not been theorised in any great detail. While it is rarely disputed that organisational members can and do develop emotional connections to myths and mythical stories in their social context, how and why these myths, or ‘sacred stories’, emerge in organisational settings has remained mostly unaddressed. Therefore, drawing upon a Jungian psychosocial approach, we propose a process model for the emergence of mythologised stories in organisations by situating members’ psychological dynamics within the social context in which they emerge. We propose that a conscious understanding of the conditions that lead to the emergence of mythologised stories in organisations can help clarify and deepen the relationship between different types of stories to support and sustain organisational change and development. The paper contributes to the existing literature on organisational storytelling and myths within organisational studies.
Abstract
Purpose
Moral exemplarity is a desirable but complex achievement. The chapter discusses the meaning of moral exemplarity and examines how the self, as a psychological and spiritual centre ...within a Jungian perspective, contributes to fostering moral commitment.
Methodology/approach
A narrative study was conducted amongst ten spiritual healers in New Zealand and France. Stories were collected and analysed interpretively to uncover meaningful patterns about spiritual healers’ moral stance and apprehension of the self.
Findings
Spiritual healers demonstrated a deep commitment to the self which clearly sustained a commitment to serve or help others. Commitment to the self was articulated around five core values: self-work, self-reflection, humility, self-integrity and love.
Implications/value
The chapter highlights the moral value of inner work. The self, in its archetypal sense, carries as potential an ‘innate morality’ that resonates in the heart and nurtures integrity and authenticity. To commit to the self requires undertaking a long and painful exploration of the psyche and integrating unconscious material into ego-consciousness. The participating spiritual healers, who had committed to their self and were well advanced on their psychological exploration journey, displayed moral qualities akin to exemplarity.
Abstract
In this paper, we explore how the emotions of eco‐anxiety and eco‐anger can be perceived as potentially constructive responses to the climate crisis. We examine the context in which these ...emotions are experienced and expressed in light of the relationship between human beings and Nature. We argue that these eco‐emotions are both visceral and numinous, and that this dual characteristic is critical when determining how best to respond to eco‐anxiety and eco‐anger. We propose that a suitable approach to this challenge is to draw from the imagination and the symbolic domain, and we offer personal reflections on what this process may look like.
Dans cet article les auteurs explorent comment les émotions d’éco‐anxiété et d’éco‐colère peuvent être perçues comme des réponses potentiellement constructives à la crise du climat. A la lumière de la relation entre les êtres humains et la nature ils étudient le contexte dans lequel ces émotions sont ressenties et exprimées et soutiennent que ces éco‐émotions sont à la fois viscérales et numineuses. Les auteurs suggèrent que cette double caractéristique est cruciale quand il s’agit de déterminer comment répondre au mieux à l’éco‐anxiété et l’éco‐colère. Ils suggèrent que l’approche qui convient pour relever ce défi est de s’appuyer sur l’imagination et le domaine symbolique. Des réflexions personnelles sont données afin d’illustrer à quoi pourrait ressembler ce processus.
In diesem Artikel untersuchen die Autoren, wie die Emotionen von Öko‐Angst und Öko‐Wut als potentiell konstruktive Reaktionen auf die Klimakrise wahrgenommen werden können. Sie untersuchen den Kontext, in dem diese Emotionen erlebt und ausgedrückt werden, im Lichte der Beziehung zwischen Mensch und Natur und argumentieren, daß diese Öko‐Emotionen sowohl viszeral als auch numinos sind. Die Autoren schlagen vor, daß dieses duale Merkmal entscheidend ist wenn es darum geht zu bestimmen, wie man am besten auf Öko‐Angst und Öko‐Wut reagiert und sie regen an, einen geeigneten Ansatz für diese Herausforderung darin zu sehen, aus der Vorstellungskraft und dem symbolischen Bereich zu schöpfen. Es werden persönliche Reflexionen darüber angeboten, wie dieser Prozeß aussehen könnte.
In questo articolo, gli Autori esplorano come le emozioni di eco‐ansia ed eco‐rabbia possono essere percepite come risposte potenzialmente costruttive alla crisi climatica. Esaminano il contesto in cui queste emozioni sono vissute ed espresse alla luce della relazione tra gli esseri umani e la natura e sostengono che queste ecoemozioni siano sia viscerali che numinose. Gli autori suggeriscono che questa duplice caratteristica è fondamentale nel determinare il modo migliore per rispondere all'eco‐ansia e all'eco‐rabbia e propongono che un approccio adeguato a questa sfida sia quello di attingere dall'immaginazione e dal dominio simbolico. Vengono offerte riflessioni personali su come potrebbe essere questo processo.
Авторы статьи исследуют возможность воспринимать эмоции эко‐тревоги и эко‐опасности как потенциально конструктивные ответы на климатический кризис. Они рассматривают контекст, в котором данные эмоции переживаются и выражаются в свете отношений между человеком и природой, и утверждают, что эти эко‐эмоции являются одновременно висцеральными и нуминозными. Авторы полагают, что эта двойственная характеристика имеет решающее значение при определении того, как лучше реагировать на эко‐тревогу и эко‐опасность, и призывают использовать воображение и сферу символического. Предлагаются личные размышления о том, что может представлять собой этот процесс.
En el presente trabajo, los autores exploran como las emociones de eco‐ansiedad y eco‐enojo pueden percibirse como respuestas potencialmente constructivas a la crisis climática. Se examina el contexto en el cual estas emociones son experimentadas y expresadas a la luz de la relación entre seres humanos y naturaleza, y se argumenta que estas eco‐emociones son tanto viscerales como numinosas. Los autores sugieren que esta característica dual es crítica al momento de determinar el mejor modo de responder a la eco‐ansiedad y al eco‐enojo, y proponen que un abordaje apropiado a este desafío se basa en la imaginación y en el domino simbólico. Se ofrecen reflexiones personales acerca de cómo puede manifestarse este proceso.
生态焦虑和生态愤怒的语境化:对内脏和神性情感的试探性回应。
在本文中, 作者探讨了生态焦虑和生态愤怒的情绪可能是对为对气候危机的建设性反应。他们研究了这些情绪被体验和表达的背景, 并与人类与自然的关系相关联, 认为这些生态情绪既是内脏的又是神圣的。作者认为, 在我们要决定如何最好地应对生态焦虑和生态愤怒时, 这种双重性的特征至关重要, 他们提出应从想象和意象的领域寻求应对这一挑战的合适方法。对于这一过程可能出现的情况, 作者进行了个人的反思。
This paper argues that the self, as both the centre of our identity and the focus of our spiritual life, has not been given enough consideration with regard to the ethics of managers and leaders. ...Informed by models of self‐realisation and the Jungian process of individuation, our discussion suggests that the way we perceive and interpret our self affects our moral behaviour. In particular, integrity of the self fully participates in enhancing servant leadership and consistent ethical practice. We illustrate the argument with comments from various managers on the statement: ‘Being true to your self’.
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