Researchers in the Department of Management Studies within UWI St Augustine’s Faculty of Social Sciences have had their latest article published in the September 2021 issue of the International Journal of Ethics Education.
The article reports on their development of an approach that “cultivates imaginative moral development through the virtues” and “helps the development of personal responsibility to choose and do the right thing in all life’s situations by infusing practical and existential meaning”, say the authors.
The piece, titled “Imaginative Virtue Ethics: A Transportation-Transcendental Approach”, was written by Surendra Arjoon (Professor of Business and Professional Ethics) and Dr Meena Rambocas (Lecturer in Marketing). It examines their research and teaching in Ethics. UWI TODAY covered the work of Prof Arjoon and Dr Rambocas previously in 2019 (https://sta.uwi.edu/uwitoday/archive/august_2019/article11.asp), which centres on Professional Ethics, a course offered by the Department of Management Studies.
“Among the key distinctive attributes of the UWI graduate is a critical and creative thinker guided by strong ethical values,” says Prof Arjoon. “Developing these three attributes of criticality, creativity and ethics, have been the focus of the course in Professional Ethics.”
This latest work is based on the teachings of psychiatrist Viktor Frankl (1905-1997), who wrote the highly influential Man’s Search for Meaning, which chronicled his experience as a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp during the Second World War.
Describing their latest work, Prof Arjoon says, “Sometimes referred to as the Socratic Trinity or Platonic Triad, the Transcendental corresponds to the capacities of the human soul: logos (truth reflecting our rational capacities), ethos (goodness reflecting our emotional and moral capacities), and pathos (beauty reflecting our aesthetic capacities).”
He adds that, “the teaching and learning approach also incorporates the psychological concept of Transportation which is simply the art of ‘getting lost’ through the immersive experience of flow, where the mind becomes fully immersed in literary narrative using the imaginative faculty.”
Professional Ethics is an extremely popular and well-received course among students, and their feedback on the Transportation-Transcendental Approach has been largely positive. One course participant says:
“The philosophical undertones are deep – morality, duty, friendship, struggles and challenges in the journey of life, achieving a meaningful life, and helping others in their journey.”
However, ethical practice still seems elusive in many professions and organisations – even though they often use the language of ethics and morality.
“Knowing about something is not the same as practising it,” Says Prof Arjoon. “Most people have a narrow understanding or misunderstanding of ethics. Many view ethics as legal limits that constrain their behaviour. With little or no attention given to the importance of ethics, organisations will continue to foster toxic environments where narcissistic individuals rise to leadership positions.”
The dilemma, he says, is “can we justify choosing a moral life when the immoral life appears to be more rewarding and a virtuous life appears to lead to poverty, powerlessness, and abuse?
“The Greek philosophy gives the answer: The immoral is a worse life than a morally virtuous life because ultimately the immoral life corrupts the soul and leads to unhappiness, mental anguish, loss of friends, and emotional bankruptcy. All the power in the world cannot compensate for the psychological emptiness of an immoral life. The moral person lives a life of integrity, personal fulfilment, and is at peace.”
For more information on the article “Imaginative Virtue Ethics: A Transportation-Transcendental Approach” and the publication International Journal of Ethics Education, visit https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40889-021-00136-0.
