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The Symbolic Imagination: Plato and Contemporary Business Ethics

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  • Paul T. Harper

    (University of Pittsburgh)

Abstract

The business ethics field contains a number of explanations for the imagination’s influence on decision-making. This has benefited moral theorizing because approaches that utilize the imagination tend to acknowledge important biological and psychological forces that influence the way we understand situations, develop strategies for problem-solving, and choose courses of action. But, I argue, the broad range of approaches has also served as an obstacle to theory development in the field. Given the variety of theoretical and disciplinary approaches, coupled with the diversity of applications, it would be fair to judge the current state of theory as fractured. To bring focus to theory development, this conceptual study of the moral imagination is grounded in the work of one discipline, one theorist, one text: Plato’s Republic. The primary outcome of this study is the demonstration of the conditions under which the imagination serves to augment and support rationality rather than serving as an impediment. The systematic nature of Plato’s theory aids in the formation of more coherent conceptual grounding than currently available in the field. A final contribution of this study is the positioning of Plato as a proper beginning or foundation to any further theory development in the moral imagination.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul T. Harper, 2021. "The Symbolic Imagination: Plato and Contemporary Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 5-21, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:168:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-019-04244-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-019-04244-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

    Moral imagination; Plato; Kant;
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