[Music]
ethically tip is the latest trend you
know we’re surrounded by all this
ethical products you can find an ethical
t-shirt an ethical car perhaps in an
ethical beer as an ethics researcher you
might think that I’m thrilled but
actually I’m not I’m a bit worried the
problem is that products are not ethical
only the humans are we are responsible
for pondering what’s right and what’s
wrong and in trying to act accordingly
an other problem is that almost nothing
is unambiguously right or wrong I think
this ethicality trend reflects our
passion for black-and-white solutions
but unfortunately the correct ethical
answers are rare species in 21st century
many of our ethical choices are actually
not between right and wrong but between
good and another kind of good prosperity
or preventing climate change cheaper
products or human rights health or
environment family or work sometimes it
indeed feels that guilt follows you
whatever you do it feels tempting just
to turn away from the problems and just
do nothing
the consolation however is that we don’t
have to become ethical superheroes
today’s ethicality is not so much about
knowing the right answers it’s more
about preserving the feeling that what
we do matters it’s about not being
paralyzed by guilt and powerlessness and
it’s about noticing our shared humanity
even in strangers
when I was a girl I had an imaginary
friend her name was Christina and she
lived in a place called Corby taffy I
had a really bad speaking impediment so
imagine saying over and over again
Christina
well once one day she gave me a call she
told me that her home had been robbed
thieves have taken all sorts of valuable
things and now she felt really sad I was
horrified for tasting how awful
looking back from where I sit now I
think I remember this incident so
vividly because it had an important
function I was at the age where kids
start to learn that you can’t take other
bits toys without asking permission so I
started using my imagination to reflect
on this quite basic ethical notion I
argued that we should also ask adults to
take imagination more seriously we use
it whenever we read or write or watch
movies or listen to the stories of other
people or tell about to our lives to
them basically whenever we think about
things that are not present at the
moment but we often think imagination
only as an escape route from reality we
forget that imagination also has the
power to shape reality think about the
biblical story of Good Samaritan some of
you may know it it’s a story about
offering unconditional help to an
injured stranger imagination allows you
to picture yourself as if you were in
the story but I am a stranger or should
I help a stranger
our parent my earring is making a noise
thanks I’ll just toss it to Kate good
catch
I was talking about it’s the Meritor
little earring from fun so you know
research compared those things who know
the story of good samaritan and those
who don’t know it and guess what
those who know it believe much more
strongly that helping the
underprivileged is important so thinking
about good samaritan and my friend
Christina Cordillera well I think that
imagination can serve ethicality to be
able to act ethically we first have to
be able to figure out what are the
possible ways to act and how they
promote compassion and justice and their
imagination helps us through imagination
can try new ideas and values and ways to
exist as french philosopher paul ricoeur
put it an imagination is such a powerful
tool in ethics because it’s causing to
play all aspects of humanity not just
the rational mind but also meanings and
emotions and hope and despair
imagination also engages us in action
much more than just facts or numbers the
great news is that you can train
imagination feed it by exposing yourself
to new perspectives a great way to do
that is to meet people who you wouldn’t
otherwise need as a part of my research
I interviewed bank employees they had
volunteered in a philanthropic project
where they mentored marginalized young
people
many of those young people suffered from
loneliness or mental health issues or
lack of support some of them had had
severe financial difficulties and before
those encounters with the young people
many bank employees thought that
financial problems are mainly caused by
recklessness but but as they listened to
the life stories of those young people
they realized that actually there are
real reasons for financial issues
they’re not caused by carelessness and
now as a result something employees said
that they are more compassionate to
their customers
others said that they look at the
society in a whole new way so what I’m
saying is that perhaps the greatest
power of imagination lies in its ability
to transform us makes us revise our
thoughts and choices I’ve experienced
this myself as well I grew up in a
religious revival esteem –nt many
people would consider its norms quite
extreme and its obsession about sin left
its wounds for many yes I could only
feel a bitterness towards the movement
and then a couple of years ago I read a
book a fictional novel it was a story of
a woman who had been hurt in a similar
moment but in another much worse way it
wasn’t my story but it had an impact
after all the wrongdoings and all the
hurt and all the pain the woman in the
Novo still valued what was good in that
moment this example forgiveness made me
think that I can also let go of the
hatred
so as you have noticed thinking
imagination thinking ethics through
imagination differs from the trendy talk
on ethicality it reminds you that an
ethical t-shirt doesn’t make ethical
choices but you should imagination makes
you think about the consequences of your
choices and rethink what kind of person
you want to be so if you want to
strengthen the foundation of your
ethicality train and feed your
imagination but no matter what we do we
can’t escape those difficult ethical
decisions those excruciating moments of
guilt will remain a part of being a
human and in those moments imagination
can offer something that ethical
products can’t imagination can open up a
horizon of hope it lifts you up from the
paralyzing feeling of guilt and
powerlessness it restores the belief
that a better world is possible and
despite your own shortcomings you have a
part in building it and if all else
fails then just hope your imaginary
friend
[Applause]
ethically tip is the latest trend you
know we’re surrounded by all this
ethical products you can find an ethical
t-shirt an ethical car perhaps in an
ethical beer as an ethics researcher you
might think that I’m thrilled but
actually I’m not I’m a bit worried the
problem is that products are not ethical
only the humans are we are responsible
for pondering what’s right and what’s
wrong and in trying to act accordingly
an other problem is that almost nothing
is unambiguously right or wrong I think
this ethicality trend reflects our
passion for black-and-white solutions
but unfortunately the correct ethical
answers are rare species in 21st century
many of our ethical choices are actually
not between right and wrong but between
good and another kind of good prosperity
or preventing climate change cheaper
products or human rights health or
environment family or work sometimes it
indeed feels that guilt follows you
whatever you do it feels tempting just
to turn away from the problems and just
do nothing
the consolation however is that we don’t
have to become ethical superheroes
today’s ethicality is not so much about
knowing the right answers it’s more
about preserving the feeling that what
we do matters it’s about not being
paralyzed by guilt and powerlessness and
it’s about noticing our shared humanity
even in strangers
when I was a girl I had an imaginary
friend her name was Christina and she
lived in a place called Corby taffy I
had a really bad speaking impediment so
imagine saying over and over again
Christina
well once one day she gave me a call she
told me that her home had been robbed
thieves have taken all sorts of valuable
things and now she felt really sad I was
horrified for tasting how awful
looking back from where I sit now I
think I remember this incident so
vividly because it had an important
function I was at the age where kids
start to learn that you can’t take other
bits toys without asking permission so I
started using my imagination to reflect
on this quite basic ethical notion I
argued that we should also ask adults to
take imagination more seriously we use
it whenever we read or write or watch
movies or listen to the stories of other
people or tell about to our lives to
them basically whenever we think about
things that are not present at the
moment but we often think imagination
only as an escape route from reality we
forget that imagination also has the
power to shape reality think about the
biblical story of Good Samaritan some of
you may know it it’s a story about
offering unconditional help to an
injured stranger imagination allows you
to picture yourself as if you were in
the story but I am a stranger or should
I help a stranger
our parent my earring is making a noise
thanks I’ll just toss it to Kate good
catch
I was talking about it’s the Meritor
little earring from fun so you know
research compared those things who know
the story of good samaritan and those
who don’t know it and guess what
those who know it believe much more
strongly that helping the
underprivileged is important so thinking
about good samaritan and my friend
Christina Cordillera well I think that
imagination can serve ethicality to be
able to act ethically we first have to
be able to figure out what are the
possible ways to act and how they
promote compassion and justice and their
imagination helps us through imagination
can try new ideas and values and ways to
exist as french philosopher paul ricoeur
put it an imagination is such a powerful
tool in ethics because it’s causing to
play all aspects of humanity not just
the rational mind but also meanings and
emotions and hope and despair
imagination also engages us in action
much more than just facts or numbers the
great news is that you can train
imagination feed it by exposing yourself
to new perspectives a great way to do
that is to meet people who you wouldn’t
otherwise need as a part of my research
I interviewed bank employees they had
volunteered in a philanthropic project
where they mentored marginalized young
people
many of those young people suffered from
loneliness or mental health issues or
lack of support some of them had had
severe financial difficulties and before
those encounters with the young people
many bank employees thought that
financial problems are mainly caused by
recklessness but but as they listened to
the life stories of those young people
they realized that actually there are
real reasons for financial issues
they’re not caused by carelessness and
now as a result something employees said
that they are more compassionate to
their customers
others said that they look at the
society in a whole new way so what I’m
saying is that perhaps the greatest
power of imagination lies in its ability
to transform us makes us revise our
thoughts and choices I’ve experienced
this myself as well I grew up in a
religious revival esteem –nt many
people would consider its norms quite
extreme and its obsession about sin left
its wounds for many yes I could only
feel a bitterness towards the movement
and then a couple of years ago I read a
book a fictional novel it was a story of
a woman who had been hurt in a similar
moment but in another much worse way it
wasn’t my story but it had an impact
after all the wrongdoings and all the
hurt and all the pain the woman in the
Novo still valued what was good in that
moment this example forgiveness made me
think that I can also let go of the
hatred
so as you have noticed thinking
imagination thinking ethics through
imagination differs from the trendy talk
on ethicality it reminds you that an
ethical t-shirt doesn’t make ethical
choices but you should imagination makes
you think about the consequences of your
choices and rethink what kind of person
you want to be so if you want to
strengthen the foundation of your
ethicality train and feed your
imagination but no matter what we do we
can’t escape those difficult ethical
decisions those excruciating moments of
guilt will remain a part of being a
human and in those moments imagination
can offer something that ethical
products can’t imagination can open up a
horizon of hope it lifts you up from the
paralyzing feeling of guilt and
powerlessness it restores the belief
that a better world is possible and
despite your own shortcomings you have a
part in building it and if all else
fails then just hope your imaginary
friend
[Applause]
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