You Don’t Need to Imagine It. You Need the Courage to See It.
Does moral imagination require moral courage? Moral imagination inspires a deeper understanding of situations that impact others and guides us toward more ethical outcomes. Some argue that moral courage spurs us to choose the best ethical course of action. Given this, it seems a handshake partnership between the two is what enables us to do the right thing.
The problem is that most of these definitions are based on a very different environment from today’s. While both have rich philosophical roots, an update is needed.
Moral imagination is the ability to visualize and feel the impact on others different from us. It is a concept from before the always-on news networks and social media. We live in a much more connected world than when moral imagination was conceived as central to being an ethical person. Moral imagination only matters if it helps us to envision what could be, not just what is. But on its own, it is not enough. It is more aspirational than practical, more future-oriented than urgent.
Nowadays, we don’t need to imagine the impact on others to know it exists. We see it instantaneously in so many actions and inactions. We are more attuned to what is happening around us. Instead of sitting on the sidelines and imagining an impact, we can connect with people different from us and quickly discover the potential outcomes of any decision or action.
It takes moral courage to step outside of what we know and engage directly with those impacted by our decisions and actions. Moral courage ensures we are unafraid to hear experiences different from ours, and it prevents us from becoming defensive when we hear different ways of thinking, experiences, and impacts.
What we need now is moral sight and accountability. Moral sight is about opening our eyes to see the impact and our hearts to feel it. It is right in front of us. The singing and whistling resistance movements in Minneapolis and Chicago are good examples. When citizens see the negative impact of ICE, they know what to do since they have direct moral sightlines to those impacted. Witnessing consequences firsthand creates the urgency to act in ways that abstract empathy rarely does. For those outside of the locations, we see and experience it on 24x7 news and social media.
But moral sight is not automatic. Algorithms curate what we see. Information overload numbs us. Compassion fatigue sets in. We develop sophisticated defenses, like motivated reasoning, tribalism, and selective attention, that let us look without truly seeing. This is why moral sight is an active practice, not a passive default. It demands that we push through the noise and resist the comfort of looking away.
Moral sight requires us to absorb what we see and hear, then take the additional step of translating what we see into ethical consequences for the present and the future. We need reflective time—not to imagine what might be happening to others, but to convert what we already see and feel into what we decide and do next. This is where moral imagination still plays a supporting role. It helps us envision the better outcomes our actions could create.
The other element is moral accountability. Without accountability, moral sight becomes as hollow as moral imagination. Moral accountability embraces our personal responsibility while holding those with power accountable for their actions.
In today’s U.S. system of government, we see directly what happens when accountability disappears. It becomes a slippery slope where ethics and moral good no longer matter. The legislative and judicial branches have weakened to the point that the executive branch rules without regard for the impact on the many. The only focus is on an elite few. Without moral courage, the checks and balances become blank checks for a few to do as they wish, with little regard for the welfare of the many.
If we need further proof of how accountability is lacking, consider Boeing’s recent ethical lapses and safety and compliance failures, McKinsey’s support for Purdue Pharma’s spread of opioids, or OpenAI’s governance and oversight crisis. Accountability requires the moral courage to act beyond profit and speed.
While moral imagination alone is no longer sufficient, moral courage is more critical than ever. Moral courage is the connective tissue that allows us to be brave enough to open our eyes and understand the impacts of what we see. It also connects us to holding ourselves and others accountable. Moral sight tells us what’s happening, moral accountability demands we respond, and moral courage is what makes both possible.
We need to build the capacity for moral courage. Moral sight and accountability are foundational to rebuilding our ethical core in business and society.
Start here. When was the last time you looked directly at the consequences of a decision and let what you saw change what you did next?
Reference
Bhuyan, N., & Chakraborty, A. (2024). The Role of Courage Within Moral Imagination: A Critique. Journal of Business Ethics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-024-05897-4