Moral blindness
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Moral blindness is defined as the temporary inability to see the unethical side of a certain context or situation. It is often caused by external factors due to which an individual is unable to see the immoral aspect of their behavior in that particular situation.
While the concept of moral blindness (and more broadly, that of immorality) has its roots in ancient philosophy, the idea of moral blindness became popular after events of World War II, particularly the Holocaust. This led to more research by psychologists and some surprising findings (notably by Milgram and Zimbardo) on human behavior in the context of obedience and authority.
Over the years, moral blindness has been identified as being a concern in wide ranging areas such as in business organisations and legal systems. It has also spurred research on other related concepts such as moral blind spots, ethical fading and ethical erosion.
See also
- Ethical Dilemma
- Moral Reasoning
- Immorality
- Morality
- Banality of Evil
- Ethics
- Normative Ethics
- Perpetrator studies