CREATIVITY, Linson Thomas

Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new (a product, a solution, a work of art etc.) that has some kind of value. What counts as "new" may be in reference to the individual creator, or to the society or domain within which the novelty occurs.

Moral creativity is a creativity for a moral purpose. Thus it is an aspect of many other acts of creativity. But on its own is a creativity of action-creativity whose end product is the better life of human beings. It is a social and collaborative, yet may entail a personal inner transformation which is capable of impelling an ordinary man, woman, or even child to extra ordinary action. For example, risking one's own life to save the life of others. A stable civilized society would not be possible if that were not largely the case. Rationaly the concept 'ought' is applicable only when a person is the potential source of a possible event. It does not make the sense to say that a person ought to do something if he cannot do it. But when we cannot-when a moral imperative is present but the problem is so over whelming as to challenge a person's ability to address it-creativity becomes necessary. Not everyone takes up the challenge. In the course of terrible problems they innovate. Moral creativity can be seen in the extraordinary legacies of great moral leaders, but also within the reach of all of us. Moral creativity is an ancient idea, one with deep roots in the arts and aesthetics as well as education.

To some ears, "ethics" has a dull sound; it lacks the excitement of "creativity" and "innovation."  But ethics is only dull when approached with a child-like fixation on rules—a stress on "Thou-Shalt-Nots."  Ethics comes alive as we shift focus from minimum duties to the higher aspirations embedded in ideals and virtues.  Take the first commandment, "Thou shalt not kill."  Transformed into positive terms, it becomes a monumental challenge:  "Thou shalt promote human health and happiness."

It's relatively easy to obey the basic moral and corporate rules.  However, there are always "sticky" situations where the rules aren't that helpful, and that's when you need your creative skills.

Moral creativity is morally valuable newness.  That does not mean inventing virtues from scratch but rather developing fresh ideas based on fundamental moral values.  Moral creativity also means acting on those ideas and insights.  Fresh ideas and innovative actions are aspects of moral leadership, which all of us can show as we tackle difficult problems as members of groups.