Moral blindness

Moral blindness, also known as ethical blindness, is defined as a person's temporary inability to see the <a href="/facts/Ethical/wNVNgL5q">ethical</a> aspect of a decision they are making. It is often caused by external factors due to which an individual is unable to see the <a href="/facts/Immorality/o2fMklhR">immoral</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Philosophy/zAH5PVD6">philosophy</a>, the idea of moral blindness became popular after the events of <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a>, particularly the <a href="/facts/The_Holocaust/vGQsAb2y">Holocaust</a>. This led to more research by <a href="/facts/Psychologist/J4l4QdX2">psychologists</a> and some surprising findings (notably by <a href="/facts/Stanley_Milgram/F2dcafH0">Stanley Milgram</a> and <a href="/facts/Philip_Zimbardo/laPJ7n66">Philip Zimbardo</a>) on human behavior in the context of <a href="/facts/Obedience_(human_behavior)/IV9MWnJa">obedience</a> and <a href="/facts/Authority_bias/MqcdaRbP">authority bias</a>. 
Moral blindness has been identified as being a concern in areas such as business organisation and legal systems.

Moral blindness open-in-new

Moral blindness