When Nobody’s Watching (2024)

When Conscience Calls: Moral Courage in Times of Confusion and Despair

Kristen Renwick Monroe

Published:

2023

Online ISBN:

9780226829081

Print ISBN:

9780226829074

Contents

  • < Previous
  • Next chapter >

When Conscience Calls: Moral Courage in Times of Confusion and Despair

Kristen Renwick Monroe

Chapter

Get access

Kristen Renwick Monroe

Kristen Renwick Monroe

Find on

Oxford Academic

Pages

135–173

  • Published:

    October 2023

Cite

OXFORD ACADEMIC STYLE

Monroe, Kristen Renwick, 'When Nobody’s Watching', When Conscience Calls: Moral Courage in Times of Confusion and Despair (Chicago, IL, 2023; online edn, Chicago Scholarship Online, 23 May 2024), https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226829081.003.0011, accessed 29 May 2024.

CHICAGO STYLE

Monroe, Kristen Renwick. "When Nobody’s Watching." In When Conscience Calls: Moral Courage in Times of Confusion and Despair University of Chicago Press, 2023. Chicago Scholarship Online, 2024. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226829081.003.0011.

Close

Search

Close

Search

Advanced Search

Search Menu

Abstract

Moral courage consists of acts emanating spontaneously from the core values of fairness, justice, and a concern for the well-being of others, values held so deeply they eventually come to constitute the actor’s character or identity. Moral courage rarely originates in agonistic choice and is usually taken in full recognition of the potential risks, costs, and consequences of acting. The people who engage in moral courage are not superhuman. Indeed, they are not necessarily people judged high on agency. They are normal human beings, driven by their own need to do what they deem right in order to help others and to be able to live with themselves later. Further analysis revealed the morally courageous as humble, empathic people with a strong sense of connectedness to others. Their core values often originate in family, as does the support they crave during tough times. They are people for whom duty and conscience form the very core of their being. Not doing the right thing and pursuing winning at all costs are not options for the morally courageous, for whom each small act of moral courage strengthened their moral muscle and their ability to act courageously later.

Keywords: spontaneous acts, moral muscle, core values, identity

Subject

Moral Philosophy

You do not currently have access to this chapter.

Sign in

Get help with access

Personal account

  • Sign in with email/username & password
  • Get email alerts
  • Save searches
  • Purchase content
  • Activate your purchase/trial code
  • Add your ORCID iD

Sign in Register

Institutional access

    Sign in through your institution

    Sign in through your institution

  1. Sign in with a library card
  2. Sign in with username/password
  3. Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Sign in as administrator

Get help with access

Institutional access

Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:

IP based access

Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.

Sign in through your institution

Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.

  1. Click Sign in through your institution.
  2. Select your institution from the list provided, which will take you to your institution's website to sign in.
  3. When on the institution site, please use the credentials provided by your institution. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
  4. Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.

If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.

Sign in with a library card

Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.

Society Members

Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:

Sign in through society site

Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:

  1. Click Sign in through society site.
  2. When on the society site, please use the credentials provided by that society. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
  3. Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.

If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.

Sign in using a personal account

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.

Personal account

A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.

Viewing your signed in accounts

Click the account icon in the top right to:

  • View your signed in personal account and access account management features.
  • View the institutional accounts that are providing access.

Signed in but can't access content

Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.

Institutional account management

For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.

Purchase

Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.

Purchasing information

Metrics

Total Views 0

0 Pageviews

0 PDF Downloads

Since 5/29/2024

Citations

Powered by Dimensions

Altmetrics

×

More from Oxford Academic

Arts and Humanities

Moral Philosophy

Philosophy

Books

Journals

When Nobody’s Watching (2024)

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Jamar Nader

Last Updated:

Views: 6165

Rating: 4.4 / 5 (75 voted)

Reviews: 82% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Jamar Nader

Birthday: 1995-02-28

Address: Apt. 536 6162 Reichel Greens, Port Zackaryside, CT 22682-9804

Phone: +9958384818317

Job: IT Representative

Hobby: Scrapbooking, Hiking, Hunting, Kite flying, Blacksmithing, Video gaming, Foraging

Introduction: My name is Jamar Nader, I am a fine, shiny, colorful, bright, nice, perfect, curious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.