Abstract

In this paper I will explore the philosophical relationships between ethics and aesthetics in order to develop an alternative theoretical framework for teaching ethics to students in the creative industries. I will be mapping the traditional ethical theories of deontology, consequentialism and virtue ethics onto the aesthetic theories of formalism, functionalism and taste in the process of constructing what I shall call, ‘aesthetico-ethical’ theory. I will use this aesthetico-ethical theory to ground a new theory of ‘creative integrity’. This notion of creative integrity will integrate the three theoretical perspectives being mapped and can be understood in terms of autonomy, agency and authenticity. It offers a new pedagogical approach to the question of ethical responsibility in creative industries such as advertising.