Moral Dilemma Unit

Moral Dilemmas

Dilemma- a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially equally undesirable ones.

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Index

Objectives

Unit 01

Quiz

Objectives

• Explain moral dilemma as a moral experience

Objectives

• Distinguish between a moral dilemma and a false dilemma

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Unit 01

Meaning of Moral Dilemma

"The reason most of us go to the movies is to be involved in someone else's moral dilemma."

Tom Hanks

UNIT 01 Meaning of Moral Dilemma

Example

The Pregnant Lady and the Dynamite

A pregnant woman leading a group of five people out of a cave on a coast is stuck in the mouth of that cave. In a short time high tide will be upon them, and unless she is unstuck, they will all be drowned except the woman, whose head is out of the cave. Fortunately, (or unfortunately,) someone has with him a stick of dynamite. There seems no way to get the pregnant woman loose without using the dynamite which will inevitably kill her; but if they do not use it everyone else will drown. What should they do?

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UNIT 01 Meaning of Moral Dilemma

Moral Dilemma

Ethical dilemma/ Ethical Paradox

It is a problem in the decision-making between two possible options, neither of which is absolutely acceptable from an ethical perspective.What Is an Ethical Dilemma? There are three conditions that must be present for a situation to be considered an ethical dilemma.

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• The first condition occurs in situations when an individual, called the “agent,” must make a decision about which course of action is best. Situations that are uncomfortable but that don’t require a choice, are not ethical dilemmas.
• The second condition for ethical dilemma is that there must be different courses of action to choose from.
• Third, in an ethical dilemma, no matter what course of action is taken, some ethical principle is compromised. In other words, there is no perfect solution.

UNIT 01 Meaning of Moral Dilemma

In the Case of

The Pregnant Lady and the Dynamite

There were two options -Use the dynamite and kill the pregnant woman but save the other five Or -Don't use the dynamite and all the 5 will get drowned except the pregnant woman whose head is out.

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UNIT 01 Meaning of Moral Dilemma

To have a genuine dilemma

one of the conflicting solutions must not override the other.

For instance, "...the requirement to protect others from serious harm overrides the requirement to repay one's debts by returning a borrowed item when its owner so demands." Hence,..."in addition to the features mentioned above , in order to have a genuine moral dilemma it must also be true that neither of the conflicting requirements is overriden" (McConnell, T. 2019). This means that none of the conflicting requirements is solved by the other. The persons involved are in a deadlock. They find themselves in a "damned-if-you-do and damn-if-you-don't"situation.

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UNIT 01 Meaning of Moral Dilemma

The Burger Murders

The Trolley Problem

You founded a company that manufactures meatless burgers that are sold in stores worldwide. But you’ve recently received awful news: three people in one city died after eating your burgers. A criminal has injected poison into your product! The deaths are headline news and sales have plummeted. How do you deal with the crisis? George Siedel and Christine Ladwig explore the different strategies of this ethical dilemma.

The trolley problem is a thought experiment in ethics about a fictional scenario in which an onlooker has the choice to save 5 people in danger of being hit by a trolley, by diverting the trolley to kill just 1 person. The term is often used more loosely with regard to any choice that seemingly has a trade-off between what is good and what sacrifices are "acceptable," if at all.

UNIT 01 Meaning of Moral Dilemma

Meaning of a False Moral Dilemma

On the other hand, a false dilemma is a situation where the decision-maker has a moral duty to do one thing, but is tempted or under pressure to do something else. A false dilemma is a choice between a right and a wrong. For example a lawyer or an accountant can face an opportunity to prioritize self-interest over the client's interest.

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What to Do when Faced with a Moral Dilemma

Ultimately, dilemmas are conflicts in the application of moral standards. The question is which moral standards must be followed? In a state of emergency , necessity demands no moral law. You have to decide on your best judgment or choose based on the principle of lesser evil or greater good or urgency.

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UNIT 01 Meaning of Moral Dilemma

Quality Education to the Poor

Heinz's Dilemma

Community Participation

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UNIT 01 Meaning of Moral Dilemma

Individual

Organizational

Structural

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UNIT 01 Meaning of Moral Dilemma

Resolving Moral Dilemmas

UNIT 01 Meaning of Moral Dilemma

"It may seem that the only way to make a necessary connexion between 'injury' and the things that are to be avoided, is to say that it is only used in an 'action-guiding sense' when applied to something the speaker intends to avoid. But we should look carefully at the crucial move in that argument, and query the suggestion that someone might happen not to want anything for which he would need the use of hands or eyes. Hands and eyes, like ears and legs, play a part in so many operations that a man could only be said not to need them if he had no wants at all."

Philippa Foot

Quiz

Let us test how much you know about Moral Dilemmas

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Question 1/5

A person or persons in a moral dilemma can easily choose which course of action to take.

False

True

Question 2/5

In a moral dilemma, one course of action between two options is obviously immoral while the other choice is moral.

False

True

Question 3/5

A person involved in a moral dilemma can choose both options.

False

True

Question 4/5

In a moral dilemma , a person has a choice for the good, only that because he/she is tempted he/she ends up choosing that which is not good.

True

False

Question 5/5

In a moral dilemma, a person is torn between two no good options.

False

True

Wrong!

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Congratulations!

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Results

2/5

0/5

1/5

2 corrects

1 correct

0 correct

4/5

5/5

3/5

4 corrects

5 corrects

3 corrects