Moral Dilemmas

Group 2.
The picture shows the train on the
track that losses control and in front
Moral Dilemma
there are people fixing the rail road.
On the right track there are 5 workers
and on the left side track there is only
one worker.

Suppose you are the driver of the

train, which track will you choose?

Let’s analyze
Dilemma
A dilemma is a situation where a person is forced to
choose between two or more conflicting options,
neither of which is acceptable. As we can see, the key
here is that the person has choices to make that will all
have results he/she does not want.
Example of Dilemma
A town mayor faces a dilemma about how to
protect and preserve a virgin forest, and at the
same time allow miners and loggers for
economic development in the town.
Note: if a person is in a difficult
situation but is not forced to choose
between two or more options, then that
person is not in a dilemma.
When dilemmas involve human actions
which have moral implications, they are
called ethical or moral dilemmas.
Moral Dilemma
Moral dilemmas, are situations where
persons, who are called “moral agents” in
ethics, are forced to choose between two or
more conflicting options, neither of which
resolves the situation in a morally acceptable
situation.
 Example of Moral Dilemma
A deeply religious woman with an ectopic pregnancy.
A woman discovers that she is having an ectopic pregnancy, a
type of pregnancy that occurs outside the uterus, and in the
fallopian tube, thus the fetus not having develop in the uterus
endangers her life. If she continues with her pregnancy, there is a
big possibility of her dying. Doctors and experts suggest the best
way to save her life is to abort and kill the fetus. If not both of
they will die.
Example of Moral Dilemma
In the example, the woman is faced with two conflicting
options, namely, either she resorts to abortion, which
will save her life but at the same time jeopardizes her
moral integrity or does not resort to abortion but
endangers her life as well as the fetus. She is faced
with a huge moral dilemma
Three conditions that must be present for situations to
be considered moral dilemmas.
First, the person or the agent of a moral action is
obliged to make a decision about which course of
action is best. Here, the moral agent must choose the
best option and act accordingly.
Three conditions that must be present for situations to
be considered moral dilemmas.
Second, there must be different courses of action to
choose from. Hence, as already pointed out above,
there must be two or more conflicting options to
choose from for moral dilemmas to occur.
Three conditions that must be present for situations to
be considered moral dilemmas.
Third, no matter what course of action is taken,
some moral principles are always compromised.
There is no perfect solution to the problem. In moral
dilemmas, the moral agent “seems destined to commit
something wrong which implies that she is bound to morally
fail because in one way or another she will fail to do
something which she ought to do. In other words, by choosing
one of the possible moral requirements, the person also fails
on others.”
Types of Moral Dilemmas
1)Epistemic and ontological dilemmas.
2)Self-imposed and world-imposed dilemmas.
3)Obligation dilemmas and prohibition dilemmas.
4)Single agent and multi-person dilemmas.
Types of Moral Dilemmas
Epistemic moral dilemmas involve situations
wherein two or more moral requirements conflict
with each other and that the moral agent hardly
knows which of the conflicting moral requirements
takes precedence over the other.
Example of Epistemic moral dilemmas
For instance, I ought to honor my promise to my son to be home early, but on my
way home I saw a sick old man who needs to be brought to the hospital. Where
does my actual duty lie? We cannot deny that there are conflicting duties (moral
requirements) here, but we need to note that we want a fuller knowledge of the
situation: Is an important purpose being served by my getting home early? How
serious is the condition of the sick old man?
Indeed, I could hardly decide which option is morally right in this situation.
However, one option must be better than the other; only, it needs fuller
knowledge of the situation―thus the term “epistemic” moral dilemmas.
Types of Moral Dilemmas
Ontological moral dilemmas, on the other hand,
involve situations wherein two or more moral
requirements conflict with each other, yet neither of
these conflicting moral requirements overrides each
other.
Example of Ontological moral dilemmas
In this type of Moral Dilemma the moral agent can hardly choose
between the conflicting moral requirements. For instance, a military
doctor is attending to 9 needs of the wounded soldiers in the middle of
the war. Unfortunately, two soldiers urgently need a blood transfusion.
However, only one bag of blood is available at the moment. To whom
shall
the doctor administer the blood transfusion? For sure, we could not tell
whether administering a blood transfusion to Soldier A is more moral
than administering a blood transfusion to Soldier B, and vice versa.
Types of Moral Dilemmas

Self-imposed moral dilemma is caused by the

moral agent’s wrongdoings.
 Example of Self-imposed moral dilemmas
David is running for the position of the town mayor. During the campaign
period, he promised the indigenous peoples in his community to protect
their virgin forest just to gain their votes, but at the same time, he seeks
financial support from a mining corporation. Fortunately, David won the
elections, yet he is faced with the dilemma of fulfilling his promised to the
indigenous peoples and at the same time allows the mining corporation to
destroy their forest. Indeed, through his own actions, David created a
situation in which it is impossible for him to be discharged from both
obligations.
Types of Moral Dilemmas
World-imposed moral dilemma, on the other hand,
means that certain events in the world place the agent in a
situation of moral conflict.
Example of World-imposed moral dilemmas
William Styron’s famous Sophie’s choice is a classic example.
“Sophie Zawistowska has been asked to choose which of her two
children, Eva or Jan, will be sent to the gas chamber in Auschwitz.
An SS doctor, Fritz Jemand von Niemand, will grant a dispensation
to only one of Sophie’s children. If she does not choose which one
should live, Dr. von Niemand will send both to their death. Sophie
chooses her daughter Eva to go to the gas chamber. Her son, Jan, is
sent to the Children’s Camp.”
Types of Moral Dilemmas
Obligation dilemmas are situations in which
more than one feasible action is obligatory,
while prohibition dilemmas involve cases in
which all feasible actions are forbidden.
Types of Moral Dilemmas
Single agent dilemma, the agent “ought, all things
considered, to do. In other words, the moral agent is
compelled to act on two or more equally the same moral
options but he/she cannot choose both.
Example of Single agent dilemmas
For instance, a medical doctor found out that her patient has
HIV. For sure, the medical doctor may experience tension
between the legal requirement to report the case and the desire
to respect confidentiality, although the medical code of ethics
acknowledges our obligation to follow legal requirements and
to intervene to protect the vulnerable.
Summary of Moral Dilemmas
• A moral dilemma is a “decision making problem between two possible
moral imperatives, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or
preferable.”
• A moral dilemma is a situation where a person has the moral obligation
to choose between two options both based on moral standards, but
he/she cannot choose both, and choosing one means violating the other.
The Three Levels of
Moral Dilemmas
Moral dilemmas are situations in which the
decision-maker must consider two or more
moral values or duties but can only honor one of
them; thus, the individual will violate at least
one important moral concern, regardless of the
decision.
The Three Levels of Moral Dilemmas
• Individual
• Organizational
• Structural
The Three Levels of Moral Dilemmas
Individual
This refers to personal dilemmas. Always the basis is the
self-interest and the self-satisfaction. I will do whatever I
want to do without minding others.
“A woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that
the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the
same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the
druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to produce. He paid $200
for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman’s
husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only
get together about $1,000 which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his
wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist
said: “No, I discovered the drug and I’mgoing to make money from it.” So Heinz
got desperate and broke into the man’s store to steal the drug for his wife.

Example of individual level of dilemma

The case of Heinz as given in the activity phase of the lesson is one of
the best known individual dilemmas of Kohlberg’s (1958). Kohlberg’s
dilemma questions were as follows: “Should Heinz have stolen the
drug.” (Mackinnon, B., et al 2015) If he did not steal the drug that
would mean his wife’s death. He was torn between stealing the drug
and saving his wife. The dilemma is faced by an individual who is torn
between 2 obligations – to save the wife or obey the law. So this is an
example of an individual dilemma.

Example of individual level of dilemma

The Three Levels of Moral Dilemmas
Organizational
An organizational dilemma is a puzzle posed by the dual
necessities of a social organization and member’s self-interest. It
may exist between personal interest and
organizational welfare or between group interest and
organizational well-being. (Wagner, J. 2019).
The mission of Catholic School is to serve the poor by giving
quality education. It is torn between the obligation to charge low
tuition to help the poor and to pay better salaries to keep quality
teachers. The above example shows the dilemma between the
goal of the school to give quality education for the poor and so
must charge the lowest tuition fee possible and yet to keep
quality faculty the school must raise their salary and
consequently, must raise their tuition. Organizational dilemmas
may likewise occur in business, medical and public sector

Example of organizational level of dilemma

The Three Levels of Moral Dilemmas
Structural
A principal ought to welcome and encourage parents and community
participation in school affairs. Based on her experience, parents and
community are passive and so the principal always ends up deciding
and doing things just the same. She is obliged to observe parents’ and
community participation which do not give any input at all at the same
time she is obliged to accomplish things on time.

Example of structural level of dilemma

The case of the principal whether to be participatory
or non-participatory in school affairs but due to her
not so favorable experience of attempting to be
participatory ended up to one-woman rule is an
example of a structural dilemma.

Example of structural level of dilemma

Thank you!