ETHICS

G E 1 2 4
 Quiz #1

• Why are rules important to social beings? (5 points)

• Enumerate and explain the characteristics of moral
standards. (10 points)
• Explain the difference between moral and non-moral
standards. (5 points)
• Why do we need to own moral standards than merely
abiding moral standards? (10 points)
 MORAL DILEMMA

MORAL DILEMMA
 Activity No. 3

Discuss the following with your group and present it in the class:

1. What is a moral dilemma?

2. Your moral dilemma as a student.

3. Individual (group 1), organizational (group 2), and structural

(group 3) dilemmas in the film “I can hear your voice.”

MORAL DILEMMA
 Activity No. 3

Personal/Individual – A person whose choice will adversely affect

very important people in your life

Organizational – A business owner whose choice will adversely

affect either the company or the employees

Structural – A high-ranking government official who needs to

choose between implementing or not implementing a policy not
because it will affect the poor communities, but not implementing
it will also impact the environment

MORAL DILEMMA
 What is Moral Dilemma?

A situation in which a difficult choice has to be

made between two courses of action, either of
which entails transgressing a moral principle.

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/moral_dilemma

MORAL DILEMMA
 Moral dilemma is a situation where:

• There are two or more actions that you can

possibly do

• There is a moral reason(s) for doing such actions

• You cannot do all the possible actions

presented to you. You only need to choose one

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/moral_dilemma

MORAL DILEMMA
 Since there is a moral reason(s) for doing each of
the possible course of action that you can do, it
follows that no matter what action you choose
you will go against your sense of what is
right/wrong

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/moral_dilemma

MORAL DILEMMA
 Three Levels of Moral Dilemma

Personal dilemma
Your decision in a situation where there is moral
conflict is cause of either your own; that of
another person; or a group of people’s
potential harm

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/moral_dilemma

MORAL DILEMMA
 Example

Michael had several friends including Roger and Daniel. Roger

has recently met and started dating a wonderful lady named Phyllis.
He is convinced this is a long term relationship. Unknown to Roger,
Michael observed them at a restaurant several days ago and realized
Phyllis is the wife of his other friend Daniel.

Michael is deciding whether to tell Roger that Phyllis is married

when he receives a call from Daniel. Daniel suspects his wife is having
an affair and since they and Michael share many friends and contacts,
he asks if Michael has heard anything regarding an affair.

MORAL DILEMMA
 Example

To whom does Michael owe greater friendship to in this

situation? No matter who he tells, he is going to end up hurting one,
if not both friends. Does he remain silent and hope his knowledge is
never discovered?

MORAL DILEMMA
 Three Levels of Moral Dilemma

Organizational dilemma
A member or members of the organization is in
a situation where there is moral conflict, and the
decision will potentially harm either some
members of the group or the entire organization
itself

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/moral_dilemma

MORAL DILEMMA
 Example

A garments factory is not hitting its target profit. If the company

keeps on missing its target, the company will also not achieve its five-
year expansion plan which will severely affect the factory’s future
financial standing. One plan to solve the factory’s imminent financial
crisis was to cut cost by laying-off some of its employees.

The CEO and the members of the board now need to decide.
Should they lay off the people who work for them to save the factory?
Or keep the people working and just find other means to hopefully
increase profit and prevent their financial crisis in the future?

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/moral_dilemma

MORAL DILEMMA
 Three Levels of Moral Dilemma

Structural moral dilemma

A person or group of persons who holds high-
level positions in the society faces a morally
conflicting situation wherein the entire social
system is affected

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/moral_dilemma

MORAL DILEMMA
 Example
The SSS members have been asking for a two-thousand pesos SSS
pension increase. Several lawmakers supported the all because they see
that it will benefit the senior citizen members. On the other hand , the SSS
executives opposed it saying the institution cannot sustain such amount in
the long run, and the SSS will go bankrupt in 2024.

Being the President of the Philippines, the final decision was in the
hands of president Aquino III. In the end, the president vetoed the bill
passed by the Congress to hike the SSS pension because he believed “the
sustainability of the entire SSS benefit system will be seriously compromised
in favor of two million pensioners and their dependents” (CNN Philippines)
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/moral_dilemma

MORAL DILEMMA
 Another example of Moral Dilemma

The mood at Baileyville High School is tense with anticipation. For the first
time in many, many years, the varsity basketball team has made it to the state
semifinals. The community is excited too, and everyone is making plans to attend
the big event next Saturday night.

Jeff, the varsity coach, has been waiting for years to field such a team.
Speed, teamwork, balance: they've got it all. Only one more week to practice, he
tells his team, and not a rule can be broken. Everyone must be at practice each
night at the regularly scheduled time: No Exceptions. Brad and Mike are two of the
team's starters. From their perspective, they're indispensable to the team, the guys
who will bring victory to Baileyville. They decide—why, no one will ever know—to
show up an hour late to the next day's practice.

MORAL DILEMMA
 Example of Moral Dilemma

Jeff is furious. They have deliberately disobeyed his orders. The rule says
they should be suspended for one full week. If he follows the rule, Brad and Mike
will not play in the semifinals. But the whole team is depending on them. What
should he do?

MORAL DILEMMA
 Concept of Moral Dilemma

In each case, an agent regards her/himself as having

CONFLICT moral reasons to do each of two actions, but doing both
actions is not possible.

MORAL DILEMMA
 Concept of Moral Dilemma

The crucial features of a moral dilemma are these:

• the agent can do each of the actions; but the

agent cannot do both (or all) of the actions.
CONFLICT
• The agent thus seems condemned to moral
failure; no matter what she/he does, she/he will
do something wrong (or fail to do something that
she ought to do).

MORAL DILEMMA