Course Code GE7

Description Ethics
Pre-Requisites
Department: Week 2

General Education Module No. 2

TOPIC

The Moral Dilemma

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this module, the student will be able to:

1. Detect or perceive a moral dilemma.
2. Identify the three levels of moral dilemma
3. Define Freedom.
4. Explain why only human beings can be ethical.

INTRODUCTION
Have you experienced difficulties in making such decision? What do you consider to come up
with your decision?

Those questions are very common if we are in a situation that needs to decide upon.

In this module students will be able to understand what moral dilemmas can do to us in terms
of making decision or by choosing one option from another.

Furthermore, the role of moral value will have a great part in this topic.

In this module students will be provided with reading materials, links and online lectures for
them to further understand the subject matter.

Quiz and recitation will be given to assess the students. Discussion will also very helpful in
assessing the students understanding with the topic. Exchanging inputs among students is
another effective way to weigh if they met the objective of studying various topic.

Aside from the inputs of the teacher regarding the topic, case discussion is the best tool in order
to evaluate/assess the different experiences of students.
COURSE CONTENT
What is Moral Dilemma?

Moral dilemma is a conflict of morals, where you are forced to choose between two or more
options and you have a moral reason to choose and not choose each option. No matter what
choice you make in these situations, you always end up compromising some moral value.

It also refers to an action in which an individual will choose right over wrong, or good or bad or
choosing the lesser evil. We can encounter moral dilemma when we can only choose one from a
number of possible actions, and there are compelling ethical reasons for the various choices.

Example:

1. A father may disagree between wanting to feed his children but then knowing that it
will be wrong for him to steal.
2. A graduating student may be conflicted between wanting to pass his final exams but

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 then recognizing that it will be wrong for him to cheat.
3. A police officer caught a drug pusher in one of his duties, he has second thought of
surrendering all the drugs he recovered and sell it to his contacts, but he then recognize
that it is against his “sinumpaang tungkulin” as police officer.

Based on the explanation about please choose if the following examples are Moral Standards or
Non-moral Standards and defend your answer:

1. Visiting the Church

2. Wearing fashionable reaped jeans.
3. Smoking in a designated Areas.
4. Eating Halal foods.
5. Civil wedding

Please read the following scenario: Students will be asked to pick one from the scenarios
given and explain their thoughts about the topic.

Crossing the street.

You are on your way home and in a hurry because it is about dinner in your house.

The fastest way to your house is to cross the street and not use the pedestrian crossing which is
300 more meters away from you. There is a police enforcer and he sees you about to cross.
What do you do?

My crush’s lover has another lover.

You have a crush with Jane for the longest time, unfortunately she is in a relationship with
Joseph. You have been waiting for an opportunity for them to cool off and try to court Jane. One
day you saw Joseph with another girl being sweet and holding another girl’s hand while walking
in the mall, it was not Jane. You think that this is your opportunity to tell Jane what you saw.
What will you do?

Don’t rock the boat.

You're in class taking an exam. You see some people cheating. You are upset because you
studied hard for the exam and you see these students cheating. What do you do? Tell the
proctor that you saw your classmates cheating? You ignore them and because you might get
into trouble after?

Please fall in line.

You are in a grocery and there is a long line. There is a woman talking on the phone and
suddenly cuts in the line ahead of you. Will you allow the woman to cut in line? How would you
feel? Will you approach the woman and tell her to fall in line or you will let it go?

The boy who stole for love.

There was someone shouting in the street, you saw a boy running with a woman’s handbag. You
ran and followed the boy into an ally. The boy ran to his brothers and sisters who were waiting

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for him looking very hungry. You found out after talking to them that they were orphans and
have not eaten anything for days. What do you do? Report the incident to the police? What are
the consequences of your actions? Why do you think the boy did what he did?

To rally despite the Covid-19 pandemic?

There is this issue now in the US where people are taking to the street to express their
frustration with how black people are being treated by the police. There seems to be a harsher
reaction towards black people compared to white. People in the United States and in some
parts of the world are protesting in the streets despite the restriction of mass gathering. Are the
people doing the right thing?

What did you notice with the different scenarios?

Freedom

Freedom as define by Webster Dictionarygenerally, is having the ability to act or change without

constraint. Something is "free" if it can change easily and is not constrained in its present
state. ... A person has the freedom to do things that will not, in theory or in practice, be
prevented by other forces.

How do you define freedom? Do you consider yourself free? Why?

Three (3 ) Levels of Moral Dilemma:

1. Individual Level
An Individual or personal dilemma is an extremely difficult situation for someone to
handle. A classic example is deciding what course to take up in college.
2. Organizational Level
Organizational dilemma is all about how to handle reconciliation inconsistency between
individual or personal needs and aspirations on the one hand, and the collective
purpose of the organization on the other.

There are five steps in the organizational problem solving process:

Step 1: Identify The Problem.

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 Step 2: Analyze The Problem.
Step 3: Develop The Solutions.
Step 4: Implement A Solution.
Step 5: Evaluate The Results.

3. Structural Level
Structural Dilemmas. Finding a satisfactory system of roles and relationships is an
ongoing universal struggle.

Watch these videos

• https://youtu.be/jwOQ7ZqDWN4
• https://youtu.be/gGaccU2u0zQ

FOCUS QUESTIONS
1. What is Moral Dilemma?
2. What are the three levels of Moral Dilemma?

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

A. Class Discussion
The instructor will discuss given topics in order for the students to get a clear picture of the
subject matter.

B. Individual Activity. Students will be given a chance to express their insights written or oral.

C. Additional Learning Activities.

Students will be given links where additional inputs are available.
LMS will also be available for students to access.

ASSESSMENT

Short Quiz
Direction: Visit the LMS and answer Quiz no.2 of Week No. 2
Instructions will be provided.
Recitation:
Students will be required to site their own personal experiences regarding moral dilemma.

Home work:
Students will be given homework to improve their understanding of the topic.

ASSIGNMENT
Assignment No. 2
Answer the following questions:

1. Are human beings ethical?

2. How culture influence our behavior?

RELATED READINGS / REFERENCES

READINGS/CITATION:
• Ethics Foundation or Moral Valuation:Oscar G. Bulaong Jr.,Mark Joseph T. Calano, Albert

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 M. Lagliva,Michael Ner E. Mariano and Jesus DEogracias Z. Proncipe,2013
• The Influence of Culture in Moral Development: Jomil C. Baring CssR
• James Bretzke, SJ., A Morally Complex World: Engaging Contemporary Moral Theology,
(Philippines: Jesuit Communications Foundation, 2004), 132.

• https://youtu.be/jwOQ7ZqDWN4 https://youtu.be/gGaccU2u0zQ

Prepared by: Approved by: Noted by:

Cherry Ann B. Fernandez Rito A. Camigla Jr., EdD.

Faculty VP for Academic & Student Affairs

PLAGIARISM DECLARATION

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 I hereby certify that the module GE7-Ethics submitted to Trimex Colleges is
entirely my original work, except where otherwise indicated. I am aware of the College's
rules on plagiarism, including those on disciplinary action that may result from
plagiarism. Any use, in any form whatsoever, of the works of any other author shall be
properly recognized and cited at their point of use.

Signature :

Author’s Name : CHERRY ANN B. FERNANDEZ

Faculty

Date of submission : July 22, 2020

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