Moral dilemma in ethics

The following are the key features of a moral dilemma:

(a) the agent is required to do each of two (or more) actions;

(b) the agent can do each of the actions; but the agent cannot do both (or all) of the actions.
Thus, in moral dilemmas, the agent appears condemned to moral failure. That is,
no matter what he does, he will do something wrong, or fail to do something that
he ought to do.

Therefore, in addition to the features mentioned above, in order to have

a genuine moral dilemma, some add that it must also be the case that:
(c) neither of the conflicting moral requirements is overridden.

The Three Levels of Moral Dilemmas

We can classify moral dilemmas according to levels: (a) personal, (b) organizational,
and (c) structural.

a. Personal Dilemmas
Simply put, these personal dilemmas are those experienced and resolved on the
personal level. Since many ethical decisions are personally made, many, if not most
of, moral dilemmas fall under, or boil down to, this level.

French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre gave an example or a case that could

exemplify a personal moral dilemma:

“Sartre tells of a student whose brother had been killed in the German offensive of
1940. The student wanted to avenge his brother and to fight forces that he
regarded as evil. But the student’s mother was living with him, and he was her one
consolation in life.’

“The student believed that he had conflicting obligations. Sartre describes him as
being torn between two kinds of morality: one of limited scope but certain efficacy,
personal devotion to his mother; the other of much wider scope but uncertain
efficacy, attempting to contribute to the defeat of an unjust aggressor.” (“Moral
Dilemmas,” n.d.)

We can give many other examples of personal moral dilemmas. If someone makes
conflicting promises, he faces a moral conflict. When an individual has to choose
between the life of a child who is about to be delivered and the child’s mother, he
faces an ethical dilemma.
b. Organizational Dilemmas
Basically, ethical cases encountered and resolved by social organizations are
organizational moral dilemmas. This category includes moral dilemmas in business,
medical field, and public sector.

For example, a hospital that believes that human life should not be deliberately
shortened and that unpreventable pain should not be tolerated encounters a
conflict in resolving whether to withdraw life support from a dying patient. This is a
common moral dilemma faced by healthcare organizations and medical
institutions.

Moral dilemmas also arise in professional work. Administrative bodies in business

are confronted with situations in which several courses of action are possible but
none of them provide a totally successful outcome to those affected by the decision
or actions taken.

These moral dilemmas in business involve issues about corporate practices,

policies, business behaviors, and the conducts and relationships of individuals in
the organizations. Other business-related dilemmas pertain to the social
responsibility of businesses, employee rights, harassment, labor unions, misleading
advertising, job discrimination, and whistle blowing.

On the part of public sector, government leaders and employees have a moral duty
to act in a manner that is fair and unbiased. They should be loyal to the public and
ought to put public interest before personal gain, and fulfill duties of competency,
integrity, accountability, and transparency.

Having said that, public officials nonetheless may encounter foreseeable moral
dilemmas in fulfilling these ideals. So ethical or moral dilemmas which arise include
the following examples:

-whether or not to favor family, friends, or campaign contributors over other

constituents;

-favoring the agenda of one’s political party over a policy one believes to be good
for the community;

– dealing with conflicting public duties inherent in serving both as a council

member and as a member of an agency or commission;
– resigning from organizations in which membership may give rise to future
conflicts;

– becoming whistle blower even if it means potentially derailing a policy objective

one is pursuing; and,

– accepting gifts if it is legally permitted but creates the appearance of impropriety.

c. Structural Dilemmas
These structural moral dilemmas pertain to cases involving network of institutions
and operative theoretical paradigms. As they usually encompass multi-sectoral
institutions and organizations, they may be larger in scope and extent than
organizational dilemmas.

An example is the prices of medicine in the Philippines which are higher compared
to other countries in Asia and in countries of similar economic status. Factors
affecting medicine prices include the cost of research, presence of competition in
the market, government regulations, and patent protection.

The institutions concerned may want to lower the costs of medicine, thereby
benefiting the Filipino public, but such a move may ruin the interests or legal rights
of the involved researchers, inventors or discoverers, and pharmaceutical
companies which own the patent of the medicines or healthcare technologies.

An example of dilemma which is also structural in nature is that of Universal Health

Care (UHC). Locally applied, it is called “Kalusugan Pangkalahatan” (KP). It is the
provision to every Filipino of the highest possible quality of health care that is
accessible, efficient, equitably distributed, adequately funded, fairly financed, and
appropriately used by an informed and empowered public.

“Kalusugan Pangkalahatan” (KP), as a government mandate, aims to ensure that

every Filipino shall receive affordable and quality health benefits by (ideally)
providing adequate resources – health human resources, health facilities, and
health financing.

Nonetheless, health financing is first and foremost a big issue here. Government
could set aside bigger budget for health for the implementation of this provision.
But then, this would mean cutting down allocations on other sectors (such as
education or public works.).