FATHER SATURNINO URIOS UNIVERSITY

San Francisco St. Butuan City 8600, Region XIII

Caraga, Philippines
Nursing Program

Marielle E. Balili /BSN II N23 March 6, 2022

ETHICS: Activity 4

According to Holt, D., a moral (ethical) dilemma is defined as an occurrence when a

person must choose between two or more moral (ethical) ideals, and your decision or
action will compromise or violate another moral (ethical) principle(s) or value (s).
When available options and duties do not allow for moral outcomes, a moral dilemma
occurs. In such cases, a decision or action is expected or needed, and all of the
available options violate some moral requirement.
Example 1: A mother of a teenage boy committed theft in a neighboring barangay.
Weeks later, authorities came to the neighborhood where the teenager lived and the
mother was one of the people who were asked about the said robbery. The mother
knew about his son’s deed however she is worried about his son’s future because the
teenager is currently in college. Telling the truth will give light to the truth and justice
will prevail for the victim however along with this, the mother doesn’t want to leave a
stain on his son’s record which can possibly affect his dignity as an educated
individual. As a result the mother is faced with a moral dilemma.
Example 2: A tricycle driver was on his way home from work when he noticed a
rectangular object lying at the side of the road. Not knowing what the object was, he
brought it home and showed it to his family. Her wife and children immediately
recognized the object stating that it was a phone. At that same time, the family is in
desperate need of money for their sick daughter’s expenses in the hospital. The family
was put in a situation whether return the smartphone to the owner or sell it and help
them fix their financial needs.

https://viva.pressbooks.pub/phi220ethics/chapter/what-is-an-ethical-
dilemma/