University of the Cordilleras

College of Arts and Sciences

Department of Political Science

KYSHELLE JUDE AGUSTIN RAFAEL

Learning Outcomes
1. Define moral dilemma;
2. Identify the elements of a moral dilemmas;
and
3. Apply divine and natural laws as bases of
solving moral dilemmas.
MORALITY
MORALITY
The extent to which an action is
considered right or wrong.
Moral Standards
-These are rules and values about the
types of actions which are morally
acceptable.
- Rules people have about the kinds of
actions they believe are morally right, as
well as the values they place on the
kinds of objects they believe are morally
good.
Non-moral Standards
- Nonmoral act or action is not
subject to moral judgment because
morality is not taken into
consideration
Immoral Standards
-It connotes the intent of evilness or
wrongdoing.
-A person or behavior that
conscientiously goes against
accepted morals or the proper ideas
and beliefs about how to behave in a
way that is considered right and good
by most people.
Unmoral Standards
-No moral perception and not
influenced or guided by moral
considerations.
-Nonhuman or inanimate things
incapable of understanding right and
wrong
Amoral Standards
-Having or showing no concern
about whether behavior is morally
right or wrong—compendiously,
“without morals”
MORAL CONFLICT
 A situation in which a person has two moral
obligations, which cannot be met both at once.
 Ethics is about choices which
matter, and choices which matter
are dilemmas
-Martin Cohen
MORAL DILEMMA

WHAT IS RIGHT?
IRRESOLVABLE MORAL CONFLICT,
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.
(English Oxford Dictionary)
 MORAL DILEMMA
In Philosophy, moral dilemma is based on
a distinction between what one foresees
(or could and should have foreseen) as a
result of his or her voluntary action (free
will) and what, in the strict sense, he or she
intends to do.
DILEMMA
-An agent is confused about the right
decision to make because there are
several competing values that are
seemingly equally important and
urgent .
-Two or more principles conflict with
one another
DILEMMA
-Situations in which there is a difficult
choice to be made between two or
more options, neither of which
resolves the situation in a manner
that is consistent with accepted
ethical guidelines.
 Moral Dilemma
Features
McConnell (2022) identifies the
crucial features of a moral dilemma

a. The agent (person) is required to

do one of two moral options
b. The agent (person) is capable of
doing each one
c.The agent (person) cannot do both
 Three Levels of Moral Dilemmas

1. Personal dilemmas
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.
"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.]
 Three Levels of Moral Dilemmas

2. Organizational Dilemmas.
refer to ethical cases encountered and resolved by social
organizations. This category includes moral dilemmas in
business, medical field, and public sector.

Code of Ethics for Professional Teachers

 Three Levels of Moral Dilemmas

3. Structural Dilemmas
usually encompass multi-sectoral institutions and
organizations; they may be larger in scope and extent than
organizational dilemmas.

R.A. 6713 “Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials
and Employees
 TYPES OF MORAL DILEMMA
1. 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.

◦ Moral agent here does not know which option is morally right or wrong
 Epistemic Moral Dilemmas
A construction company discovers
an endangered species habitat in
an area planned for building a
lucrative housing project.
 TYPES OF MORAL DILEMMA
2. Ontological moral dilemmas
◦ involve situations wherein two or more moral requirements conflict with
each other, yet neither of these conflicting moral requirements overrides
each other.
◦ neither of the moral requirements is stronger than the other; hence, the
moral agent can hardly choose between the conflicting moral requirements.
 Ontological moral dilemmas

Military doctor is attending to the 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?
 TYPES OF MORAL DILEMMA
3. Self-imposed Moral Dilemma
◦caused by the moral agent’s wrongdoing
 SELF-IMPOSED MORAL
DILEMMA
Trapo is running for the position of the Barangay Captain. During the campaign
period, he promised the Indigenous peoples in his community to protect their
ancestral land just to gain their votes, but at the same time, he seeks financial
support from a mining corporation.
Fortunately, Trapo 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.
 TYPES OF MORAL DILEMMA
4. World-imposed Moral Dilemma
a means that certain events in the world
place the agent in a situation of moral conflict.
 WORLD-IMPOSED MORAL
DILEMMA
William Styron’s famous Sophie’s Choice:
“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 DILEMMA
5. Obligation Moral Dilemma
situations in which more than one feasible action is
obligatory.
 OBLIGATION MORAL
DILEMMA
Prioritizing Elder Care:
Imagine a working individual struggling to balance
work responsibilities with eldercare. On one hand,
they want to provide proper care for their elderly
parent but on the other hand, they fear losing their
job.
 TYPES OF MORAL DILEMMA

5. Single Agent Dilemma

the agent “ought, all things considered, to do A, ought, all
things considered, to do B, and she cannot do both A and B”.
the moral agent is compelled to act on two or more equally
the same moral options but she cannot choose both.
 SINGLE AGENT DILEMMA
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.
 STEPS IN SOLVING A MORAL
DILEMMA
1. Examine the acts in relation to the agent.
2. Determine the consequences of the acts.
3. Identify the intention of the acts.
4. Decide in accordance to divine and
natural laws which govern the moral life.