GE8

ETHICS
ASSIGNMENT 2

Abigail N. Gañalongo
BS Architecture – 2A

According to Harold S. Kushner, “When facing a dilemma, choose the more morally demanding

alternative.”

Sometimes in life, we are faced with the dilemma of whether or not to do something supposedly

bad under normal circumstances, in order to save a bad situation. Most of the time, we decide to

go ahead and do the unpleasant thing, justifying our decision by saying that our intentions were

good and that we expected a favorable result from our actions. This is the part of the premises

of ethics and morality, where the concept of Heinz dilemma comes into the picture.

Using the Heinz dilemma, here’s the application of the principles of the Stages of Moral

Development by Lawrence Kohlberg:

LEVEL 1: PRE-CONVENTIONAL MORALITY

Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment Orientation

There are two approaches for this stage. The first one says that Heinz should not have stolen

the drug, as it would get him imprisoned, making him a bad person in the eyes of the society.

The second approach says that Heinz did nothing wrong as the druggist was overcharging him.

The druggist wanted USD 2000 for a USD 200 worth medicine, and when Heinz offered to pay
him USD 1000, he was as it is ready to overpay. Besides, when Heinz broke in, he didn’t steal

any other object except the drug.

Stage 2: Individualism and Exchange

This is all about self-centered priorities. If Heinz feels that saving his wife’s life would make him

happy, even if he has to serve prison term for it, then he would not see anything wrong with

stealing the drug. On the other hand, Heinz would not steal the medicine, as languishing in

prison may seem a far more harrowing experience than mourning over his wife’s dead body.

The second stage relies heavily on the exchange of favors and can be summarized with the

common marketing saying “what’s it in for me?” Children at this stage are not motivated by

friendship or respect but by the personal advantages involved. For example, if a parent asks

their child to complete a chore around the house, the child may ask what the benefit would be to

them. Parents often recognize the “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” mindset at this

stage and offer a reward, such as an allowance.

LEVEL 2: CONVENTIONAL MORALITY

Stage 3: Good Interpersonal Relationships

This stage recognizes the desire to be accepted into societal groups as well as how each person

is affected by the outcome. In terms of Heinz dilemma, the man should take the medicine from

the pharmacy in order to be a good partner to his wife.

Children in the third stage are typically pre-teens or early teenagers and have now adopted the

societal norms as their own. While they believe that people should behave appropriately in their

communities, they recognize that there is no simple solution to moral dilemmas. In Kohlberg’s
study per the example above, they accepted that he should steal the medicine and “he was a

good man for wanting to save her.” They also reasoned that “his intentions were good, that of

saving the life of someone he loves.” This stage highlights the close relationships with family and

friends,

Stage 4: Maintaining the Social Order

This is about acting with full knowledge of the legal consequences of one’s actions. Heinz can

either obey law and not steal, or he may steal and accept the punishment as prescribed by law

for the same, irrespective of any related intentions.

In this stage, it shows the moral development of a person as a part of a whole society. Each

person becomes more aware of the impact of everyone’s actions on others and focuses now on

their own role, following the rules, and obeying authorities. This stage attempts to maintain

social order in the community. Pertaining to the example above, participants would argue that

while they understood why he wanted to steal the medication, they could not support the idea of

theft. Society cannot maintain order if its members decided to break the laws when they thought

they had a good enough reason to do so.

LEVEL 3: POST-CONVENTIONAL MORALITY

Stage 5: Social Contract and Individual Rights

This stage acknowledges the introduction of abstract reasoning as people attempt to explain

specific behaviors. In Heinz dilemma, the man should steal the medication for his wife because

she is deathly ill and the laws do not take the circumstances into account.

Under this stage, Heinz’s action may be justified saying that every human being has a right to
live, and the value of life is way above law, and it should be saved if possible. On the other

hand, the right to remuneration for labor, justifies the druggist’s dismay, by stating that the

discoverer has a right to fair compensation, and by stealing the medicine, Heinz has violated this

right.

Stage 6: Universal Principles

This stage argues the validity of a human life above the rights to property. On the other hand, it

also argues the fact that others may also be in desperate need of the same property, and may

be in a position to pay for it. Therefore, by stealing it, Heinz may have denied both the

discoverer of his fair compensation, and another party of the benefits of that drug.

The above examples show us that every coin has two sides, and every decision or course of

action has two approaches. Which option you opt for depends as much upon the moral

opportunity cost that is incurred, by foregoing the consequences that would have arisen, had the

alternative approach been taken depending upon the gravity of the situation at hand. The key is

to balance your decisions between complete selfishness and unconditional altruism.