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Ethical Dilemma
Moral dilemma

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Think about
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Master title style

• You are an inmate in a concentration camp. A sadistic guard

is about to hang your son who tried to escape and wants you
to pull the chair from underneath him. He says that if you
don’t he will not only kill your son but some other innocent
inmate as well. You don’t have any doubt that he means what
he says. What should you do?

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Think about
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Master title style

• Tony, a data analyst for a major casino, is working after normal

business hours to finish an important project. He realizes that he is
missing data that had been sent to his coworker Robert. Tony had
inadvertently observed Robert typing his password several days ago
and decides to log into Robert's computer and resend the data to
himself. Upon doing so, Tony sees an open email regarding gambling
bets Robert placed over the last several days with a local sports book.
All employees of the casino are forbidden to engage in gambling
activities to avoid any hint of conflict of interest.
• If you were Tony, what would you do?

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Definition: Ethical
Masterdilemma
title style

• Ethical dilemma (ethical paradox or moral dilemma)

is a problem in the decision-making process between
two possible options, neither of which is absolutely
acceptable from an ethical perspective.
• an agent regards herself as having moral reasons to
do each of the two actions, but doing both actions is
not possible

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Features of moral
Master
dilemma
title style

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

• the agent can do each of the actions;
• but the agent cannot do both (or all) of the actions.
• The agent thus seems condemned to moral failure;
no matter what she does, she will do something wrong (or fail to do
something that she ought to do)
• in order to have a genuine moral dilemma it must also be
true that neither of the conflicting requirements is
overridden (Sinnott-Armstrong 1988, Chapter 1).
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Think ofedit
thisMaster
case: title style
• What would you do if you borrowed a weapon,
say a gun from a neighbor. One day, you had
an altercation with him, and demands that you
return immediately the weapon you borrowed.
• Will you return the weapon or not?

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Solution to the
Master
case:title style
the agent’s solution in the case is clear;
• What would you do if you it is more important to protect oneself
borrowed a weapon, say from harm than to return a borrowed
a gun from a neighbor. weapon.
One day, you had an And in any case, the borrowed item can
altercation with him, and be returned later, when the owner no
demands that you return longer poses a threat to you.
immediately the weapon Thus in this case we can say that the
you borrowed. requirement to protect yourself( and
maybe others) from serious harm
• Will you return the
overrides the requirement to repay
weapon or not?
one’s debts by returning a borrowed item
when its owner so demands.

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Difference between
Master title
conflict
style
and dilemma
In Book I of Plato’s Republic, Cephalus too easy to be characterized as a
defines ‘justice’ as speaking the truth and genuine moral dilemma
paying one’s debts. Socrates quickly refutes
this account by suggesting that it would be
wrong to repay certain debts—for example, to
return a borrowed weapon to a friend who is agent’s solution in that case is
not in his right mind. Socrates’ point is not that
repaying debts is without moral import; rather,
he wants to show that it is not always right to
repay one’s debts, at least not exactly when
? clear; it is more important to
protect people from harm than to
return a borrowed weapon.

the one to whom the debt is owed demands

repayment. What we have here is a conflict
between two moral norms: repaying one’s the requirement to protect
debts and protecting others from harm. And in others from serious harm
this case, Socrates maintains that protecting overrides the requirement to
others from harm is the norm that takes repay one’s debts by returning
priority. a borrowed item when its
owner so demands
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When one of the

conflicting in order to have
requirements a genuine moral dilemma it
overrides the other, must also be true that neither
we have a conflict but of the conflicting
not a genuine moral
requirements is overridden
dilemma.

Moral dilemma is a problem in the decision-making

process between two possible options, neither of
which is absolutely acceptable from an ethical
perspective.

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Hypothetical vs real title
ethical
style
dilemma

• In ethics, it is helpful to consider hypothetical( pseudo-

dilemma) and real scenarios of moral dilemmas.
• A dilemma is a situation where there is no clear “best
choice” between two or more alternatives.
• Dilemmas help us to focus our moral intuitions and
test our moral theories.

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Are there
to edit real moral
anyMaster title style
dilemmas?

• There are a number of possible reasons for thinking that moral

dilemmas do not really exist:
• You might think that the ideal moral theory should solve all potential
dilemmas.
• You might be a moral nihilist, and so deny that there is any morally
correct choice.
• You might be a relativist, and so think that whatever option you
prefer is the right option for you

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Crucial edit Master
of moral
title style
dilemma

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

• the agent can do each of the actions; but the agent cannot do both
(or all) of the actions.
• The agent thus seems condemned to moral failure; no matter what
she does, she will do something wrong (or fail to do something that
she ought to do).
• in order to have a genuine moral dilemma it must also be true that
neither of the conflicting requirements is overridden

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The to editdilemma
Master title style

• Imagine that you are an employee working for the train company as
a switch operator. One day you see a train speeding down the track,
its driver is in obvious distress. You realize that the train has had a
malfunction and is unable to stop.
• You look ahead of the train and see five workers working on the
track. If you allow the train to go ahead, it will surely kill all five.
• However, you could divert the train by switching tracks. On the
alternate track, there is one worker, working alone.
• If you switch the train, you cause the death of one worker; if you do
nothing, five will die.
• What will you do?
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Phenomenological title style

• appeals to the emotions that agents face during conflicting

experience and the viewers assessment of those emotions.
• In Sophie’s Choice- four things are true:
• (1) when the agent acts, she experiences remorse or guilt;
• (2) that she experiences these emotions is appropriate and
called for;
• (3) had the agent acted on the other of the conflicting
requirements, she would also have experienced remorse
or guilt or regret
• (4) these emotions would have been equally appropriate and called
for
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Types of moral
dilemma

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Epistemic dilemma
Master title style

• involves conflicts between two (or more) moral

requirements and the agent does not know which of
the conflicting requirements takes precedence in her
situation.
• Everyone concedes that there can be situations where
one requirement does take priority over the other with
which it conflicts, though at the time of the action is
called for, it is difficult for the agent to tell which
requirement prevails.
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Example:
• Prof. Cruz is the Commencement Speaker in his Alma Mater that
day, at 3:00PM. At 12:00 noon, he is already on his way to the
school and needs to drive fast in order not to be late in his
speaking engagement. But while on his way, he saw a bleeding
man on the street and will surely die if not brought to the nearest
hospital. It is almost 3:00PM and he does not want to be late in the
affair, however, he also wants to help the bleeding man by
bringing him to the nearest hospital which is out-of-way to his
destination. What should he doe?

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Click to editdilemmas
Ontological Master title style

• are conflicts between two (or more) moral

requirements, and neither is overridden.
• This is not simply because the agent does not know
which requirement is stronger; neither is.
• Genuine moral dilemmas, if there are any, are
ontological.

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Example:

• Three of David’s classmates have created an

offensive website that attacks students and
teachers. The principal wants to know who did
it and David is the only one who knows. Should
he lie to the principal or betray his classmates?

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Click to editmoral
self-imposed Master title style
dilemmas and dilemmas imposed on an
agent by the world

• Self- imposed conflicts - arise because of the agent’s own

wrongdoing .
• If an agent made two promises that he knew conflicted, then through his
own actions, he created a situation in which it is not possible for him to
discharge both of his requirements.
• Example:
• You promised your parents to treat them a dinner date at 8:00PM on January 9,
during their 75th wedding anniversary and out of the blue, you set a dinner date with
your girlfriend on the same day and the same time.

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Click to editmoral
self-imposed Master title style
dilemmas and dilemmas imposed on an
agent by the world

• Dilemmas imposed on an agent by the world do not arise

because of the agent’s wrongdoing.
• Example:
• You abhor corruption, but it is rampant in your country.

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obligation dilemmas
Master title
and style
prohibition dilemmas.

•Obligation dilemmas are situations in which

more than one feasible action is obligatory.
• example:
• Noah sees the same bully torment the same
victim every day on the schoolyard, and nobody
tells the teacher about it. Should Noah speak up
and risk being labeled “tattletail,” or should he
ignore it and mind his own business?
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obligation dilemmas
Master title
and style
prohibition dilemmas.

•Prohibition dilemmas involve cases in

which all feasible actions are forbidden.
•Example:
• Stephanie was supposed to tell a certain guy that her good
friend had a crush on him. Instead, Stephanie ended up
hooking up with the guy, herself. And to make matters
worse, she lied to her friend about it . Now things are
spinning out of control. What’s she supposed to do?
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How to you
edit resolve
Master a
title
moral
style
dilemma?

• What sorts of duties, preferences, or values do you appeal to?

• Is it always a matter of the consequences or results?
• Does it matter which choice is more virtuous? Is that always the
same thing as the one that produces the best consequences?
• Are there any actions that have intrinsic value
• Actions with intrinsic value should be followed above others that produce the
same results.
• There may even be some actions that are either so intrinsically good or so
intrinsically bad that they should or should not be done at all cost.

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How tosolve
edit Master
an ethical
titledilemma
style

• Refute the paradox (dilemma):

• The situation must be carefully analyzed. In some cases, the existence of
the dilemma can be logically refuted.
• Value theory approach:
• Choose the alternative that offers the greater good and the lesser evil.
• Find alternative solutions:
• In some cases, the problem can be reconsidered, and the new alternative
solutions may arise.

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