MORAL

DILEMMA
Discussant:
Ara Bea P. Dasalla
English 2E
Dilemma
❑ refers to a situation in which a tough choice
has to be made between two or more options,
especially more or less equally undesirable
ones. Not all dilemmas are moral dilemmas.
❑ also called as ETHICAL DILEMMAS.
Moral Dilemmas
❑ are situation in which a difficult choice has to
be made between two courses of action, which
entails transgressing a moral principle.
❑ Involve conflicts between moral
requirements.
 BOOK 1 OF PLATO’S REPUBLIC:
✔ CEPHALUS defines JUSTICE as speaking the truth
and paying one’s debt.
✔ 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 not in his
right mind.
✔ Conflict between two moral norms:
✔ repaying one’s debt
✔ protecting others from harm
❑ An agent regards himself as having moral reasons
to do each of two actions, but doing both actions
seems to be ethically not possible.
❑ Key features of a moral dilemma:
❑ the agents 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.
❑ In the case given by Plato would say that it is
more important to protect people from harm than
to return a borrowed weapon. Or some would
suggests that the borrowed item can be returned
late, when the owner no longer poses a threat to
others.
❑ When one the conflicting moral requirements
overrides the other, the case is NOT a “genuine
moral dilemma”

❑ It must also be the case that

(c) neither of the conflicting moral requirements is
overridden.
THREE LEVELS OF
MORAL DILEMMA
 PERSONAL DILEMMAS

Are those experienced and resolved on the

personal level.
Since ethical decisions are personally made,
most of moral dilemmas fall in 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 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)
 ORGANIZATIONAL DILEMMAS

Ethical cases encountered and resolved by

social organizations. This includes moral
dilemmas in business, medical field, and
public sector.
✔ A medical institution which believes that human
life should not be deliberately shortened & that
unpreventable pain should not be tolerated
encounters a conflict in resolving whether to
withdraw life support from a dying patient.
✔ Ethical dilemmas also involves issues about corporate
practices, policies, business behaviors and the
conducts and relationships of individuals &
organizations.

✔ Other business related dilemmas pertain to the social

responsibility of business, employee rights,
harassments, labor unions, misleading advertising,
job discrimination & whistle blowing.
✔ In public sector, government leaders & employees have
a moral duty to act in a manner that is fair & unbiased.

✔ Not to favor to family of friends or campaign

contributors over constituents; favoring the agenda of
one’s political party over a policy one believes to be
good for the community; accepting gifts if it is legally
permitted but creates the appearance of impropriety.
 STRUCTURAL DILEMMAS

Cases involving network of institutions & operative

theoretical paradigms. As they always encompass
multi- sectoral institutions & organizations, larger
in scope & extent than organizational dilemmas.
✔ Prices of medicine here in the Philippines
compared to other countries in Asia & countries in
similar economic status.

✔ Institutions concerned may want to lower the cost

of medicine, thereby benefiting the Filipino public,
but such move may ruin the interest or legal rights
of the involve researchers, investors & etc.
✔ Universal healthcare (UHC)
✔ Locally applied it is called “Kalusugang
Pangkahalatan” (KP) it is the provision to every
Filipino of the highest possible quality of health
care that is accessible & efficient funded,
appropriately used by an informed &
empowered public.
THANK YOU!