MORAL DILEMMA AND

THREE LEVELS OF
MORAL DILEMMA
DILEMMA

• A situation in which you are forced to

choose between two options, both of
which lead to unpleasant results.
DEFINITION OF 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

• Is a situation that begs an agent to choose between two

alternatives with equal weight wherein both alternatives are
either good or both are evil, but the agent cannot do both or
all action
The moral agent will choose either of good or less evil but he/she cannot choose both.
There will be no right answer since the agent will choose based on his/her decision.
EXAMPLES:
CASE 1: BABY THERESA

Theresa was born with anencephaly, a genetic disorder in

which the newborn lack a major part of the brain.
Most with this defect are stillborn or die within the few days.
The parents of Theresa wanted to donate her organs to help
other children.
However, to do this they could not wait until her heart
stopped beating because the organs would deteriorate
FOR TRANSPLANT AGAINTS TRANSPLANT

• The benefits • The argument that we

should not use people
Argument: as means
Transplanting baby
Theresa’s organs • Killing or taking a life
will benefit other is always wrong
children and will
cause no “harm” to
her.
CASE 2: JODIE AND MARY
 Jodie and Mary are conjoined twin.

They were joined at lower abdomen. The spines were fused, and they
only had one heart and one set of lungs.

If the parents did nothing, both would die. However, if they would try
to separate them, then Mary would die but Jodie would survive.

The parents were devout Catholic and believed they should not
interfere.

The hospital and the doctors believed the twins should be separated
so that at least Jodie could survive.
Ethics issues
 This case has two distinct ethical issues:

1. Who should decide the fate of Jodie and Mary, the parents or the doctors?

2. What is the ethically right thing to do?

ARGUMENTS

DON’T SEPARATE SEPARATE

DON’T
 The SEPARATE
Argument from the sanctity of  The argument that We should
 The Argument
Human Life from the sanctity of Human SEPARATE save as many as we can
LifeAll life is precious and it is always  The argument that We should save as
 Allwrong
life is to
precious and it islife,
take a human always
evenwrong
if to many as we can
take
it isa with
human thelife, even ifofitsaving
purpose is with the  we have a moral obligation, a
purpose
another ofhuman
saving another
life. human life. moral duty, to save a human life
 we have a moral
if we can doobligation,
so. a moral duty,
Both
BothMary
Maryand Jodie
and have
Jodie the
have same right
the to save a human life if we can do so.
tosame
life and noto
right one
lifecan
andtake that can
no one from them.
take that from them.
THE THREE LEVELS OF MORAL DILEMMA

 INDIVIDUAL

 ORNIZATIONAL

 STRUCTURAL
INDIVIDUAL(Micro level)- This refers to personal
dilemmas. It is an individual’s damn-if-you-do-and-
damn-if-you-dont situation.

 Conflict arrives when a person is asked to

UJJ

choose between two important values for him

or her, choosing between one’s duties to his or
her family love ones for another person.
Example:
Ed promised to his son that he will be at
home early from work, so that they can have
bonding together. As he walks in the road
side going home, there was an old woman
approached him asking help to take her into
the hospital.
If you were Ed what will you do? Go home as you have
promised to your son or take the time to bring the old
woman to hospital?
“ In this case it involves 1 moral agent and small number
of people, the participants that might be affected in this
case is only his son, and the old woman. If Ed will choose
to help the old woman then he will break his promise to
his son, if he choose to go home and have time to his son
then the old woman would be in danger.”
ORGANIZATIONAL (organizational level)

Encountered by institutions , business, or

organizations in their decision-making
process, at this level the dilemmas that the
organizations’ experiences usually affect more
than one person and they can be part of the
internal group or stake-holder
example:
Mario is confined in the hospital since August 2020 due to
comatose and will turn 8 months this March, he has no
family and relatives. Next door there is a patient whose
name is Baru who has kidney failure and need for organ
transplant, his family and relatives cry for him because
they want Baru to be alive. Since Mario is in the state of
coma the doctor and the hospital decided to make Mario
as a organ donor for Baru because no other options aside
from getting Mario’s organ for transplant.
If you are the doctor with the hospital
management, will you continue to get the organ
of Mario to save the other patient since there
are family and relatives longing for the life of
Baru? Even doing this action will violate the
autonomy of Mario considering that even if he
is in the state of coma and no family and
relatives?
“In this case large number of people might be affected
either the persons that are part of the
institution/organization or the customers of the
institution/organization. If the Hospital will continue to
get the organ of Mario, they will violate the person’s
right and the hospital will be accountable of the action
that might result also to violation of the law. But if they
don’t do the transplant, Baru will die and his family and
relatives will be affected. ”
STRUCTURAL (macro level)

Affect a network of institutions and

operative theoretical paradigms. This type
of dilemma can affect a community,
society and even the government at large.
Example:
Mr. Luffy running for a Mayor in the municipality
of Claveria, he made a promise to the indigenous
group that if he wins in the election he will
preserve the land occupied by the indigenous
group. But mr Luffy made a vow as well to the
mining companies that if he wins as a mayor he
will allow the companies to operate for mining.
If you were Mr Luffy and elected as a mayor in
the municipality of Claveria, what will you
choose? your promised to the indigenous group
for cultural and environmental preservation but
there is no chance for economic growth or the
vow you have given to the mining companies
that will result economic prosperity but will
destroy the land occupied by the indigenous
group?
“In this case it involves larger number of
people that might be affected if the moral
agent will choose either of the two promises,
if he choose to preserve the land,
opportunities for economic aspect for the
municipality will reduce but if he choose to
let the mining companies in, the indigenous
group will suffer”
According to Karen Allen, there must be three
conditions that must be present for situations to
be considered moral dilemmas.
1. The agent of a moral action is obliged to make a
decision about which course of action is best.
2. There must be different courses of action to
choose from.
3. No matter what course of action taken, some
moral principles are always compromised.
 In moral dilemma, the decision-maker
has to choose between a wrong and
another wrong.
 The persons involved in the dilemma are
in deadlock. They find themelves in a
“damn-if-you-do and damn-if-you-dont
situation.
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).
What to do when faced with a Moral Dilemma
 Dilemmas are conflicts in the application of
moral standards. The question is which moral
standards must be followed?
 In a state of emergency, necessity demands no
moral law. You have to decide based on your
judgment.
Activity #2
As a group compose your own moral
dilemma.