Ethics

Chapter 4: Moral Dilemma

Before dealing with dilemma, I would like to make a note here, because for sure sooner or later
one among you, if not all, will be confused between dilemma and problem. So before you'll get
to this point, I would like to resolve that possible problem/confusion already.

The difference between dilemma and problem is that dilemma is applied in a circumstance or
context in which a choice must be made between two or more alternatives or options that
seems equally undesirable or adverse result, however problem is a difficulty encountered by a
person that needs to be resolved or dealt with. In other words, in problem you need to find a
solution or answer that would resolve the existing difficulty at hand.

I - Understanding the term Dilemma

First of all, let us define the term dilemma before we discuss the nature and dynamics or moral
dilemmas.

A dilemma is a situation where a person is forced to choose between two or more conflicting
options, neither of which is acceptable, in other words none of the options is considerable. As
we can see, the key here is that the person has a choice to make, however all of the choices
are against to his desire or wants. For example, a town mayor faces a dilemma about how to
protect and preserve a virgin forest and at the same time allow miners and loggers for economic
development in the town. Another example, a student may cheat during examination which
he/she knows that it is bad and if be caught he/she may be scolded and will be embarrass, or
he/she may passed his/her paper without answer that would result to a failing grade.

It must be noted, however, that if a person is in a difficult situation but he/she is not forced to
choose between two or more options, then that person is not in a dilemma. The least that we
can say is that person is just experiencing a problematic or distressful situation. Thus, the most
logical thing to do for that person is to look for alternatives or solutions to address the problem.

Dilemma is at hand when it involves human actions which have moral implications, and this is
what we called ethical or moral dilemmas.

Moral dilemmas, therefore, are situations where persons, or the moral agents are forced to
choose between two or more conflicting options, neither of which resolves the situation in a
morally acceptable manner. In other words the options at hand or the available choices could
not give a morally satisfying solution. Consider this example:

Angelina is a deeply religious person; hence, she considers killing human being is absolutely
wrong. Unfortunately, the doctor found out that she is having an ectopic pregnancy. As we all
know, an ectopic pregnancy is a type of pregnancy that occurs outside the uterus, most
commonly in the fallopian tube. In other words, in ectopic pregnancy, the fetus does not develop
in the uterus. Now, if this happens, the development of the fetus will definitely endanger the
mother. So looking at Angelina's situation that if she continues with her ectopic pregnancy, then
there is a big possibility that she will die. According to the experts, the best way to save
Angelina's life is to extract or shall we say abort the fetus, which necessarily implies killing the
fetus. If we do not abort the fetus, then Angelina as well as the fetus, will be in great danger and
eventually will die.

In the above example of a moral dilemma, Angelina is faced with two conflicting options,
namely, either she resorts to abortion, which will save her life but at the same time jeopardized
her moral integrity or does not resort to abortion but endangers her life as well as the fetus.
Indeed, Angelina is faced with great moral dilemma in here.

There are three conditions set by the moralists which must be present in a situations to be
considered moral dilemmas.

1. The person or the agent of a moral action is obliged to make a decision about which course
of actions is best. Here, the moral agent must choose the best option and act accordingly.

In the case of the example above, Angelina may opt to abort the fetus as the best course of
action.

2. There must be different courses of actions to choose from. Hence, as already pointed out
above, there must be two or more conflicting options to choose from for moral dilemmas to
occur.

3. No matter what course of action is taken, some moral principles are always compromised.

This means that, there is no perfect solution to the problem. Following this reason, we say that
in moral dilemmas, the moral agent is seemed fated to commit something wrong.

Which implies that he/she is bound to fail morally, because in one way or another he/she will fail
to do something which he/she ought to do. In other words, by choosing one of the possible
requirements or options, the person also fails on others.

II - TYPES OF MORAL DILEMMAS

There are several types of moral dilemmas, but the most common of them are categorized into
the following: 1. Epistemic and ontological, 2. Self-imposed and world-imposed, 3. Obligation
dilemma and prohibition, and 4. Single and multi-person.

1. Epistemic and ontological dilemmas

A - EPISTEMIC MORAL DILEMMAS

This type of dilemma occurs in a situations wherein two or more moral requirements conflict with
each other and that the moral agent could hardly knows which of the conflicting moral
requirements takes precedence over the other.

In other words, the moral agent here does not know which option is morally right or wrong.

For instance, I ought to honor my promised to my wife to have an early dinner to celebrate our
anniversary, but on my way home, I pass by a sick old man that needs help and be brought to
the hospital. In an actual situation, we post a question, where does my actual duty lies now?

We cannot deny that there are conflicting duties here, but we need to note that we want a fuller
knowledge of the situation: Is an important purpose being served by having an early dinner in
celebrating our anniversary when I get home? How serious is the condition of the sick old man?
Indeed, I could hardly decide which option is morally right in this situation.

However, one option must be better than the other; only, it needs fuller knowledge of the
situation-thus the term "epistemic" moral dilemmas.

B - ONTOLOGICAL MORAL DILEMMAS

This type of dilemma involve a situations wherein two or more moral requirements conflict with
each other, yet neither of these conflicting moral requirements overrides each other. This is not
to say that the moral agent does not know which moral requirement is stronger than the other.
The point is that neither of the moral requirements is stronger than the other; hence the moral
agent can hardly choose between the conflicting moral requirements. For instance, a 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? For sure,
we could not tell whether administering a blood transfusion to soldier A is more moral than
administering a blood transfusion to soldier B, and vice versa.

2. Self-imposed and world-imposed dilemmas

A. SELF-IMPOSED MORAL DILEMMA

This type of dilemma is caused by the moral agent's wrongdoings. For example, Jesus is
running for the position of the town mayor. During the campaign period, he promised the
indigenous peoples in his community to protect their virgin forest just to gain their votes, but at
the same time, he seeks financial support from a mining corporation. Fortunately, Peter won the
elections, yet he is faced with the dilemma of fulfilling his promised to the indigenous people and
at the same time allows the mining corporation to destroy their forest.

Indeed, through his own actions, Jesus is created a situation in which it is impossible for him to
discharge from both obligations.
B. WORLD-IMPOSED MORAL DILEMMA

This type of dilemma is applied to a certain events in the world that placed the agent in a
situation of moral conflict. William Styron's famous Sophie's Choice is a classic example. "
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."

3. Obligation dilemma and prohibition dilemmas

A. OBLIGATION DILEMMAS are situations in which more than one feasible action is
obligatory,
B. PROHIBITION DILEMMAS are involve cases in which all feasible actions are forbidden.
The famous "Sartre's Student" is a classic example. It reads:
Sartre uses the anecdote of a former student's moral dilemma during World War Il to
illustrate both the limits of making decisions based on a defined moral code and the
erroneousness of blaming "passions" for people's actions. The French student's brother
was killed in 1940 by the Germans, but his father nonetheless later abandoned the
family to collaborate with the Germans. The student had to choose between staying in
France with his mother, who "found her only comfort in him", and leaving to fight with the
free French against the German occupation. After realizing he was caught between
moral principles- family and nation, or the obligation to care for his mother and the
obligation to avenge his brother's death-he came to Sartre for advice. The philosopher
told his student that there was no correct or incorrect decision. Neither moral codes nor
the strength of his affections for one or the other party could determine what to do;
rather, the student had to "invent" his own solution to the problem.
The famous Sophie's Choice, as mentioned above, is a classic example of prohibition
dilemmas.

4. Single and multi-person dilemmas

A. SINGLE AGENT DILEMMA, in this form of dilemma the moral agent is compelled to act
on two or more equally the same moral options but he/she cannot choose both. For
instance, a medical doctor found out that his/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.
B. MULTI-PERSON DILEMMA, The multi-person dilemma occurs in situations that involve
several persons like a family, an organization, or a community who is expected to come
up with consensual decision on a moral issue at hand. A family may be torn between
choosing to terminate or prolong the life of a family member. An organization may have
to choose between complying with the wage law by cutting its workforce or by retaining
its current workforce by paying them below the required minimum wage. The multi-
 person dilemma requires more than choosing what is right, it also entails that the
persons involved reached a general consensus. In such a manner, the moral obligation
to do what is right becomes more complicated. On the one hand, the integrity of the
decision ought to be defended on moral grounds. On the other hand, the decision must
also prevent the organization from breaking apart"

III - Resolving Moral dilemmas

The largest struggle in trying to resolve a moral dilemma is recognizing that whatever action
you take, it will not be completely ethical. It will just be the most ethical in comparison with
the other choices. (lesser evil)

Philosophers have attempted to find solutions to moral dilemmas for centuries. They have
discussed and attempted to find the best ways to resolve them, in order to help us live better
and reduce the suffering that we may face.

Here are a few pieces of advice to help resolve moral dilemmas: advise

Be reasonable, not emotional

We have a greater chance of overcoming these struggles if we logically work through

them.

We just need to determine and analyse the aspects of the dilemma in order to better conclude
what action is the greatest good. Remember this class, that Emotion can cloud your judgment of
what may be the best ethical outcome. So whatever problems and dilemmas you face always
be reasonable. Your emotion won't help you grow to become a better you (person).

Choose the greater good or the lesser evil

Perhaps the common soundest piece of advice is to conclude which choice allows for the
greatest good, or the less evil. However, this isn't simple and will take much consideration.

However, if there is an action that is on balance morally superior, despite other personal or
social implications, then it is the best action to take.

Is there an alternative?

Analysing the situation in greater detail may reveal alternative options that were not immediately
obvious. Is there an alternative choice or action that will resolve the dilemma better than the
ones you have in front of you? Take time to recognise if there is.

What are the consequences?

Weighing up the positive and negative consequences of each action will give a clearer picture of
the best choice to make. Each option may have a number of negative consequences, but if one
has more positive consequences and less negative, then it is on the balance the right action to
take.

What would a good person's do?

Sometimes a useful thing to do would be to just simply ask: What would a good person do?

Imagine yourself as a truly virtuous and moral character and determine what they would do,
regardless of your own character and the personal or social factors that may influence by your
decision.

Resolving moral dilemmas will not be easy

Never think too much about a dilemma. Answers come to a relaxed mind; time allows things to
fall into place; a calm attitude yields the best results.

The dilemmas that we face will be complex and arduous. The advice given by philosophers will
aid us when trying to resolve them.

However, it is not as straightforward as using one piece of advice to solve a single dilemma.
Often, it will be a combination of many of them that will give us the best chance of taking the
correct action.

Most of the time, all of them will be relevant in every dilemma that we face.

But there is one thing that all of these methods of resolutions promote: the importance of
reason.

Moral dilemmas can seem so over-facing that our emotions can prevent us from making an
informed decision. Or, they can misguide us into making the wrong decision.

Taking a step back to dissect and analyse the dilemma will allow for a better perspective on the
situation. This allows you to see more clearly the consequences of each action, the good and
evil of each action and any alternatives that may present themselves.

However perhaps the best piece of advice is recognising that resolving moral dilemmas will not
be easy. It will be difficult and may cause us deep anguish as we wrestle between conflicting
moral options

You are better equipped to face these dilemmas if you are aware of it. Thinking reasonably, and
not being overwhelmed by the dilemma, will be a good start as well.