Ethics Chapter 3

• Dilemma


  A situation in which a tough choice has to be made between two or more options, especially more or less equally undesirable ones
• Moral dilemma


  Situations where persons, who are called "moral agents" in ethics, are forced to choose between two or more conflicting options, neither of which resolves the situation in a morally acceptable manner
• Not all dilemmas are moral dilemmas
• Conflict is the most common element in all kinds of moral dilemmas
• Conditions for moral dilemmas (Karen Allen)


  • The person or agent of a moral action is obliged to make a decision about which course of action is best
  • There must be different courses of action to choose from (There must be two or more conflicting options to choose from for moral dilemmas to occur)
  • No matter what course of action is taken, some moral principles are always compromised (According to Allen, there's no perfect solution to the problem)
• Benjiemen Labastin: 'In moral dilemmas, the moral agent "seems fated to commit something wrong, which implies that she is bound to morally fail because in one way or another she will fail to do something which she ought to do. In other words, by choosing one of the possible moral requirements, the person also fails on others."'
• Types of moral dilemma

  • Personal dilemma
  • Organizational dilemma
  • Structural dilemma
• Personal dilemma


  When your decision in a situation where there is moral conflict is the cause of either your own; that another person; or a group of people's potential harm
• Organizational dilemma


  When a member or members of the organization is in a situation where there is a moral conflict, and the decision will potentially harm either some members of the group or the entire organization itself
• Organizational ethics are the principals and standards by which businesses operate, according to Reference for Business. They are best demonstrated through acts of fairness, compassion, integrity, honor and responsibility.
• Organizational dilemmas


  • Medical institution's dilemma on withdrawing life support from a dying patient
  • Business dilemmas on corporate practices, policies, business behaviors, and the conducts and relationships of individuals in the organizations
• Structural dilemma


  When a person or group of persons who holds high-level positions in the society faces a morally conflicting situation wherein the entire social system is affected
• Structural dilemmas usually encompass multi-sectoral institutions and organizations, and they are larger in scope and extent than organizational dilemmas
• Only human beings can be ethical
• Traits that make humans the only ethical species

  • Only human beings are rational, autonomous, and self-conscious
  • Only human beings can act morally or immorally
  • Only human beings are part of the moral community
• Morality


  A question of choice, practically choosing ethical codes, values, or standards to guide us in our daily lives
• Freedom


  The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint; "we do have some freedom of choice"
• Kant claims that freedom is the source of all value
• Saint Augustine showed that human is free physically, yet bound to obey the law
• Immanuel Kant's view on morality

  Morality was based on reason alone, and once we understood it, we would see that acting morally is the same as acting rationally
• Reason enables us to think and reflect over actions that we intend to do and decide which of them to take. A mere knowledge of morality will not make human moral (there has to be an application of it, by obeying the rules)
• Impartiality


  A principle of justice holding that decisions or judgment on something or someone should be objective not on the basis of bias or prejudice to favor someone irrationally