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My Moral Dilemma

A moral dilemma refers to a situation in which a moral agent is forced to choose between

two contradictory options. The options do not necessarily resolve the situation in a morally

acceptable manner. Either of the options jeopardizes the moral integrity of the person

undertaking them. Three conditions must occur for a situation to be classified as a moral

dilemma. The agent must be in a situation that demands only one option to be taken, and it

should be the best course of action. Additionally, there must be a course of action that is forgone.

Lastly, any decision that is made must somehow compromise the moral integrity of the agent

(Frank et al. 2019).

Personally, there are quite a several moral dilemmas that I deal with. Some of which are

daily, while others are occasional. The biggest moral dilemma that I face every day is bonding

with my pet dog. Dogs, just like any other pet, are loved in my culture and religious

jurisprudence. However, their body fluids are regarded as ritually impure. Historically, dogs

were not kept as pets. Instead, they were used for hunting, security, and other economic

necessities. It is not prohibited to touch or even keep a dog, but it is required to wash their

clothing or body part that comes in contact with the tongue or a dog's snout. The nature of

cleaning the impurity requires washing f the contact surface six times with water and one time

with sand or soil of any type (Masri 1989).

 Whenever I think of going for walks with my dog, I am faced with a dilemma of whether

to let the dog bond with me, lick my face and put me in an impure state, or let the dog be alone.

The dog is important to me the same way my spiritual purity is vital to me. Another thing that

bothers name is the glances and the comments I receive from the people around me. Society is

against maintaining close contact with the dogs or even living in the same house with them.

My take on the situation is that sometimes, especially when I feel my dog is sickly and

bored, I opt to take it out and bond with it. I then have to clean any contact surface afterward. I

try not to an attachment between us. That way, I can create some boundaries between us and

ensure that it does not roam around the house. I house it at the furthest corner of the compound.

It is important to note that my culture and religion do not encourage cruelty to dogs whatsoever.

According to the society for protection against Animal rights in Egypt, there are several

teachings on how to take care of dogs without necessarily having to keep them very close as pets.

If kept as pets, then one has to be cautious of the prayer places and garments. They should not be

killed, left hungry, or denied any form of freedom that hinders them from exercising their normal

behavior (Masri 1989).

To sum up, every society has its unique moral dilemmas. The dilemmas can be epistemic,

self or world imposed, and obligation or prohibition dilemmas. Every dilemma has no right or

wrong solution. There has to be a critical thought following any decision to be undertaken.
 References

Frank, D.A, Chrysochou, P., Mitkidis P. et al. (2019) Human Decision-making Biases in Moral

Dilemmas. Sci Rep 9, 13080. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-49411-7

Masri, B. A. (1989). Animals in Islam. Ehson, Malaysia: University Kebongsoon Malaysia.