KAREN GLYDE R.

BROZO
BEED 3B ETHICS

APPLICATION:

Read the following situation, Identify 2 cases where in you (as a

friend of Gia) experienced moral dilemma. Relate the identified
cases to Kholberg’s Theory of Moral Development. Where does it fall
from the stages of Moral Development of Kholberg’s. Explain as well
why it falls to the stages you selected.

Imagine you are walking to a store with your friend Gia. She tells you that Kayla, a student at
your school, stole money from the cafeteria and blamed Gia for it. As a result, Gia was
suspended for two weeks and had to pay the money back. As you and Gia walk into the store,
you see Kayla. Gia pushes Kayla slightly and drops a pair of earrings into Kayla's purse. The
alarm sounds once Kayla tries to walk out of the store. She is pulled aside by security for
shoplifting and they call the police. Kayla tells them that she is innocent and that Gia dropped
the earrings in her purse. Gia calls Kayla a liar and asks you to back her up. If you tell the
truth, Gia will get in trouble again and will face consequences from the law and her parents.
Kayla will go unpunished for originally stealing money from the cafeteria. If you do not tell
the truth, Kayla will finally be punished for stealing and Gia will have her revenge. However,
you may be committing a crime by lying to the police officers and Kayla's punishment will be
more severe than it would have been for stealing money in the cafeteria.

ANSWER:

In the situation above, there are 2 cases were I am a friend of Gia

and experienced a moral dilemma. First, when Gia pushes Kayla
slightly and dropped a pair of earrings in her purse intentionally to
caught Kayla on act by the police for shoplifting. Second, when Gia
calls Kayla a liar and asks me to back her up. And if I tell the truth,
Gia will get in trouble and face the consequences from the law and
her parents. As I compared these 2 cases to Kholberg’s Theory of
Moral Development, I selected the Level 2 Conventional Morality
Stage 4 which is the Law and Order Orientation because it is
focused on maintaining social order and law by following the rules,
doing one’s duty and respecting authority. At this stage of moral
development, people begin to consider society as a whole when
making judgments. And when deciding the punishment for a given
wrongdoing, laws are absolute. In all cases, authority must be
respected and the social order maintained. Just like in the moral
dilemma of Gia and Kayla, that Gia will suffer if I tell the truth to
the police and it will likely lose our friendship but if I don’t tell the
truth, I will be a liar and possibly a lawbreaker also. And Kayla will
get arrested for a crime she did not commit. In this case, the moral
dilemma of Gia and Kayla falls to the Stage 4 because the law
prohibits stealing, making it illegal. Since there are moral reasons
for us to choose in each action and we cannot choose them all, it
follows that no matter what choice we make, we will be failing to
follow our morals. In other words, someone or something will suffer
no matter what choice we make.