ACTIVITY 4

Self-Reflection: Read “Moral Dilemmas” by philonotes.com. Consider the following study questions
after reading:

• What is the difference between a dilemma and a moral dilemma?

-A dilemma is a situation where a person is forced to choose between two or more conflicting
options, neither of which is acceptable. For example, a town mayor faces a dilemma about how to
protect and preserve a virgin forest and allow miners and loggers for economic development. When
dilemmas involve human actions which have moral implications, they are called ethical or moral
dilemmas. Consider the following example of a moral dilemma, where Lindsay is faced with two
conflicting options: either she resorts to abortion, which will save her life but at the same time
jeopardize her moral integrity, or she does not abort the fetus, which implies killing the fetus.

• What features should a moral dilemma have?

-Karen Allen's three conditions for moral quandaries are that the person or agent must decide
which course of action is best, that different courses of action must be available, and that some
moral principles are always compromised. There is no perfect solution to the problem, according to
Allen, and as a result, the moral agent "seems fated to commit something wrong." According to him,
by choosing one of the possible moral requirements, the person also fails on others.