GE 5: ETHICS Moreen Jebert M.
Lazaga, MA Philos
WHAT ARE DILEMMAS???
▪ Refers in a situation which a though choice has to
be made between two or more options, especially
more or less equally undesirable ones.
▪ Yet not all dilemmas are moral dilemmas.
▪ Moral dilemmas are situations in which a difficult
choice has to be made between two courses of
action, either it entails transgressing a moral
principle.
▪ AT THE VERY LEAST, A MORAL DILEMMA
INVOLVED CONFLICTS BETWEEN MORAL
REQUIREMENTS
WHAT ARE DILEMMAS???
Plato’s Book I in his republic discusses moral dilemmas, to which he gave this
example:
“Cephalus defines ‘justice’ as speaking the truth and paying one’s debt.
Socrates quickly refutes this account by suggesting that it would be
wrong to repay certain debts, - for example, to return a borrowed
weapon to a friend who is not in his right mind. Socrates’ point is not that
repaying debts is without moral import, rather, he wants to show that it is
not always right to repay one’s debts, at least not exactly when the one
to whom the debt is owed demands repayment. What we have here is a
conflict between two moral norms: repaying one’s debt and protecting
others from harm…”
WHAT ARE DILEMMAS???
▪ The presence of conflicts make dilemmas common to
each other
▪ In a moral dilemmas, the agent, which is you, regards
himself as having moral reasons to do each of two
actions, but doing both actions seems to be ethically
impossible.
▪ Key features of a moral dilemma:
The agent is required to do each of the two (or more)
actions;
The agent can do each of the actions; but the agent cannot
do both (or all) of the actions; and
*In order to have a genuine moral dilemma, neither of the
conflicting moral requirements are overridden.
LEVELS OF MORAL DILEMMAS
There are three levels of moral dilemmas, namely:
(a) personal, (b) organizational, and (c) structural.
A. Personal Dilemmas
Experienced and resolved on a personal level. Since many
ethical decisions are personally made, many, if not most of,
moral dilemmas fall into this level.
There are many other personal moral dilemmas. If a person
makes conflicting promises, he faces moral conflict. When an
individual has to choose between the life of a child who is
about to be delivered and the child’s mother, the person
faces an ethical dilemma.
LEVELS OF MORAL DILEMMAS
B. Organizational Dilemmas
▪These are ethical cases encountered and resolved by social
organizations. This category includes moral dilemmas in business,
medical field, and public sector.
▪These can be present in our professional work. It could be in the
issues of corporate practices. Policies, business behaviors, and
conducts and relationships of individuals in the organizations. It
could be also other business-related dilemmas such as the social
responsibility of business, employee rights, harassments, labor
unions, misleading advertising, job discrimination, and
whistleblowing.
▪Public officials and employees have a moral duty to act and
serve in a manner that is fair and unbiased. In fulfilling their
responsibilities, public officials may encounter foreseeable moral
dilemmas and knows how to resolve such.
LEVELS OF MORAL DILEMMAS
C. Structural Dilemmas
▪These involves network of institutions and operative theoretical paradigms.
As they usually encompass multi-sectoral institutions and organizations,
they may be larger on scope and extent than organizational dilemmas.
For example, the price of medicine in our country is far higher than of
other countries in Asia with the same economic state. Factors affecting the
price includes the cost of research, presence of competition in the market,
government regulations, and patent protection. Lowering the prices may
be good especially for the Filipino public yet it can ruin the interests or
legal rights of the involved researchers, inventors/scientists, and the
pharmaceutical companies which own the patent and technologies
involved.
Also, the Health sector is in a great concern today. The gov’t should set
aside a bigger budget for the said sector for the implementation of this
provision but it would mean cutting down allocations to other sectors…
which is seem questionable in this very time of COVID 19 pandemic.
THE MORAL AGENT
We, as human persons, are truly ethical beings. And there are
reasons for that namely; (a) Only human beings are rational,
autonomous, and self-conscious, (b) Only human beings can act
morally or immorally, and (c) Only human beings are part of the
moral community
THE MORAL AGENT
Only Human Beings are Rational, Autonomous, and Self-conscious
▪ Every people have reason, free, and also aware of oneself
▪ Each are believed to confer a full and equal moral status to those that possess them as beings are the ones
capable of achieving certain values and goods.
Only Humans can Act Morally or Immorally
▪ Since having reason, which is a distinct characteristic from the rest of the animals, we are also capable of
sacrificing our interests for the sake of others.
Only Human Beings are part of the Moral Community
▪ We are social beings and we possess and practice the values such as love, honor, relationships, forgiveness,
compassion, and altruism.
▪ We are social and relational beings and it is possible due to our communication and connections to each one.
▪ We, being social beings, can have a collective knowledge and participation to things at hand affecting
everyone.
FREEDOM AS A FOUNDATION OF MORALITY
▪ This is possible due to our reason, autonomy, and self-
consciousness
▪ Morality is a question of choice. It is choosing ethical codes,
values, or standards to guide our day to day lives.
▪ Philosophically, choosing is impossible without freedom.
▪ Morality requires and allows choice, which means the right
to choose even differently to say no.
▪ As they say, the “sum” of one’s choices can be said to be the
specific “morality” of the person.
▪ Our freedom also entails responsibility not to oneself but for
others.
THANK YOU…
Prepare for a quiz to be posted one of these days.
