Explanation about Moral Dilemma Assignment in Ethics- GED 107 PDF

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Answer the following comprehensively.



1. Based on your own views, what is moral dilemma? (10 points)
2. Differentiate the three levels of moral dilemma and cite an example to each level. (15 points)
3. Which among the three levels of dilemma is the most diffic...

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Cuadra, Clariza Jane O. BS Psychology 2101 ACTIVITY 2- ETHICS 1. Based on your own views, what is moral dilemma? Before anything else let me share what is moral dilemma means based on a book written by Deborah Holt. She said, “A moral (ethical) dilemma is a situation that involves a choice, decision, act/action, solution that may include an unpleasant problem or situation where you feel you simply do not know what to do or which way to turn.’’ On my own views, Moral Dilemma is a situation wherein we are afraid to make any decision or action that will give us an unpredictable result. Admit it or not, most of the time we want to make choice whereas the results will be transparent with our eyes, or it’s something we want to have. And in this situation enters the 2. Differentiate the three levels of moral dilemma and cite an example to each level. There are three (3) levels of dilemma, according to Mañebog, Jensen (2021). These are the Personal Dilemmas, Organizational Dilemmas and Structural Dilemmas. Personal Dilemma Simply put, these personal dilemmas are those experienced and resolved on the personal level. Since many ethical decisions are personally made, many, if not most of, moral dilemmas fall under, or boil down to, this level. French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre gave an example or a case that could exemplify a personal moral dilemma.“Sartre tells of a student whose brother had been killed in the German offensive of 1940. The student wanted to avenge his brother and to fight forces that he regarded as evil. But the student’s mother was living with him, and he was her one consolation in life.’ “The student believed that he had conflicting obligations. Sartre describes him as being torn between two kinds of morality: one of limited scope but certain efficacy, personal devotion to his mother; the other of much wider scope but uncertain efficacy, attempting to contribute to the defeat of an unjust aggressor.” (Holt, n.d.) We can give many other examples of personal moral dilemmas. If someone makes conflicting promises, he faces a 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, he faces an ethical dilemma. Organizational Dilemmas Basically, ethical cases encountered and resolved by social organizations are organizational moral dilemmas. This category includes moral dilemmas in business, medical field, and public sector.For example, a hospital that believes that human life should not be deliberately shortened and that unpreventable pain should not be tolerated encounters a conflict in resolving whether to withdraw life support from a dying patient. This is a common moral dilemma faced by healthcare organizations and medical institutions.

Moral dilemmas also arise in professional work. Administrative bodies in business are confronted with situations in which several courses of action are possible but none of them provide a totally successful outcome to those affected by the decision or actions taken. These moral dilemmas in business involve issues about corporate practices, policies, business behaviors, and the conducts and relationships of individuals in the organizations. Other business-related dilemmas pertain to the social responsibility of businesses, employee rights, harassment, labor unions, misleading advertising, job discrimination, and whistle blowing. On the part of public sector, government leaders and employees have a moral duty to act in a manner that is fair and unbiased. They should be loyal to the public and ought to put public interest before personal gain, and fulfill duties of competency, integrity, accountability, and transparency.Having said that, public officials nonetheless may encounter foreseeable moral dilemmas in fulfilling these ideals. So ethical or moral dilemmas which arise include the following examples:  whether or not to favor family, friends, or campaign contributors over other constituents;  favoring the agenda of one’s political party over a policy one believes to be good for the community;  dealing with conflicting public duties inherent in serving both as a council member and as a member of an agency or commission;  resigning from organizations in which membership may give rise to future conflicts;  becoming whistle blower even if it means potentially derailing a policy objective one is pursuing; and,  accepting gifts if it is legally permitted but creates the appearance of impropriety. Structural Dilemmas These structural moral dilemmas pertain to cases involving network of institutions and operative theoretical paradigms. As they usually encompass multisectoral institutions and organizations, they may be larger in scope and extent than organizational dilemmas. An example is the prices of medicine in the Philippines which are higher compared to other countries in Asia and in countries of similar economic status. Factors affecting medicine prices include the cost of research, presence of competition in the market, government regulations, and patent protection. The institutions concerned may want to lower the costs of medicine, thereby benefiting the Filipino public, but such a move may ruin the interests or legal rights of the involved researchers, inventors or discoverers, and pharmaceutical companies which own the patent of the medicines or healthcare technologies. An example of dilemma which is also structural in nature is that of Universal Health Care (UHC). Locally applied, it is called “Kalusugan Pangkalahatan” (KP). It is the provision to every Filipino of the highest possible quality of health care that is accessible, efficient, equitably distributed, adequately funded, fairly financed, and appropriately used by an informed and empowered public. Kalusugan Pangkalahatan (KP), as a government mandate, aims to ensure that every Filipino shall receive affordable and quality health benefits by (ideally)

providing adequate resources – health human resources, health facilities, and health financing. Nonetheless, health financing is first and foremost a big issue here. Government could set aside bigger budget for health for the implementation of this provision. But then, this would mean cutting down allocations on other sectors (such as education or public works.)

3. Which among the three levels of dilemma is the most difficult and why?

Upon reading and learning the differences of The level of Moral Dilemma I think the most difficult is the Personal Dilemma because it messes inside of us it’s not just making decisions between right or wrong it’s a moral and conflict in between and any decisions we make will not only affect us but also other people around us or that has something to do with that choices that we are going to choose. Whatever we choose, it will leave a big impact to us and to others and will also affect our morality and image as a person.

References:

Mañebog. (2021). What is Moral Dilemma (And the Three Levels of Moral Dilemmas). myinfobasket.com Retrieved from: https://myinfobasket.com/what-ismoral-dilemmas/

Holt. (n.d) What is a Moral (Ethical) Dilemma? Ethics (pressbooks.pub) Retrieved from: https://viva.pressbooks.pub/phi220ethics/chapter/what-is-an-ethical-dilemma/...