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Ethical Dilemma: 10 Heartbreaking Case Studies

Last updated on April 2, 2024 by Alex Andrews George

In a small village in Maharashtra, a teacher named Ravi and his wife Maya, a nurse, faced a tough choice after an earthquake.

The only hospital in the village was damaged, and they could only save one life with the limited medical supplies: Maya’s critically injured mother or a young and bright boy from Ravi’s school, who also needed urgent surgery.

Choosing between saving Maya’s mother, who meant everything to her, or the young boy, who represented the village’s future, was heartbreakingly difficult.

This story highlights the painful decisions we sometimes must make, where saving one life means losing another, testing our deepest values and principles.

Based on this story, we dive into the complex world of ethical dilemmas and moral conflicts, where choices are never black and white, and every decision carries the weight of unforeseen consequences.

Table of Contents

What is an ethical dilemma?

An ethical dilemma occurs when a person is faced with a situation that requires a choice between two or more conflicting ethical principles or values .

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In such dilemmas, no matter what choice is made, some ethical principle is compromised.

The essence of an ethical dilemma is that it involves a difficult decision-making process where, typically, a clear-cut right or wrong answer doesn’t exist, or if it does, it may carry significant negative consequences for someone involved.

Definition of ethical dilemma

An ethical dilemma is a complex situation that often involves an apparent mental conflict between moral imperatives, in which to obey one would result in transgressing another.

It’s characterized by:

Conflicting Values: Individuals or organizations must choose between competing ethical principles or values.
No Perfect Solution: Each choice involves a compromise or violation of an ethical principle.
Significant Consequences: The choices have significant potential impacts on the well-being or rights of individuals or groups.

5 Cases of Ethical Dilemma

Ethical dilemmas can arise across various fields and situations, reflecting the complexity of moral decisions in real-world scenarios. Here are more examples:

1. Loyalty to the employer vs. the moral obligation to protect the public and the environment

An employee discovers that their company is engaging in illegal activities, such as dumping toxic waste into a river, which is both environmentally damaging and a serious health hazard to nearby communities.
The employee faces an ethical dilemma between reporting the misconduct, potentially leading to legal action against the company and safeguarding public and environmental health, and remaining silent to protect their job and the livelihoods of their colleagues.
Ethical Dilemma: Loyalty to the employer vs. the moral obligation to protect the public and the environment.

2. Upholding academic integrity vs. loyalty to a friend.

A student witnesses a close friend cheating during an important exam.
If the friend is reported and found guilty, they could face severe consequences, including failing the course or expulsion, which might ruin their academic career and future prospects.
The student is torn between reporting the cheating, which is an honest action, and protecting their friend’s future.
Ethical Dilemma: Upholding academic integrity vs. loyalty to a friend.

3. The safety of passengers vs. the safety of pedestrians

Programmers of autonomous vehicles face an ethical dilemma in creating algorithms for unavoidable accidents.
For example, if an accident is inevitable and the choice is between altering the vehicle’s path to avoid hitting a pedestrian, thereby endangering the passengers, or protecting the passengers at the cost of the pedestrian’s life, how should the car be programmed to act?
Ethical Dilemma: The safety of passengers vs. the safety of pedestrians.

4. The duty to report news truthfully vs. the potential harm to public safety and societal peace

A journalist obtains exclusive footage of a terrorist group committing an atrocity.
Publishing the footage could inform the public about the severity of the situation and the threat posed by the terrorist group, but it could also spread fear, possibly lead to public panic, and serve the terrorists’ goal of gaining attention for their cause.
Dilemma: The duty to report news truthfully vs. the potential harm that such reporting might cause to public safety and societal peace.

5. Upholding the client-lawyer confidentiality vs. the moral responsibility to prevent future crimes.

A defence attorney knows their client is guilty of a serious crime and intends to commit similar crimes in the future.
The attorney faces an ethical dilemma between maintaining client confidentiality, a cornerstone of legal ethics, and the moral obligation to prevent future harm.
Ethical Dilemma: Upholding the client-lawyer confidentiality vs. the moral responsibility to prevent future crimes.

These examples highlight the range and depth of ethical dilemmas that individuals can face, requiring them to weigh competing values and principles against the backdrop of potential consequences for their actions or inactions.

Moral Conflicts

Ethical dilemmas and moral conflicts are closely related concepts that often overlap in discussions of ethics and morality, but they can be distinguished by their context and the nature of the choices they involve.

Ethical Dilemma

An ethical dilemma arises when a person must choose between two or more actions that have ethical implications, making it difficult to decide what is the right or wrong course of action.

Ethical dilemmas often involve a decision-making process where each option violates some ethical principle or value, leading to a situation where no choice is entirely free from ethical fault.

These dilemmas typically occur within a specific professional, societal, or organizational context and involve considering external codes of ethics, laws, or social norms.

Moral Conflict

Moral conflict, on the other hand, refers to a situation where an individual’s values, principles, or beliefs conflict, leading to an internal struggle about the right course of action.

Moral conflicts are deeply personal and subjective, focusing on an individual’s conscience and moral reasoning rather than external rules or codes.

While ethical dilemmas might require an individual to choose between competing external obligations or duties, moral conflicts involve a more introspective struggle with one’s values and beliefs.

Key Differences Between Ethical Dilemmas and Moral Conflict

Context: Ethical dilemmas often involve a choice between actions in a professional or social context, where external codes of conduct or laws must be considered. Moral conflicts are internal struggles over personal values and beliefs.
Nature of Conflict: Ethical dilemmas typically involve competing ethical principles or obligations, where adhering to one may lead to the violation of another. Moral conflicts are about reconciling conflicting personal morals or values.
Resolution: Resolving an ethical dilemma often involves choosing the “lesser evil” or the option that upholds the most critical ethical principle in a given context. Solving a moral conflict might require personal reflection, growth, and a deeper understanding of one’s own values.

While they are distinct, ethical dilemmas and moral conflicts can occur simultaneously, complicating the decision-making process further.

A person might face an ethical dilemma at work (e.g., whether to report a colleague’s wrongdoing) that also triggers a moral conflict (e.g., loyalty to a friend versus commitment to honesty).

This interplay underscores the complexity of ethical and moral reasoning in real-world situations.

5 Cases of Moral Conflicts

Moral conflicts arise when individuals face situations requiring them to choose between two or more conflicting moral principles or values. Here are five examples illustrating such conflicts:

1. Honesty vs. Compassion

Situation: You find out that a close friend has lied on their resume to get a job they desperately need.
Conflicting Morals: The value of honesty (telling the truth or reporting the lie) conflicts with compassion (understanding your friend’s desperate situation and wanting to support them).

2. Loyalty vs. Justice

Situation: A family member is involved in a minor legal infraction and asks you to provide them with an alibi to avoid consequences.
Conflicting Morals: Loyalty to your family member, wishing to protect them, conflicts with your sense of justice and the importance of facing legal consequences for one’s actions.

3. Self-sacrifice vs. Self-preservation

Situation: During a disaster, you have the opportunity to save others by putting yourself in significant danger, or ensure your own safety, knowing others might not survive.
Conflicting Morals: The principle of self-sacrifice, putting the needs of others before your own, conflicts with self-preservation, the instinct to protect oneself from harm.

4. Equality vs. Meritocracy

Situation: In a workplace, you must decide between promoting an employee who has worked longer at the company (seniority) and another who has shown exceptional skill and productivity but has less tenure.
Conflicting Morals: The value of treating everyone equally and fairly conflicts with meritocracy, where rewards are based on individual achievement and capabilities.

5. Freedom vs. Security

Situation: In governing a community, you must decide whether to implement strict security measures that infringe on personal freedoms to ensure public safety.
Conflicting Morals: The importance of individual freedom and autonomy conflicts with the collective need for security and protection from harm.

These examples highlight the complexity of moral conflicts, where deciding in favour of one value inevitably leads to the compromise or negation of another , reflecting the nuanced nature of ethical decision-making.

Also read: Ethical Concerns and Dilemmas In Government And Private Institutions

The moments of ethical dilemmas and moral conflicts challenge us to weigh our values against the harsh realities of our circumstances, pushing us to make decisions that can redefine who we are and what we stand for.

The story of Ravi and Maya, the couple torn between family and community, serves as a poignant reminder of the complex nature of ethical decision-making .

Such dilemmas compel us to question not just our morality but the very essence of what it means to be human.

They remind us that there are no easy answers in the pursuit of doing what is right.

Whether it’s choosing between fairness and loyalty, or the welfare of one versus the greater good, these decisions are laden with the weight of potential regret and the hope for understanding and forgiveness.

In conclusion, ethical dilemmas and moral conflicts are not mere philosophical quandaries to be pondered from afar; they are real, lived experiences that test our integrity , empathy , and courage.

As we tread this precarious path, let us strive for a balance between our duties to others and our commitment to our principles, recognizing that we can confront and navigate these dilemmas that ultimately define our humanity.

The journey through these challenges is arduous and fraught with uncertainty, but it is also a testament to the strength and resilience of the human spirit, ever aspiring to a higher standard of morality and justice.

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About Alex Andrews George

Alex Andrews George is a mentor, author, and social entrepreneur. Alex is the founder of ClearIAS and one of the expert Civil Service Exam Trainers in India.

He is the author of many best-seller books like 'Important Judgments that transformed India' and 'Important Acts that transformed India'.

A trusted mentor and pioneer in online training , Alex's guidance, strategies, study-materials, and mock-exams have helped many aspirants to become IAS, IPS, and IFS officers.

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Case Study – How Do We Discharge Mr. Baylus? Challenging Discharge Plans

November 2024

Bioethics case study on challenging discharge plans.

Watch the Case Study

Clinical Ethics is an ever-changing field. As healthcare changes, new ethical questions arise, and thus clinical ethics consultation teams are asked to weigh in. A challenging subject that has seen much interest in ethics recently is challenging discharge situations. While maybe not asking deep ethics questions, there is still plenty of support that clinical ethics can provide. Take for example Mr. Baylus.

He was a man in his mid-eighties, and had suffered from advanced dementia for several years. He had lost his capacity to make medical decisions a few years back and has been completely dependent on caregivers, specifically his wife. Besides his dementia, there is nothing medically wrong with him and is expected to live for the near future.

One evening, Mr. Baylus was having a difficult time with his dementia and his wife dropped him off at the hospital emergency department, then left, and did not return. The hospital admitted him, calmed him, checked him, and determined that he had no medical reason to stay in the hospital. But that was just the beginning of the story. Mr. Baylus’s wife had left their house, moved in with her child from another marriage, and did not provide any contact information. For all intents and purposes, Mr. Baylus was stuck at the hospital. The team should not discharge him to home, because no one lived there, and it would be patient abandonment. We could not discharge to a step-down facility or long-term care facility because his wife would need to be involved and sign him in. We could not discharge him to where his wife was living because that was not her house and not his son, so in the eyes of other, that would be like discharging him to a random person. He was stuck at the hospital unless the team could figure out the right place for him.

While this was happening, Mr. Baylus was causing disruptions in the hospital. Because of his relative health and lack of medical needs, Mr. Baylus would have a lot of time on his hands. Due to his severe dementia, he could not stay in his room and would roam around the hospital, often trying to find his way into other patients’ rooms. This was very troubling to the other patients. He did not have behavior issues, but he could be difficult to work with. This was the reason his wife abandoned him. When the hospital contacted her, she said that he is too difficult to care for, and she could not do it anymore. She seemingly cared about him but was at her limit of ability, both mental and physical, to provide for him, and did not see an end in sight. She simply wanted him to become “someone else problem.”

This case suggests several important questions:

What is the hospital’s responsibility to these patients? Patients that have clear needs, but not needs directly addressed by hospitals.
Whose responsibility is Mr. Baylus? Himself? His wife? The hospital? Society?
What solutions or locations would be in Mr. Baylus’s best interest?
And what needs to be established to help these patients going forward? This will become a growing problem and will only become more common.
If you were the ethicist for this case, what would you do?
What would you feel are the important first steps? And what about after that?

This is a challenging scenario but one that can certainly benefit from involvement from a clinical ethics consultation.