¶ … students who planned to cheat on their schoolwork, or have cheated, especially in high school. To me, this meets the criteria for a moral dilemma, in particular in instances where I have had the opportunity to join in on this. Now, one would think that this maybe is not a moral issue because it is clearly against the rules, but the reality is that true moral dilemmas, where no choice is a good choice, are harder to come by. Maybe in a combat situation or something. So this will have to do.
The text notes that many people are governed by their own moral codes, and that there might be times when these codes are challenged. This, to me, is part of the growth of the person, and such situations help you do define what your moral code really is. For instance, I would say there are three reasonable responses for the above situation. The first is that you can join in. The second is that you ignore it. The third is that you report it. My values come from my parents, and there is a certain Kantian absolutism about things like cheating. You simply do not do it.
There are other ways of framing the ethical dilemma, however. First, you can frame it in a consequentialist way, taking the stance that it does not really hurt anybody. It affects your grade, and you were going to graduate anyway, and sometimes these things arise when you are taking a course you have to take, but otherwise have no interest in. It doesn't apply to me, but think of the pre-med who has to take an English credit, but otherwise has no earthly interest in Shakespeare. Patients aren't going to die because they cheated on their Othello exam. That's a consequentialist take on the issue, and there are a lot of people who are willing to make such rationalizations.
Other people argue that one should not...
I would have been thinking about social norms and categorical imperatives in Kohlberg's system -- or about the social value of self-sacrifice in Gilligan's. Instead I made a moral choice that reflects moral maturity: a level of caring that Gilligan would define as postconventional. Whether consciously or not, I was determined to preserve the dignity and promote the well-being of both my friends. I took myself out of the picture.
Seeing how the Prime Directive should no longer apply, Picard was free to do whatever was necessary in order to save his crewman. However, the advanced technology employed by the aliens forced Picard to argue for the life of Wesley Crusher. His argument centers around the idea that this conflict is over whether or not moral universalism, or moral relativism would apply in the case of Wesley Crusher. Picard argues
He is not depriving the pharmacist of his livelihood. He is not depriving another sick individual from having access to the same medication. Harvey only risks getting caught stealing and even if he were caught would be unlikely to spend any time in jail given the extenuating circumstances. Therefore, Harvey should steal the medication from a utilitarian perspective. Although a duty-based system of ethics would propose that the immorality of
She paid good money for tuition and didn't take advantage of her opportunities to learn. She also lost out on increasing her self-esteem in a natural way by rising to meet challenges and doing her best. Instead of feeling proud, she felt guilty. If she confesses to her school, she will probably be kicked out and it will be on her record forever. She is not likely to do
Any objective set of moral criteria must include: (1) the obligation not to cause pain unnecessarily to another; (2) the consideration of fetal survivability; and (3) recognition that a fetus undoubtedly becomes a living person at some point prior to full-term birth. On the other hand, even with the benefit of modern medical technology, there may be no way of identifying precisely at what point of gestation those moral
Moral and Medical Dilemma As the progression of medical technology has expanded humanity's ability to heal one another directly -- through the process of organ transplants, blood transfusions, and bone marrow exchanges -- several ethical dilemmas have surfaced which impact physicians, patients, and politicians alike. An individual's voluntary decision to donate his or her organs in the event of an unexpected death, and the government's methods for devising an equitable system
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