Ethical dilemma

An ethical dilemma is understood to be an ethical and moral decision-making situation in which several actions are required at the same time, but are mutually exclusive. Obeying one commandment leads to a violation of the other. In other words, following the right thing leads to a violation of the right thing.

An ethical dilemma can be formally presented as follows:

1. It is imperative to do a
2. It is imperative to do b
3. But I cannot do a and b at the same time.

See also

• dilemma
• Lawrence Kohlberg
• Trolley problem
• Georg Lind

literature

• Christopher W. Gowans (Ed.): Moral Dilemmas . New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987; ISBN 0195042719
• Thomas Zoglauer: The method of the thought equilibrium in the formation of moral judgments , in: Jürgen Mittelstraß (Hrsg.): The future of knowledge: Workshop contributions / XVIII. German Congress for Philosophy, Konstanz 1999. Universitätsverlag, Konstanz, 1999; ISBN 3-87940-697-9 ; Pp. 977-984

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bernard Williams: Ethical Consistency ; in: Joseph Raz (Ed.): Practical Reasoning ; Oxford University Press 1978; ISBN 0198750412 ; Pp. 91-109