Quotessence
Home / Topics / Ethical Dilemma Quotes

Ethical Dilemma Quotes

Browse 8 quotes about Ethical Dilemma.

Ethical Dilemma Quotes

“Davai, come on!” Dmitry grumbled impatiently as his gaze drifted toward the inviting dinner on his plate: a delectable dish of Sibirskiye Pelmeni. These impeccably crafted Siberian-style meat dumplings, topped with a dollop of rich sour cream, looked as though they’d been plucked right out of a foodie’s well-curated Instagram feed. However, the promise of their rich flavor had been momentarily eclipsed by the drama of the recalcitrant television—an antiquity that usually served as Dmitry’s trusty portal to the world but today, for some reason, obstinately refused to fulfill its duties.”

Self DiscoveryEmotional JourneySocial IsolationAbsurdist FictionEthical DilemmaSatirical FictionMoral ConflictIntrospective FictionFlawed HeroExistential Comedy
Book:Of Sturgeon and Carrie Bradshaw
Create image

“DEONTOLOGY AND CONCEQUENTIALISM, A NOVEL APPROACH: Consequentialism and Deontology (Deontological Ethics) are two contrasting categories of Normative Ethics, the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental principles that determine the morality of human actions (or non-actions). Their supposed difference is that while Consequentialism determines if an action is morally right or wrong by examining its consequences, Deontology focuses on the action itself, regardless of its consequences. To the hypothetical question “Should I do this man a little injustice, if by this I could save the whole humanity from torture and demise?”, the philosopher Immanuel Kant, a pure deontologist (absolutist) answers: “Fiat justitia, pereat mundus” (Do justice even if the whole world would perish). Superficially, it seems that a decent deontologist don’t care about consequences whatsoever. His/her one and only duty is to invariably obey to pre-existing, universal moral rules without exceptions: “do not kill”, “do not lie”, “do not use another human as a means to an end”, and so on. At this point I would like to present my thesis on this subject. The central idea here is that deontological ethics only appears to be indifferent to the consequences of an action. In fact, it is only these very consequences that determine what our moral rules and ethical duties should be. For example, the moral law “do not kill”, has its origin to the dire consequences that the killing of another human being brings about; for the victim (death), the perpetrator (often imprisonment or death) and for the whole humanity (collapse of society and civilization). Let us discuss the well-worn thought experiment of the mad axeman asking a mother where their young children are, so he can kill them. We suppose that the mother knows with 100% certainty that she can mislead him by lying and she can save her children from certain death (once again: supposing that she surely knows that she can save her children ONLY by lying, not by telling the truth or by avoiding to answer). In this thought experiment the hard deontologist would insist that it is immoral to lie, even if that would lead to horrible consequences. But, I assert that this deontological inflexibility is not only inhuman and unethical, it is also outrightly hypocritical. Because if the mother knows that their children are going to be killed if she tells the truth (or does not answer) and they are going to be saved if she tells a harmless lie, then by telling the truth she disobeys the moral law “do not kill/do not cause the death of an innocent”, which is much worse than the moral rule “do not lie”. The fact that she does not kill her children with her own hands is completely irrelevant. She could have saved them without harming another human, yet she chose not to. So the absolutist deontologist chooses actively to disobey a much more important moral law, only because she is not the immediate cause, but a cause via a medium (the crazy axeman in this particular thought experiment). So here are the two important conclusions: Firstly, Deontology in normative ethics is in reality a “masked consequentialism”, because the origin of a moral law is to be found in its consequences e.g. stealing is generally morally wrong, because by stealing, someone is deprived of his property that may be crucial for his survival or prosperity. Thus, the Deontology–Consequentialism dichotomy is a false one. And secondly, the fact that we are not the immediate “vessel” by which a moral rule is broken, but we nevertheless create or sustain a “chain of events” that will almost certainly lead to the breaking of a moral law, does surely not absolve us and does not give us the right to choose the worst outcome. Mister Immanuel Kant would avoid doing an innocent man an injustice, yet he would choose to lead billions of innocent people to agonizing death.”

TruthEthicsWhite LiesConsequentialismEthical DilemmaDeontologyFalse DichotomyNormative Ethics
Book:NOVEL PHILOSOPHY: New ideas about Ethics, Epistemology, Science and the sweet Life
Create image

“Can specialty physicians prioritize preventative health, physicals, and early screenings if they are doctors for people who are sick?”

GreedProfitReformHealth CareIncentivesPublic HealthHealth Care ReformConundrumEthical DilemmaSpecialty Physicians
Book:What the U.S. Healthcare System Doesn't Want You to Know, Why, and How You Can Do Something About It
Create image

“Considerable educational effort has now and again been made to develop in students the ability to reason their ways through complex moral dilemmas, and to formulate morally enlightened choices as a result. But there is no evidence that, once having acquired such moral reasoning skills, these students will behave any better than their morally untutored peers when it comes to the willingness of the great human majority, when circumstance are “right,” to engage in state-authorized aggression and killing in wars, participation in judicial executions, perpetration of school and adult bullying, domestic abuse, endorsement of torture in the name of national security, depredation of the world's natural resources and biodiversity in the interests of human development and financial gain—a list that could be continued at some length. The moral bridge is a bridge that relatively few cross automatically and naturally, from morally reasoned judgement to moral conduct.”

PhilosophyMoralityEthicsMoral DilemmaEthical DilemmaEthical TheoryEthicist
Book:Critique of Impure Reason: Horizons of Possibility and Meaning
Create image

“Blyat! Now, of all times? You’ve got to be kidding me...” Dmitry’s tirade echoed in the room as he gave his TV a fervent smack. Out of the blue, for no apparent reason, the ancient set, with its worn-out brand logo and buttons that had been pressed one too many times, had decided to rebel against him.”

Dark HumorSocial IsolationEthical DilemmaMoral ConflictIntrospective FictionLoyalty And BetrayalFlawed HeroFriendship And DisillusionmentIdealism Vs RealityProtagonist With Principles
Book:Of Sturgeon and Carrie Bradshaw
Create image