Ethical Dilemmas
📋 What it is
A dilemma is a choice where every option has a real downside — so you must weigh, not just "pick the good one".
🗣️ Coach says
Dilemmas are hard because there’s no clean win — helping one person may cost another. The skill isn’t finding the "right" answer; it’s reasoning clearly about the trade-offs and being able to explain your choice.
🧠 Memory hook
No clean win. Weigh the trade-offs and explain your reasoning.
😂 Giggle
Why did Kant's categorical imperative go to the gym?
To work on its universal maxims!
😲 Whoa!
Ethicists often say a good answer to a dilemma is judged by the REASONING, not by everyone agreeing.
✅ Quick check: Why is an ethical DILEMMA harder than an ordinary right-vs-wrong choice?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
Every option has a real downside, so you must weigh competing goods and harms and justify your choice — there’s no obviously "good" pick.
Dilemmas are where ethical reasoning is really tested.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Invent a tiny dilemma (keep a promise OR help a friend) and explain how you’d decide.