Moral Dilemmas

A moral dilemma arises when we have to choose to do one of two equally unpleasant things. To be in a moral dilemma is to be faced with a situation in which no matter what you do, you think you do wrong. Thankfully, most of us do not come across dire situations that present a moral dilemma, but we all have experienced the bitter feeling of having to take hard decisions in our lives, haven't we? In these situations it is never easy to tell right from wrong. Let us see one experiment in ethics, aimed at studying people's feelings and reactions:

 The cave explorers:

"An enormous rock falls and blocks the exit of a cave you and five other tourists have been exploring. Fortunately, you spot a hole elsewhere and decide to let "Big Jack" out first. But Big Jack, a man of generous proportions, gets stuck in the hole. He cannot be moved and there is no other way out. The high tide is rising and, unless you get out soon, everyone but Big Jack (whose head is sticking out of the cave) will inevitably drown. Searching through your backpack, you find a stick of dynamite. It will not move the rock, but will certainly blast Big Jack out of the hole. Big Jack, anticipating your thoughts, pleads for his life. He does not want to die, but neither do you and your four companions. Should you blast Big Jack out?"

 We will discuss this moral dilemma in class next week... But meanwhile... Do you guys remember the movie Se7en? This very famous film from the 90s, about two homicide detectives on a desperate hunt for a serial killer who justifies his crimes as absolution for the world's ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins? Well, its very last scene depicts one moral dilemma Brad Pitt's character apparently is having: Should he kill the deranged serial killer who has decapitated his wife, even if this means the serial killer triumphs from beyond the grave? Does he really want to spend the rest of his life trapped inside the logic of the killer's warped, psychopathic system? But could he live without avenging his wife's death?