MENTAL MODEL · M13263

Moral Dilemmas

CultureHigh supportEthics

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Updated 2026-09-10

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

A moral dilemma involves at least a conflict between moral requirements: the agent faces two or more requirements that cannot all be satisfied, so meeting any one of them means failing another, and regret or guilt is unavoidable in some form no matter what is done. The entry treats this as a structural problem for moral theory, not merely a hard choice.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Identify the conflict: confirm that the two requirements genuinely cannot be satisfied together. - Account for the residue: explain why guilt remains after the best available choice. - Test the theory: use the dilemma to check whether a system of duties is self-consistent.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

The dilemma is a theoretical problem because moral theory usually assumes that ought implies can and that the set of duties is consistent. If two requirements conflict, the agent has an obligation to do A and an obligation not to do A, and a contradiction follows. The possibility of dilemmas therefore touches the consistency of deontic logic, and it explains why residue survives even the most reasonable choice.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Practice this model in one real situation:

State in plain terms the specific moral requirements that conflict. 2. Check whether they really are incompatible, or whether the conflict rests on a misunderstanding. 3. Decide whether it is duties, values, or norms that clash. 4. After acting, face the moral residue and distinguish regret from the assignment of responsibility.

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Source support: Explicit

link
plato.stanford.eduhttps://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-dilemmas/ZH · Explicit
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