Moral Dilemmas

[SPQR]

I love hypothetical moral dilemmas. They really make you think, and I love debating them at length with my friends. So, here's a place for you to share your favourites with everyone!

 

I think I'll keep a list of the moral dilemmas that we come up with to refer back to. Please try to space out the posting of new dilemmas, I'd like to see at least a small discussion happen before we get a new one to think about. Please post new moral dilemmas in bold.

 

Here's one to start you all off:

 

You are head of a student council at a high school, and are faced with a difficult decision regarding a grade-twelve girl’s risky, last-resort choice. This girl is an honor student. All through her academic years, she has obtained straight A’s, has many friends and has never been disciplined by the principal. However, near the end of her grade twelve year, she fell ill with pneumonia and fell way behind in her school work. She missed three weeks of class, which resulted in her having to rush a report that would be worth 40% of English, a required graduation subject in her curriculum. She was so desperate about the report that she went online and passed off a report she found on that subject as her own. Her English teacher caught her and has referred her to you. If you enter on her academic record that she plagiarized, she will likely not be eligible to be accepted into St. Steven’s University, a school she has dreamed of attending all through high school and needs in order to fulfill her academic and future dreams.

What would you do?

[SPQR]

LIST OF MORAL DILEMMAS:

 

You are head of a student council at a high school, and are faced with a difficult decision regarding a grade-twelve girl’s risky, last-resort choice. This girl is an honor student. All through her academic years, she has obtained straight A’s, has many friends and has never been disciplined by the principal. However, near the end of her grade twelve year, she fell ill with the flu and fell way behind in her school work. She missed three weeks of class, which resulted in her having to rush a report that would be worth 40% of English, a required graduation subject in her curriculum. She was so desperate about the report that she went online and passed off a report she found on that subject as her own. Her English teacher caught her and has referred her to you. If you enter on her academic record that she plagiarized, she will likely not be eligible to be accepted into St. Steven’s University, a school she has dreamed of attending all through high school and needs in order to fulfill her academic and future dreams.

What would you do?

 

You are stranded in the desert and have no way to make it to the nearest town without water. Your only source of water is an unfriendly tribe who will kill you on sight for having discovered their camp. Their water barrels are minimally guarded. Do you attempt to steal water so you can make it to the town (risking being found an killed) or move on, knowing you won't survive in the heat?

 

A woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to produce. He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman’s husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about $1,000 which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said: “No, I discovered the drug and I’m going to make money from it.” So Heinz got desperate and broke into the man’s store to steal the drug for his wife.

Should Heinz have broken into the store to steal the drug for his wife? Why or why not?

 

A close friend of yours just got married. A few months afterwards you're over for diner and just as your friend heads into the kitchen, the husband/wife comes out and begins flirting shamelessly with you. You eventually get him/her to stop but they tell you that they plan to have an affair with your friend sooner or later anyways, and if it isn't with you, it'll be with someone else.

Would you rather confront your friend that day; crushing her newly wed hopes, or let him or her deal with it later on if their husband or wife did have an affair.

 

You are in a house with your aged father and a genius scientist who holds the cure to cancer in his mind. Both are crippled in wheelchairs and cannot wheel themselves, and you only have time to pull one out. Which one do you take?

 

 

In the Wild West a caravan is attacked by Indians. Just before the attack the women and children are smuggled to an outcrop of rocks, out of sight from the Indians. As the Indians begin their attack a young baby starts to cry. The baby's cry will alert the Indians to the position of the fifty defenseless women and children. Do you smother the child to quieten it, or hope it quietens itself/the Indians ignore it? Or otherwise?

Edited October 18, 2011 by SPQR

[philpot123]

Is there an option of having her repeat the assignment and have it graded, perhaps knocking off a letter grade or two from whatever the grade WOULD have been had she not plagiarized in the first place?

 

If no, I would have to stick with writing down plagiarism. You can't make exceptions like that and expect to hold students to any sort of academic standard. If you make an exception for one case, you might for another and another, and pretty soon its just "meh, I copied it offline. NBD."

[Layn]

With the way classes are graded in high school, a rushed, last minute paper is still capable of getting a high B or a low A. Being rushed for time does not give her an excuse to plagiarize. I would either say she plagiarized, or have her redo the assignment for half credit. Not plagiarizing is easy. Also, missing three weeks of a class does not give her an excuse to not keep up on the class work while she is kept on bedrest. She knew when she plagiarized that if caught, there would be severe consequences.

 

To be entirely honest, if I had been her English teacher, and I had received a perhaps slightly more poorly put together report, and known she was sick for three weeks, I would be inclined to be more lenient in grading it knowing she was sick. There was no reason for her to have plagiarized.

Edited October 18, 2011 by Layn

[SPQR]

Is there an option of having her repeat the assignment and have it graded, perhaps knocking off a letter grade or two from whatever the grade WOULD have been had she not plagiarized in the first place?

Nope ^^

 

It's either write it down or let it slide.

 

I would write it down as well. There are many other things that she could have done. Yes, she was sick, but it's no excuse to steal someone's work. And good point about one exception leading to another.

[dragon_mando]

You are head of a student council at a high school, and are faced with a difficult decision regarding a grade-twelve girl’s risky, last-resort choice. This girl is an honor student. All through her academic years, she has obtained straight A’s, has many friends and has never been disciplined by the principal. However, near the end of her grade twelve year, she fell ill with pneumonia and fell way behind in her school work. She missed three weeks of class, which resulted in her having to rush a report that would be worth 40% of English, a required graduation subject in her curriculum. She was so desperate about the report that she went online and passed off a report she found on that subject as her own. Her English teacher caught her and has referred her to you. If you enter on her academic record that she plagiarized, she will likely not be eligible to be accepted into St. Steven’s University, a school she has dreamed of attending all through high school and needs in order to fulfill her academic and future dreams.

What would you do?

I'd put her down for plagiarism, period. It was her choice to screw up her life by stealing someone else's work.

 

You are stranded in the desert and have no way to make it to the nearest town without water. Your only source of water is an unfriendly tribe who will kill you on sight for having discovered their camp. Their water barrels are minimally guarded. Do you attempt to steal water so you can make it to the town (risking being found an killed) or move on, knowing you won't survive in the heat?

[philpot123]

I'd put her down for plagiarism, period. It was her choice to screw up her life by stealing someone else's work.

 

You are stranded in the desert and have no way to make it to the nearest town without water. Your only source of water is an unfriendly tribe who will kill you on sight for having discovered their camp. Their water barrels are minimally guarded. Do you attempt to steal water so you can make it to the town (risking being found an killed) or move on, knowing you won't survive in the heat?

100% honest? I'd steal the water, and up anybody who got in my way doing it. In a life or death situation like that, yes I'd feel bad about stealing but uh... I'd feel worse dead. I don't think it would be necessarily *right* for me to take it (considering I hold stealing as sinful...) but I'd do it if it came down to it.

[SPQR]

I'd take only as much as I need. Sneak in, quietly steal the water, sneak back out again. It's a life or death situation, and regular rules don't really apply.

[Lady-Morgana]

I would sneak in and drink the water and hope nobody got hurt...

 

Fun Topic!

 

Can I post one soon?

Edited October 18, 2011 by Lady-Morgana

[SPQR]

Can I post one soon?

Yep! You should let people discuss the current one a bit though.

[Obscure_Trash]

I'd take only as much as I need. Sneak in, quietly steal the water, sneak back out again. It's a life or death situation, and regular rules don't really apply.

Is your choice still the same if it's stealing all the water versus none of the water? Just wondering because of the restriction on your last question. :3

[SPQR]

Is your choice still the same if it's stealing all the water versus none of the water? Just wondering because of the restriction on your last question. :3

I'd probably still steal the water. The villagers can always get more water, it's not as if they're extremely in need of it, like you are.

[philpot123]

Is your choice still the same if it's stealing all the water versus none of the water? Just wondering because of the restriction on your last question. :3

Oooh that makes for an alternative dilemma doesn't it. By taking all the water, you could possibly be killing the tribesmen/women for the sake of your own life. In that instance, I wouldn't steal it. I'd present myself to them in a peaceful manner, and if they tried to kill me I'd defend myself. If I managed to not die (not likely) THEN I would take the water. But considering my plight of being stranded in the desert is no fault of theirs, I wouldn't kill them for the sake of my life.

Edited October 18, 2011 by philpot123

[Alpha1]

100% honest? I'd steal the water, and up anybody who got in my way doing it.

WWJD?

[Kila]

If it involved stealing all of the water I would do what philpot would do. Calmly present myself as a weary traveler lost and in need of water, which I'm assuming is some sort of oasis spring. If they attacked I would flee and then steal water.

 

But I mean, it'd be impossible to steal all the water, so I'd likely just fill up my bottles and be on my merry way.

[dragon_mando]

Your only source of water is an unfriendly tribe who will kill you on sight for having discovered their camp.

Presenting yourself to them = insta-dead

[Kila]

In that case, steal the water and be on my merry way.

[Matmetchi]

Water is replenishable, the next rain will fill anything they lost. Nothing can replenish your life. Plus the tribe won't be missing anything. :/

 

A close friend of yours just got married. A few months afterwards you're over for diner and just as your friend heads into the kitchen, the husband/wife comes out and begins flirting shamelessly with you. You eventually get him/her to stop but they tell you that they plan to have an affair with your friend sooner or later anyways, and if it isn't with you, it'll be with someone else.

Would you rather confront your friend that day; crushing her newly wed hopes, or let him or her deal with it later on if their husband or wife did have an affair.

 

Note:

Your friend is definitely in love with their spouse.

And there is a possibility that the husband/wife was drunk/joking/had a fight etc.

Edited October 18, 2011 by Matmetchi

[wonderwanders]

A close friend of yours just got married. A few months afterwards you're over for diner and just as your friend heads into the kitchen, the husband/wife comes out and begins flirting shamelessly with you. You eventually get him/her to stop but they tell you that they plan to have an affair with your friend sooner or later anyways, and if it isn't with you, it'll be with someone else.

Would you rather confront your friend that day; crushing her newly wed hopes, or let him or her deal with it later on if their husband or wife did have an affair.

 

Note:

Your friend is definitely in love with their spouse.

And there is a possibility that the husband/wife was drunk/joking/had a fight etc.

I would tell my friend. Better they are warned by a friend then find out later in some worse situation. It's up to them what they do... they might shrug it off as a joke, or confront their spouse, or deny it could've happened... but regardless I would tell them.

 

I hate it when people use the "Oh I was drunk" excuse. Yeah right. Alcohol can't make you do anything. But it does make it easier (by lowered inhibitions) to do what you were thinking about anyways.

 

In response to the desert/oasis/tribe question.... I'd try stealing some water. Who wouldn't? Choosing risk of death over definite death is not a good choice but at least by attempting to steal water there's a chance of life.

[digipup]

Water is replenishable, the next rain will fill anything they lost. Nothing can replenish your life. Plus the tribe won't be missing anything. :/

 

A close friend of yours just got married. A few months afterwards you're over for diner and just as your friend heads into the kitchen, the husband/wife comes out and begins flirting shamelessly with you. You eventually get him/her to stop but they tell you that they plan to have an affair with your friend sooner or later anyways, and if it isn't with you, it'll be with someone else.

Would you rather confront your friend that day; crushing her newly wed hopes, or let him or her deal with it later on if their husband or wife did have an affair.

 

Note:

Your friend is definitely in love with their spouse.

And there is a possibility that the husband/wife was drunk/joking/had a fight etc.

Tell my friend, no sorrow spared. As mentioned by someone else, the excuse of 'I was drunk, I didn't know what I was doing' is a lame, overused, and invalid one.

Besides, I'd rather see them straighten it all out now than attempt to do it in five years when there is more at stake.

[-platinum-draco-]

Is your choice still the same if it's stealing all the water versus none of the water? Just wondering because of the restriction on your last question. :3

If I had friends, I would steal the water. I value my friends more than a tribe that is hostile enough to kill on sight. In fact, if I was with any group of people I had a high opinion of, I would still steal the water. I would, however, feel really bad,and it would be a last resort.

[Tibetador]

#1 The dilemma says that there is no other water, but it doesn't specify no other source of hydration. There's more than one way to get hydration in the desert than actual water for survival, and cowardly as I am, I would not want to risk approaching hostile natives just for a drink.

 

#2 I would most definitely report the flirting without hesitation. I know firsthand that suffering early on in a marriage, no matter how hurtful, is far better to be hashed out than to wait a few years to allow things to fester.

 

Here's another interesting one: A woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to produce. He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman’s husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about $1,000 which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said: “No, I discovered the drug and I’m going to make money from it.” So Heinz got desperate and broke into the man’s store to steal the drug for his wife.

 

Should Heinz have broken into the store to steal the drug for his wife? Why or why not?

[Lady-Morgana]

Yes. The store owner was selfish and didn't need to do that. The woman's blood would be on his hands. The man, Heniz was right to steal

[dragon_mando]

A woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to produce. He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman’s husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about $1,000 which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said: “No, I discovered the drug and I’m going to make money from it.” So Heinz got desperate and broke into the man’s store to steal the drug for his wife.

 

Should Heinz have broken into the store to steal the drug for his wife? Why or why not?

Need before greed, Heinz was in the right.

[wonderwanders]

Should Heinz have broken into the store to steal the drug for his wife? Why or why not?

Heinz? Interesting name choice.

Anyways... no, I don't think he should've broken into the store for the medicine.

It wasn't a guaranteed miracle cure. And he's not going to be able to take care of his dying wife in jail very well, is he?

 

Yes, the pharmacist is being somewhat mean but if he does have a point of having invented the medicine and a right to the profits. The wife deserves no special treatment than any other cancer patient AND In Real Life: medicine mark-up costs like that are just as bad or worse. If the guy were dealing with a major medicine manufacturer it would be a 8,000 treatment not 2,000.

Cancer is big business.

 

Still Heinz should've kept trying to raise the funds somehow.