Here are some thought-provoking moral dilemmas we found online. Read each one, then think about what choice you'd make if you were in that situation. Feel free to discuss them with your teacher or colleague!
Note: These scenarios are truly challenging, and neither choice may feel perfect. That’s what makes them dilemmas! Keep that in mind as you decide.
Here are some dilemmas:
The Lifeboat Capacity
You’re on a lifeboat after a shipwreck, and there are 10 people on board. Supplies, however, are only enough to sustain five people until rescue is expected to arrive in a week. If all 10 remain, there’s a high chance everyone will starve or dehydrate. You and the others are forced to decide: Will some people need to leave the lifeboat to give the rest a better chance? How do you decide who stays and who goes, knowing that anyone who leaves may not survive?The Limited Medicine
As a doctor in a rural clinic, you receive only one dose of a rare medication each month, but this time, you have two patients in desperate need. One is a young child with a high chance of recovery if treated, and the other is a single parent with three young children, who also has a good chance of survival with the dose. If you give the medicine to one, the other will go untreated and may not survive. How do you decide who receives the medication?The Confidant’s Secret
Your best friend tells you they cheated on their partner, who also happens to be one of your close friends. The partner is unaware and would likely be devastated if they found out. You feel torn, knowing that revealing this could end their relationship and hurt everyone involved, but you also feel it’s unfair to the partner to remain in the dark. Do you keep the secret and protect your friend, or do you tell the partner, risking the friendship but being honest?The Rude Rich Person’s Wallet
While at a coffee shop, you spot a wallet on the ground and pick it up. Inside, you find a significant amount of cash and an ID. It belongs to someone you know—a wealthy, arrogant person who’s treated others poorly. You know returning it is the right thing to do, but they likely wouldn’t miss the cash, and you feel they don’t deserve it. Do you return the wallet as it is, keep the cash and return just the wallet, or keep everything, rationalizing that they won’t miss it?The Wrongly Accused Friend
A friend is arrested for a crime you know they didn’t commit, facing serious jail time. You have evidence that could exonerate them, but it would reveal illegal activity by another friend, potentially harming innocent people. If you present the evidence, your wrongly accused friend would go free, but the other friend and their family might be impacted. Do you stay quiet, protecting one friend but risking the other’s freedom, or do you reveal the evidence and allow the legal consequences to unfold?The Friend’s Job Application
You’re hiring for an important position in your team. One of the applicants is a close friend who desperately needs a job to make ends meet, but they’re not the most qualified for the role. Another candidate is a stranger with an impressive resume and experience that would greatly benefit the team. If you hire your friend, the team’s performance might be compromised, but if you choose the stranger, your friend could continue struggling financially. What do you do?The Parent’s Theft
At a local grocery store, you witness a parent discreetly slipping a loaf of bread into their bag. You realize they’re stealing, but as you look closer, you see a child by their side who looks hungry. You suspect the parent is trying to feed their child in desperate circumstances. Reporting them is the lawful thing to do, but if you don’t, you’re allowing a crime to go unpunished. Do you let the parent go and avoid involving the authorities, or do you report them and follow the rules?The Promise to a Loved One
On their deathbed, a loved one made you promise to carry out a specific task, something that was very meaningful to them. But years later, you realize that keeping this promise could bring unintended harm to others and is no longer practical. Honoring their memory is important to you, but so is protecting others from potential harm. Do you keep the promise out of respect, or do you break it, considering the current circumstances?The Endangered Species Habitat
You are the project manager of a construction team building a road that will benefit a local town, boosting its economy and improving people’s daily lives. However, the project will destroy the only known habitat of a critically endangered species. Halting construction would protect the species but would delay or even cancel the benefits to the community. Do you proceed with the construction, benefiting people but risking the extinction of the species, or halt the project to save the animals?Robbin' Hood
You saw a crime happen: a man stole money from a bank. But instead of keeping it, he gave it all to a poor orphanage, which can now afford to feed, dress, and care for its children. You know who the thief is. If you report him to the police, the money will likely go back to the bank, leaving many kids in need again. What would you do?
A Day at the Beach
You’re relaxing at a quiet beach when you hear cries for help. You look over and see two people struggling in the water. One is a young child, and the other is an elderly person. They’re both too far apart for you to reach them both in time—you can only save one. The child has a whole life ahead of them, while the elderly person may have loved ones who will deeply miss them. With no one else around to help, you’re forced to make a heartbreaking choice. Who do you save?
The Accidental Samaritan
One night, you’re walking home when you see a man lying on the sidewalk, looking unwell. You rush over to help him and realize he needs immediate medical attention. You call for an ambulance and stay with him until it arrives. Later, you find out that he was wanted by the police for a serious crime, and your call helped them catch him. But now, his family is reaching out to thank you, thinking you saved him out of kindness without knowing his background. They invite you to a dinner in his honor, but they have no idea about the real impact of your call. Do you go and keep the truth to yourself, or do you explain what really happened?
The Spouse and the Lover
You come home unexpectedly early one day and find your spouse with someone else, clearly cheating on you. Later, your spouse apologizes deeply, saying it was a mistake and promising it won’t happen again. They beg you not to tell anyone, especially because sharing this could hurt your family, including your children. However, you also know the person they were with, and their partner is a friend of yours who remains completely unaware. You feel torn—should you reveal the affair to your friend, knowing it could bring pain to everyone involved, or keep it secret to protect your family’s peace?
A Difficult Decision
You’re the manager of a small company and are faced with a tough situation. One of your best employees, who has been with the company for years, is caught stealing office supplies. They have always been reliable and hardworking, but in this case, you have clear evidence of the theft. You know that firing them would ruin their career and personal life, as they have a family to support. On the other hand, if you let it slide, you risk setting a bad example for the rest of the team, which could affect the company’s integrity. What do you do?
A Doctor’s Dilemma
You are a doctor working in a busy hospital during a severe crisis where resources are limited. Two patients arrive at the same time: one is a young, healthy person with a treatable condition, and the other is an elderly person with multiple serious health issues, but they have a higher chance of survival if treated immediately. However, treating the elderly patient would require using up most of the limited resources, leaving the younger patient at risk of worsening. You only have enough resources to save one. Who do you treat first?
Company Policy
You’re a manager at a company with a strict policy: all employees must report any time they are late, no matter the reason. One of your best employees, who is usually punctual and hardworking, confides in you that they’ve been dealing with a personal crisis and were late because they had to take care of an urgent family issue. They beg you not to report the lateness, explaining that they’re afraid it will cost them their job, which they can’t afford right now. You know their performance is excellent and this is a one-time issue. Do you follow company policy and report the lateness, or do you overlook it to protect your employee’s job?
Company Policy
You work as a network administrator at a company where your best friend's husband is also employed. One day, he messages you asking if you can release an email from quarantine. As you open the email to do so, you realize it’s a conversation between him and his secret lover. After freeing the email, you’re in a difficult position. You feel compelled to tell your best friend about her husband's affair, but revealing company emails is against company rules, and it could cost you your job. If she eventually discovers the affair through the email, she’ll likely trace it back to you as the source. Do you share the truth with her, risking everything, or stay silent?
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