Moral Dilemmas

Moral dilemmas are thought experiments which ask you to imagine a difficult situation and decide what you think the morally correct course of action would be. There are no truly ‘right’ answers to these questions, as they often ask you to compare two different moral imperatives and choose which one you feel is most important.

For example, if we accept that it is morally correct to never torture a living creature, and that it is morally correct to save a human’s life if you have the ability to do so, how do you decide what to do if you can only save a human’s life by torturing someone else?

Read through these 25 moral dilemmas, and have a think about what you might do in each situation.

  • The Baby or The Townspeople

    Enemy soldiers have taken over Jane’s village. They have orders to kill all remaining civilians over the age of two. Jane and some of the townspeople have sought refuge in two rooms of the cellar of a large house. Outside Jane hears the voices of soldiers who have come to search the house for valuables.…