Ethical dilemma - Definition and Overview

An ethical dilemma is a situation that often involves an apparent conflict between moral imperatives, in which to obey one would result in transgressing another.

Ethical dilemmas are often cited in an attempt to refute an ethical or morality system, as well as the worldview that encompasses it. These arguments can be refuted in various ways, for example by showing that the claimed ethical dilemma is only apparent and does not really exist, or that the solution to the ethical dilemma involves choosing the greater good and lesser evil.

A common example of an ethical dilemma involves the question of whether a man, having no available means of income or support, should steal food to feed himself and his starving family (see also: Les Misérables and Jean Valjean). Under an ethical system in which stealing is always wrong and letting one's family die from starvation is always wrong, a person in such a situation would be forced to commit one wrong to avoid committing another.

Example Usage of Ethical