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It seems that defining ethics may be as difficult as living an ethical life. The many theories range from complex (Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative) to simple (the Golden Rule). Sometimes it seems that the theories are no help at all in the daily decisionmaking we all face. In his book, How Good People Make Tough Choices, Rushworth M. Kidder offers some understandable and practical definitions and applications of ethics.1
Kidder notes that some decisions are not ethical dilemmas at all. These are the right versus wrong decisions. He describes the choice between doing right or wrong as a moral temptation, not an ethical dilemma. This seems to make sense; only the morally bankrupt would consider the question of whether to cheat on an exam as an ethical dilemma.
An ethical dilemma arises, as Kidder sees it, when one is faced with a choice where there seems to be some good on both sides. If the competing alternatives both claim to be a right choice, the decision between them becomes much more difficult, and because one is faced with a right versus right decision, an ethical dilemma exists.
Kidder's book asserts that there are four basic types of ethical dilemmas. The four types and an example of each are as follows:
(1) Truth Versus Loyalty. You are a child. Your best friend has broken a window at school and has confessed to you in confidence. The principal asks you if you know who did it. Do you tell the truth or evade the question and remain loyal to your friend?
(2) Individual Versus Group. In wartime, a downed pilot is being hidden by the residents of a village occupied by enemy soldiers. The soldiers will shoot one village resident every hour until the pilot is surrendered. You are the mayor. Whose life do you save?
(3) Short Term Versus Long Term. You are a single parent with two small children. To qualify for a much better position at work, you need an MBA which will require at least two years...