单元话题导读
What Does Moral Dilemma Mean?
Philosophers as far back as Plato have wrestled near impossible moral questions that test the character of the person making the decision. Today, these questions are known as moral dilemmas. However, centuries of debate still leave many of these dilemmas unsolved.
Definition
A moral dilemma is defined as any situation in which the person making the decision experiences a conflict between the moral rightness of a decision and the quality of the results it produces. Many times, these dilemmas involve a morally wrong decision that produces a desirable result, or vice versa.Other times, moral dilemmas involve a decision in which the person is forced to choose only one of two good things.
Historic Examples
One classic example of a moral dilemma is the famous 1842 shipwreck in which the captain was forced to choose between throwing the weak passengers overboard or letting all the passengers drown. The 1982 movie Sophie’s Choice portrays another moral dilemma, in which a mother is forced to choose which of her two children would be executed in a concentration camp.
Modern Examples
A family’s difficult decision about whether to take a terminally ill loved one off life support is an example of a modern moral dilemma. Other common dilemmas include good Samaritan situations, for example, a passer-by is forced to choose between the convenience of letting a stranger go unaided and the moral obligation to assist someone in need.
道德困境是什么意思？
早在柏拉图时代，哲学家们就已经努力解决了几乎不可能的道德问题，这些问题考验着做出决定的人的性格。今天，这些问题被称为道德困境。然而，几个世纪的争论仍然让许多这些困境没有解决。
定义
道德困境是指决策者在决策的道德正确性和决策制造的结果的质量之间发生冲突的任何情况。很多时候，这些困境涉及一个道德上错误的决定，产生一个理想的结果，反之亦然。另一些时候，道德困境涉及一个决定，在这个决定中，一个人只能选择两件好事中的一件。
历史上的例子
道德困境的一个典型例子是1842年那场著名的沉船事故，船长被迫在把虚弱的乘客扔下船或让所有乘客淹死之间做出选择。1982年的电影《苏菲的选择》描绘了另一种道德困境，在这种困境中，一个母亲被迫选择在集中营处决两个孩子中的哪一个。
现代例子
一个家庭对于是否让一个身患绝症的亲人脱离生命支持的艰难决定就是现代道德困境的一个例子。其他常见的困境包括好心人的处境，例如，一个过路人被迫在让陌生人独自去的方便和帮助有需要的人的道德义务之间做出选择。
