Solving Ethical Dilemmas

An ethical dilemma is defined as a complex situation that will often involve an apparent mental conflict between moral imperatives in which to obey one would result in transgressing another . When individuals are faced with an ethical question, we tend to search for a “correct answer” when responding. However, these types of questions do not always seem to have a straightforward answer. The arguments which may arise from an ethical dilemma question are typically examined in two ways: whether people are being consistent in their judgment and whether the alleged facts on which those judgments are based are truth. In this essay, the ethical dilemma being presented is as followed: A man cheats on his wife early in their marriage. Twenty years later he wants to “come clean” about his infidelity. Should he? The ethical interpretations of philosophers Aristotle, Benedict de Spinoza, Immanuel Kant, and myself will be addressed regarding this particular dilemma.

Aristotle sought a philosophy of happiness which would be applicable to each individual man. He believed virtue is never absolute. In other words, one rule can never apply to all men. Instead, the individual through life's experiences must find the source which brings him the most happiness. More importantly, Aristotle reasoned that this source would never result in an extreme. The answer, different for every individual, lies somewhere in the middle. Nonetheless, with that said, I would infer that Aristotle would respond to the ethical dilemma at hand by saying the man should in fact tell his wife. However, upon revealing his infidelity the man should seek marital counseling in order to save his marriage. By doing so, the man is not completely letting go of his marriage or he i...

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...ot to get counseling—or inevitably save his marriage.

Throughout the course of our lives, we as humans will be confronted with all types of moral dilemmas. Since we can never be sure that we are doing the right thing, there are ways in which ethics are obstinate. Using things such as our judgment, religion, and common sense, we may be able to formulate a “correct answer” to an ethical dilemma, however these will not always be certain. The fallacy in our human nature arises from the fact that we can never be sure we did the right thing as well as being unaware that we could have done better.

Works Cited

Resolving an Ethical Dilemma. Loyola Marymount University. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2011.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Nov.

2011.