Free Essay Example on Exploring My Ethical Dilemma

Introduction

An ethical dilemma can be defined as a paradox where there is a problem in decision making between two alternatives, whether to accept or what one unambiguously prefers (Reid et al., 2018). The situation sets a person with two options of which have consequences upon choosing one side. A person may encounter an ethical dilemma rarely because they are facing the moral temptation of what is right or wrong. The paper gives an analysis of the ethical dilemma case I have experienced during my high school days.

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Chancellor Office

Remembering very well during an afternoon when I was supposed to report to the high schools’ chancellor office. I did not have enough time to pick up my lunch from the cafeteria. Before I arrived at the cafeteria, I saw at least ten school mates talking to each other while laughing. I could not hear the conversation perfectly. I thought Sasha mocked Kate for being lesbian. When I looked at Kate’s reaction, she laughed, and I thought she had heard Sasha incorrectly.

I was disturbed about what I could have heard, and instead, I paused for a second. I remembered that I had listened to the rumor that Kate had come from another school and she had not done so here. I was very reluctant to address the matter to anyone immediately because I thought I would make Kate feel awkward. Furthermore, there was also a chance that I had misheard the school mates.

I took my lunch and then went toward the counselor’s office, where I found other students waiting for help. I was faced with a dilemma that should I stop and say something in defense of Kate, or should I leave well enough alone? I had so many things to consider as far as the issue was burning on my head. On one side, I asked myself, is it right for me to ask more about the matter because I never wished to miss the student's address on their behavior. On the other side, I thought it was right to note the incident and bide with Kate.

Truth vs. Loyalty and Individual vs Community

In this case, there was truth vs. loyalty from what I faced. I feel I should support Kate to defend herself because I was not sure what had happened. Also, the dilemma can be analyzed in terms of conflict between the individual and the community. It is possible that Kate would rather not be singled out as she might be championed bypassing teachers, regardless of her behavior. The disciplinary language that was being addressed by the fellow school mates may not be taken into consideration.

Short-Term vs. Long-Term

For short term concerns, they are only associated with satisfaction of the current needs in such a way to preserve the possibility of the future (Gonzales, 2019). Taking those actions, I also considered I had to preserve the rights of Kate as an individual. Assuming, for instance, if I acted now, what would be Kate’s fallout in the future? Long-term concerns are used to define the projection of the community and the future, and in such a way, the actions would not occur in the future (Gonzales, 2019). And in another way, if I choose not to act at that time, what would be the long-term lessons for the rest of the girls in the school?

Justice vs. Mercy

On the one hand, justices tell us that we should stay true to our principles (Anderson, 2018). It means I should have held to the rules despite the pressure I had at that particular time. Drawing to the case, I think the best by pursuing fairness without attention to the personality of Kate and the weight of the situation at hand. Considering the type of dilemma, it helped me to separate the right from wrong. On the other hand, mercy tells us to be careful with peculiar needs so that our case would find benevolence in every way possible (Anderson, 2018).

Resolution

I felt that I did not have a good time for a thoughtful analysis of this dilemma case. I quickly reacted because I thought it would be the best action and a safer approach. I thought back that I did not hear well what the rumor about Kate was all about. Therefore, it seemed disrespectful for cate, and most probably, this would hurt her and further could not be tolerated by the school.

Upon that, I regretted the decision I made because it did not resolve anything at the school and the learning of fellow students. I did not follow up with Kate and talk to her groups about specific behavior as a whole, which I think would affect the girl’s behavior negatively in the future. I feel this was caused by the constraints I had and lack of enough time to consider the best Course of Action (COA).

The actions I should have taken are that I should have signaled Kate alone and perhaps have the private conversation to discuss the impacts her behavior would have in the future not only for her but also for the entire school. Having a conversation between Kate and me, I would then engage her and get to know the facts about the matter. It could help me than design a plan that I could use to approach the rest of the girls and helps them learn and interacts with others differently.

I should have gotten to the bottom of the matter, but an ethical procedure must have been followed. I covered the issue, and I gained nothing. However, I feel I should have exposed it if I had enough facts about the matter. According to deontological ethics, actions should be based on whether what happened is right or wrong and under specific rules (Reid et al., 2018). The authorities say that it is better to take an immediate course of action waiting for consequences.

Utilitarian ethics concentrates mainly on the outcome or, in other words, the consequence of what a right or wrong. It holds that one should produce the best out every possible chance (Reid et al., 2018). The principle necessarily did apply in this case because if I exposed the matter immediately maybe, I would have ruined the life of Kate, although the outcome was that most people would benefit at the end.

For virtue-based ethics, a person is supposed to consider the moral character before carrying actions without feeling any considerations. The virtue says that there must be a common set of benefits all individuals involved (Reid et al., 2018). However, the virtues do not provide clear guidance on what ethical dilemmas a person should consider. The virtues are linked to a particular culture of the place.

It was difficult to expose the dilemma because it could be negatively perceived (Gonzales, 2019). The rumor was just speculation I heard, and I could not confidently disclose it to anyone with the facts at hand. Therefore, ethically according to schools’ conduct, it is wrong to expose speculations. Ethics in a dilemma is what you believe is correct for determining factor risk of the outcome. The more a person would risk, the nearer we get to know what is right (Gonzales, 2019).

Conclusion

In conclusion, I learned it is good to apply the greatest good for the greater number. That is, I was supposed to take any actions after noting all the information, the truths, although I was in the pressure of time. It would help me take the best course of activities and probably a big number of students would have benefited right away. I would have influenced so many students, even if there were a discriminatory language I would have used without the facts.

References

Anderson, M. (2018). GenEth: A general ethical dilemma analyzer. Paladyn, Journal of Behavioral Robotics, 9(1), 337-357.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40037-018-0412-2

Gonzales, S. R. (2019). A Leg to Stand On: Developing Core Beliefs and a Leadership Philosophy for Sound Ethical DecisionMaking. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2019(185), 43-51.

Reid, A. M., Brown, J. M., Smith, J. M., Cope, A. C., & Jamieson, S. (2018). Ethical dilemmas and reflexivity in qualitative research. Perspectives on medical education, 7(2), 69-75. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5889383/.