ethical dilemma
Right versus right
An ethical dilemma is a situation where moral principles conflict, making any choice feel like a compromise.
The classic trolley problem—let five people die or kill one to save them—illustrates the structure: competing values with no clean resolution.
She faced an ethical dilemma when her friend asked her to lie to the police.
The term appears frequently in philosophy, medicine, and business ethics.
- conscienceInternal moral sense
- tough callDecision with no clear winner
- moral ambiguityUnclear rightness or wrongness
- quandaryState of perplexity
- integrityMoral soundness and consistency
right thing · choice · conflict of interest · moral high ground · whistleblowing · predicament · utilitarianism · trolley problem · moral compass · no-win situation · gray area · slippery slope · confidentiality · equity · due process · lesser evil · ends justify means · duty of care
- inner turmoilinner turmoil, inner conflict, inner struggle, self-doubt, indecision
- moral talesfable, parable, moral stories, allegory, moral fables
- moralsmorality, moral code, moral codes, moral compass, conscience
- what-ifswhat if, hypothetical, thought experiment, speculation, conjecture
- ethicsmorality, deontology, dignity, sanctity of life, utilitarianism
- dilemmastough call, lesser evil, crossroads, fork in road, value conflict