ethical quandary
Right-versus-right conflict
An ethical quandary is a situation where moral principles conflict, making it unclear what the right course of action is.
Unlike simple moral questions, a quandary involves competing goods or duties that can't all be honored: The doctor faced an ethical quandary when patient confidentiality conflicted with public safety.
The phrase often signals genuine difficulty rather than mere inconvenience.
- dilemmaForced choice between undesirables
- moral dilemmaChoice testing one's values
- moralConcerning right conduct
- conscienceInternal moral sense
- good conscienceInner moral ease
conflict · choice · right thing · crossroads · predicament · conundrum · integrity · values · judgment · troubling · wrongdoing · gray · gray area · murky · fine line · torn · weighing · lesser evil
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