Depth 1 · 34 s
The bruise
Kofi promised Dan he wouldn't tell. A week later Dan has a bruise. A dilemma is a choice where good values pull different ways, so something good is lost whatever you choose - and how to think one through.
About this video
Dan tells Kofi a secret: some older pupils have been taking his lunch money and pushing him around on the way home. "Promise you won't tell anyone," Dan says. "It'll only get worse." Kofi promises. A week later Dan comes to school with a bruise on his arm. Kofi made a promise; Kofi is also afraid his friend is being hurt.
Kofi's problem isn't that he doesn't know what is good. He knows two good things, and they point in opposite directions: keep the promise, since Dan trusted him, and protect his friend from harm, one of the strongest reasons there is. A choice where good values pull in different directions, so that something good is lost whatever you choose, is called a dilemma.
There is no formula, but there are good steps. Check the facts: is Dan really being hurt, or did he fall? Weigh the reasons: the promise matters, but Dan made Kofi promise before anyone knew how bad things would get, and a bruise is serious harm that may grow; many people would say protecting Dan has become the stronger reason. And look for a third way: the two obvious choices aren't always the only ones. Kofi could go back to Dan first - "I'm worried. Let's tell a teacher together. I'll come with you." - which respects Dan's trust and protects him.
Even after a good choice, a dilemma leaves something behind. If Kofi does tell, he still broke a promise, and he owes Dan an honest explanation and a sorry that it came to that. Feeling bad about the good thing you had to give up isn't a sign you chose wrong; it is a sign you saw both good things clearly. This video goes with the When Good Values Clash lesson of Ethics Level 1 on Knaph.
This video shows depth 1 of Moral dilemmas.
Learn Moral dilemmasTranscript
- 0:00Dan made Kofi promise not to tell. A week later, Dan has a bruise.
- 0:05Keep the promise, or protect his friend? Something good is lost either way.
- 0:11That's a dilemma. First check the facts. Then weigh the reasons.
- 0:17Then look for a third way. Let's tell a teacher together.
- 0:23Even then, something is owed. An honest explanation, and a sorry.
- 0:29Check, weigh, look for a third way.