Each person owes a duty to himself or herself and to the world to study ethics and to engage in thoughtful debate about what is right, and what is wrong. It is this habit of thinking about and reflecting on ethics that will help you determine the right choices when faced with an ethical dilemma.
Articulate a moral dilemma wherein one has to show a specific virtue or virtues (it can be any virtue or virtues including honesty, courage, charity/generosity, compassion, etc.)
What is the moral dilemma about?
What virtue or virtues should be shown? (You are here selecting the best course of action)
Why is that virtue or those virtues to be shown?
How should the virtue or virtues be expressed, and why in that manner?
Apply Aristotle’s golden mean to the dilemma.
Tell us how the dilemma involves conflict moral duties (loyalty to community versus to self, professional versus familial duties, national or personal obligations).
The dilemma must be a situation in which a choice has to be made. +1000, Include references , citation format is APA
Moral Dilemma: A close friend of yours is an undocumented immigrant, who has been living in the U.S. illegally for years. Recently they have been arrested and are facing deportation. Your friend has asked you to lie on their behalf and swear that they are a citizen when testifying before the court as part of their defense against deportation.
Virtue or Virtues to be Shown: Honesty, selflessness, loyalty
Why is That Virtue or Those Virtues to be Shown: Honesty should be shown because lying would be unethical and it could lead to serious criminal charges if discovered; selflessness should be shown because your friend needs help during this difficult time; loyalty should be shown because your friend needs someone who will stand by them through thick and thin and support them unconditionally.
Application of Aristotle’s Golden Mean – In regards to this dilemma, Aristotle’s golden mean suggests finding a balance between two extremes – either lying on behalf of your friend or revealing too much information which may incriminate him/her further – so that you can arrive at a solution which does not require compromising one’s morality (Gibson & Fraser, 2019). This means striving towards integrity by ultimately standing up for what is right without fully disclosing all details about your friends situation but still maintaining enough honesty so that it does not seem like you are outright lying under oath before the court.
Conflict Between Moral Duties – This moral dilemma involves a conflict between loyalty towards one’s community (in this case one’s close friendship with an undocumented immigrant) versus loyalty towards oneself (in terms of potential legal repercussions if found guilty). Thus there exists a tension between these two loyalties where choosing one over another may cause harm either emotionally or legally depending on how it plays out in a court of law regarding immigration laws within American society specifically tailored for those living here illegally (Lakshmi, 2017).