Читать книгу The Ethical Journalist - Gene Foreman - Страница 35

Inevitably, people face situations in which their ethical values conflict. The result is an ethical dilemma. People confronted with a dilemma must weigh the conflicting ethical values and choose one over the other.

A classic hypothetical story devised by the ethics scholar Lawrence Kohlberg illustrates the ethical dilemma: Heinz’s wife is dying from cancer. A druggist has a life‐saving drug but wants $2,000 for it. Heinz, who has only $1,000, pleads with the druggist to sell it for that amount. When the druggist refuses, Heinz has to decide between ethical values – honesty (not stealing the drug) or compassion (not letting his wife die). Choosing one ethical value means that he must violate the other. In Kohlberg’s story, Heinz breaks into the store and steals the drug. Kohlberg asks: “Should the husband have done that? Was it right or wrong? … If you think it is morally right to steal the drug, you must face the fact that it is legally wrong.” ¹⁷