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  • Essay / An overview of the ethical dilemma in a personal case

    Table of contentsEthical dilemmaResultAnalysis of the answerVirtue ethics and my answerApplication of different ethical theoriesConclusionEthics is the result of human interpretation of right and wrong. A person's ethical perspective will determine their behavior in a multitude of different situations. However, not everyone constructs their ethical schema in the same way. Various views on religion, society, good and evil itself will have a direct impact on the creation of ethics in an individual. (Heinrichs, Oser, & Lovat, 2013) Sometimes the situation helps dictate the type of ethical theory to use. Given all of this information, the following essay will examine a personal ethical dilemma before explaining how it was resolved and how the resolution may have been influenced by the application of different ethical theories. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayEthical DilemmaThe ethical dilemma that I am going to focus on in this article came to my mind about a year ago . I was in Atlanta visiting family for the weekend. Late one night, I was walking down an almost deserted street with my sister, when we heard a rustling in an alley. We looked into the alley and saw a large man repeatedly hitting a woman, simultaneously calling her several terrible names. While my first instinct was to go help him, my sister held my arm and encouraged me to call the police instead. I knew that if we called the police it would take time for them to get to our house and, given the intensity with which this woman was being attacked, she could be dead by then. I was immediately torn, wanting to help this woman, but also wanting not to put myself, or more importantly, my sister, in serious danger. Result Finally, I told my sister to call the police, while I approached the individuals in the alley. quickly. When I was about 30 feet from the duo, I yelled at the man to stop. The man looked up, saw me standing, and saw my sister near the street calling the police, and he ran down the alley, leaving the woman on the ground. When the police arrived, the woman was taken to the hospital, but not before thanking my sister and me profusely. Analysis of the response Although I made the decision to approach them directly in a short period of time, I thought about the consequences of my different options. I thought about protecting my sister, if the man decided to attack us too, and I thought about the other members of my family who rely on my support and who would be devastated if something happened to me. However, these ideas of preservation were drowned out by the idea that this woman probably had family and friends who loved her as well. Plus, I thought that if my sister was beaten, I would definitely want someone to step in and help her. I thought briefly about what was ethically right and ethically wrong in this scenario, but I did not apply any ethical theory or moral rules, nor did I think about what a person I admired would do in this situation. I might have had these thoughts if I had more time to assess the situation. Virtue Ethics and My Response I believe the ethical approach that most closely resembles how I handled this situation would be virtue ethics. (Heinrichs, Oser, & Lovat, 2013) I found myself in this situation because I thought it was the right thing to do and I wanted to protect this woman's safety. If I had to go through this or just wait for the police to arrive, I would be in direct conflict with.