Do you believe moral dilemmas reveal stages of moral reasoning-but not necessarily moral behavior?
Moral dilemmas can be decided morally or immorally. Sometimes the process is not completed and a decision is made without revealing the stages of moral reasoning. The person first reviews the “rules” – the community’s moral judgments or laws governing the dilemma. The person can decide at this point that the laws are irrelevant to the particular dilemma and make the decision. If the process continues, the person makes an attempt to fit the dilemma into loopholes, or justify an act in accordance with conventional morality. The person may decide his reasoning is flawed and abandon further exploration of the problem at this point, or may decide to make an “immoral” choice. The next part of the process involves coming up with options that are moral that will still resolve the dilemma, or deciding to act in a way that is “immoral” and take the consequences of the actions, which then becomes a moral choice.
