Analyzing Ethical Dilemmas

In order to formulate reliable moral decisions, a wide-ranging methodology to grasp the milieu in which moral choices are made must exist. Ethical issues and ethical dilemmas are not the same. On the one hand, ethical issues often arise as topics in discussion that many times result in the formulation of policy. On the other hand, ethical dilemmas are often portrayed as specific scenarios for which persons are obliged to select a certain course of action following some inner grappling with the issue. The road to making proper choices when facing an ethical dilemma has certain decision-making steps:

• Identify the facts. 
• Identify relevant values and concepts.
• Identify all possible moral dilemmas for each party involved.
• Decide what is the most immediate moral or ethical issue facing the individual.
• Resolve the ethical or moral dilemma by using an ethical system or some other means of decision making.