A situation where an agent faces conflicting moral obligations or values, making it impossible to act without violating some moral requirement. True moral dilemmas suggest that morality itself may contain irresolvable conflicts.
From Greek 'dilemma' (double proposition), combining 'di-' (two) and 'lemma' (assumption/premise). The concept gained philosophical prominence in the 20th century as philosophers debated whether genuine moral dilemmas exist or whether there's always a right answer.
Imagine promising to meet a friend for lunch, then encountering a stranger who desperately needs help getting to the hospital — you literally cannot keep both moral commitments! Some philosophers argue these situations show that morality is messier and more tragic than our theories suggest.
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