Ethical Dilemma | Definition | What is Ethical Dilemma ?

An ethical dilemma is a situation before a moral actor such that whatever choice he makes , he is likely to violate at least one moral principle.  An ethical dilemma is not just a decision making problem. In this the choice is between two possible moral imperatives, neither of which is clearly acceptable or preferable. It’s sometimes called an ethical paradox in moral philosophy.

It often amounts to choosing between two evils. For example, a whistleblower is always in an ethical dilemma because it requires one to either violate loyalty to the organisation / people in the organisation vs the public benefit of disclosure.