Philosophy Ideas & discovery

How to think through an ethical dilemma

Reason clearly when reasonable people disagree about what is right.

State the facts and uncertainties, identify affected people, then compare consequences, duties and character. Explain where those considerations conflict and what could change your judgment. A framework helps structure reasoning; it does not automatically select the right action.

Want new features first?

Start with three things you can do today

A starting goal

I want to reason more clearly about ethical dilemmas. Compare consequences, duties, and virtues using everyday cases where reasonable people might disagree.

Change any word so it fits your situation. The course is built from what you type and a few setup questions.

Start today

Three things you can do before the course exists.

Useful on their own. The course is for when you want the whole skill, not just the first move.

Make the competing reasons explicit
Original case: you promised to help a friend prepare an exhibition, but another friend asks for help with an unexpected move on the same afternoon. Neither request is an emergency in this example. Check whether other helpers or a change of time are actually possible.
Compare three questions
Consequences: what help or harm would each option produce? Duties: what weight does the existing promise carry? Character: what would a reliable and considerate response look like? The same action might satisfy more than one consideration; do not assume the lenses must disagree.
Give a reason someone else can examine
One defensible response might honor the promise while offering another time or helper for the move. If a serious urgent need emerged, reconsider the balance. Name that condition. The check is the quality and consistency of your reasons, not whether your answer matches an automatic score.

Best for: Philosophy
Prerequisites: None. Bring the situation you have.
Course length: 7 to 30 lessons
Pace: Yours. One lesson at a time, as often as you like.
Format: Read it, or play the audio
Access: Available on the App Store and Google Play, with an optional early testing list

Before the course is built

Setup asks about your situation first.

Lesson 1 opens on the moment you describe, and the examples use your role. For this request, expect questions like these.

Where do dilemmas arise for you: work, family, money, public questions?
Do you tend to decide by gut, by rules, or by outcomes?
Is there a dilemma you are facing now?

Right for now

If any of this sounds familiar, start here.

You feel strongly and cannot argue it

The conviction is there and the reasoning is not.

Work puts you in gray areas

The rules run out and you are left with judgment.

You want to disagree better

Ethical arguments with others go nowhere and you would like to understand why.

Course arc

Where the course goes, in order.

Cadence writes the lessons for you, so the exact path follows your answers. This is the ground a course built from this sentence covers.

01 / 06

Why ethics is hard

Competing goods, uncertainty and the limits of rules.

Consequences

Weighing outcomes, and where that reasoning breaks down.

Duties

Rules, rights and the things you should not do even for a good result.

Virtues

What a good person would do, and why character matters to ethics.

Real cases

Working dilemmas where the lenses conflict.

Reasoning together

Disagreeing about ethics productively, and changing your mind when you should.

What changes

What you will be able to do, and what you will stop believing.

You will be able to

Use three lenses

Apply consequences, duties and virtues to the same case and see what each reveals.

Locate the disagreement

Find where two reasonable people actually part ways.

Defend a position

Reason to a view you can explain and revise.

Ideas this course corrects

A moral conclusion is supported merely because it is strongly felt

Identify the reasons, facts and assumptions that could be questioned.

Combining three frameworks eliminates disagreement

People may still disagree about values, facts or their relative weight. State the remaining disagreement fairly.

Course questions

What to know before you start.

How to think through an ethical dilemma: what can I do today?

Make the competing reasons explicit. Original case: you promised to help a friend prepare an exhibition, but another friend asks for help with an unexpected move on the same afternoon. Neither request is an emergency in this example. Check whether other helpers or a change of time are actually possible. Compare three questions. Consequences: what help or harm would each option produce? Duties: what weight does the existing promise carry? Character: what would a reliable and considerate response look like? The same action might satisfy more than one consideration; do not assume the lenses must disagree. Give a reason someone else can examine. One defensible response might honor the promise while offering another time or helper for the move. If a serious urgent need emerged, reconsider the balance. Name that condition. The check is the quality and consistency of your reasons, not whether your answer matches an automatic score.

Is this a fixed course?

No. Cadence builds the course when you type the sentence and answer a few setup questions, so the lessons follow your situation. This page describes what a course built from this request covers. You see the whole path before Lesson 1.

Who is this course for?

Do I need any prior experience?

No. Setup asks what you already know and where you want to use it, and the course starts from there. Bring a real situation if you have one; the examples are built around it.

How long does it take?

Most courses run 7 to 30 lessons. The course length is sized to what you asked for. You set the pace: one lesson at a time, as often as you like. Lessons can be read or played as audio.

Does this course award a certificate or degree?

No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.