Dilemmas

A dilemma is a situation in which a person must choose between two or more alternatives, each of which is undesirable or incompatible with the others. In philosophy and rhetoric, dilemmas describe problems where two or more options threaten unacceptable consequences or conflict with central obligations or values. The term comes from the Greek di- “two” and lemma “premise or proposition,” and has been used since antiquity to describe difficult decision points.

Dilemmas are often categorized as ethical or practical. Ethical or moral dilemmas involve conflicting duties, rights, or values, such as whether to tell a harmful truth or protect someone’s privacy. Practical dilemmas hinge on resource limits, risk, or timing, where every feasible choice carries costs. Other varieties include logical dilemmas, where reasoning leads to two or more incompatible conclusions, and policy dilemmas, where rules clash in public decision making.

Familiar examples include the trolley problem, a moral dilemma about whether to take action to divert harm from five people to one; and the Prisoner’s Dilemma, a game-theory scenario in which rational self-interest leads to a worse outcome for all participants than cooperation. Dilemmas can also arise in law, medicine, and everyday life, from deciding how to balance privacy with safety to choosing between opposing loyalties.

Approaches to resolving dilemmas include clarifying values and obligations, applying ethical frameworks such as utilitarianism or deontology, seeking additional information or options, delay and negotiation, and, when possible, seeking creative compromises or policy-based rules. Even when no option is fully satisfactory, examining the trade-offs can illuminate priorities and guide responsible decision making.