Moral Dilemmas and Requiring the Impossible

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Terrance C. McConnell, Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: It can be shown that the conjunction of three theses, each of which has been maintained by some philosophers, is inconsistent. The first thesis is that there are genuine moral dilemmas. Moral dilemmas are typically described in the following way: an agent is in a situation such that he ought to do each of two actions both of which he cannot do. For example, he ought to do A and he ought to do B, but he cannot do both A and B. (It is obvious that if there are genuine moral dilemmas, then the 'oughts' that conflict must be strict or absolute ones, and not merely prima facie ones.)

Additional Information

Publication
McConnell, Terrance C. “Moral Dilemmas and Requiring the Impossible,” Philosophical Studies 29(5) (June 1976), pp. 409-413.
Language: English
Date: 1976
Keywords
Moral dilemmas, Philosophy

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