Classic thought experiments
The trolley problem
A runaway trolley will kill five workers on the track. You can pull a lever to send it onto a side track, where it will kill one worker. Should you pull the lever?
Moral Dilemma Examples
Famous thought experiments and everyday choices, each with the setup, the question and what it tests.
40 dilemmas · 15 classics with sources · 5 themes · Free
39 unseen in this selection (40 total). No repeats until you have seen them all.
What is a moral dilemma?
A moral dilemma is a choice between two actions where each one breaks something you believe is right, so every option has a moral cost. The trolley problem sets saving five lives against killing one; lying to protect a friend sets honesty against loyalty. Below are 40 examples, from 15 classic thought experiments to everyday cases.
Moral dilemma examples at a glance
| Dilemmas | 40, each with setup, question and what it tests |
|---|---|
| Themes | Classic thought experiments (14), Everyday dilemmas (7), School & students (5), Work & business (6), Medicine, tech & society (8) |
| Oldest | The Ring of Gyges, from Plato's Republic (about 375 BC) |
| Best known | The trolley problem (Philippa Foot, 1967) |
| Frameworks compared | Consequentialism, Deontology, Virtue ethics, Care ethics |
How to discuss a moral dilemma
- Read the setup and the question aloud.
- Everyone gives a first answer (yes or no) without explaining.
- Name the two values in conflict, using the 'What it tests' line.
- Argue the side you did not pick for one minute.
- Vote again and talk about who changed their mind and why.
Updated · Written and checked by the RandomTopics editors · How we curate · Site facts
All 40 moral dilemma examples
🏛️ Classic thought experiments
The trolley problem
Philippa Foot, 1967; named by Judith Jarvis Thomson
A runaway trolley will kill five workers on the track. You can pull a lever to send it onto a side track, where it will kill one worker. Should you pull the lever?
What it tests: Saving more lives (consequences) against actively causing a death (duty not to kill).
The footbridge (fat man) problem
Judith Jarvis Thomson, 1976
The same trolley is heading for five people. You stand on a bridge next to a large stranger. Pushing him off would stop the trolley and save the five, but he would die. Should you push him?
What it tests: Same numbers as the trolley problem, but most people say no: using a person as a means feels different.
The transplant surgeon
Philippa Foot; Judith Jarvis Thomson
Five patients will die without organ transplants. A healthy visitor is a perfect match for all five. Is it right for the surgeon to sacrifice one to save five?
What it tests: Shows why almost nobody accepts pure 'save the most lives' reasoning.
The Heinz dilemma
Lawrence Kohlberg, 1958
Heinz's wife is dying. A pharmacist charges ten times the cost of the only drug that could save her, and Heinz cannot pay. He thinks about breaking in to steal it. Should Heinz steal the drug?
What it tests: Kohlberg cared about the reason given, not the answer: rules, relationships or principles.
The overcrowded lifeboat
Based on the 1841 William Brown shipwreck (U.S. v. Holmes)
A lifeboat holds 10 people but has 14 on board. It will sink in the storm unless four people go overboard. Is it right to choose who goes? How?
What it tests: Whether killing some to save the rest can be justified, and what a fair method would be.
The murderer at the door
Immanuel Kant and Benjamin Constant, 1797
A friend is hiding in your house. A man with a knife knocks and asks where your friend is. Is it wrong to lie to him?
What it tests: Kant said lying is always wrong; most people think this case shows the limits of strict rules.
The ticking time bomb
Common in debates since the 1960s
A captured suspect knows where a bomb is hidden in a city. It will go off in an hour. Is torture ever justified to get the location?
What it tests: Preventing mass harm against an absolute ban on torture; critics say the scenario is unrealistic.
The drowning child
Peter Singer, 1972
You walk past a shallow pond where a child is drowning. Saving them would ruin your expensive shoes. Must you save the child? If so, must you also give that money to save a child far away?
What it tests: Whether distance changes our duty to help.
The experience machine
Robert Nozick, 1974
A machine can give you any experiences you want for the rest of your life. You would believe they are real. Would you plug in for life?
What it tests: If pleasure is all that matters, you should. Most people say no.
The violinist
Judith Jarvis Thomson, 1971
You wake up with a famous violinist's kidneys connected to yours. If you unplug in the next nine months, he dies. Do you have to stay connected?
What it tests: Whether a right to life includes a right to use someone else's body.
Jim and the villagers
Bernard Williams, 1973
A captain is about to shoot 20 villagers. If Jim, a visitor, shoots one of them, the captain will let the other 19 go. Should Jim shoot one?
What it tests: Williams asked whether your integrity matters when others' lives are at stake.
The ones who walk away from Omelas
Ursula K. Le Guin, 1973
A city's happiness depends on one child kept suffering in a basement. Everyone knows. Would you stay, or walk away?
What it tests: Whether great collective good can excuse deliberate suffering of one.
The Ring of Gyges
Plato, Republic
You find a ring that makes you invisible. Nobody would ever know what you did. Would you still act justly?
What it tests: Are we good because it is right, or because we fear getting caught?
The prisoner's dilemma
Merrill Flood and Melvin Dresher, 1950
You and a partner are questioned apart. If you both stay silent, you each get a year. If one betrays, they go free and the other gets ten. Do you trust your partner?
What it tests: Self-interest against cooperation; the logic of trust.
🏠 Everyday dilemmas
The found wallet
You find a wallet with $300 and an ID. Nobody saw you pick it up, and you are short on rent. Do you return all of it?
What it tests: Honesty when nobody would know, and when you need the money.
The cheating partner
You see your best friend's partner on a date with someone else. Do you tell your friend?
What it tests: Honesty and loyalty against the risk of being wrong or losing the friendship.
The bad gift
Your grandmother knitted you a sweater you think is ugly. She asks if you love it. Do you tell the truth?
What it tests: Kind white lies against honesty.
The extra change
A cashier at a small shop gives you $20 too much in change. You notice once you are outside. Do you go back?
What it tests: Whether it matters who loses out: a big chain or a person who may have to pay it back.
The broken promise
You promised to help a friend move on Saturday. Then you are invited to a once-in-a-lifetime event the same day. Do you keep the promise?
What it tests: How much a promise weighs against a big personal gain.
The neglected dog
Your neighbour leaves their dog outside in the cold all day. They are elderly and kind to you. Do you report them?
What it tests: Animal welfare against neighbourly loyalty and someone's struggle.
The secret surprise
Your friend is planning a surprise party for someone who has told you they hate surprises. Do you warn them?
What it tests: Respecting a person's wishes against keeping a friend's secret.
🎓 School & students
The cheating classmate
During a test, you see your friend copying answers from a phone. The test is graded on a curve. Do you tell the teacher?
What it tests: Fairness to everyone else against loyalty to a friend.
The free rider
One person in your group project did nothing. The teacher asks everyone to rate each other. Do you rate them honestly?
What it tests: Honesty and fairness against the urge to keep the peace.
The leaked answer key
Someone sends you tomorrow's exam answers. You did not ask for them. Do you look? Do you report it?
What it tests: Temptation, fairness, and whether not looking is enough.
The bystander
A popular student is mocking a quiet kid online. Speaking up might make you the next target. Do you step in?
What it tests: Courage and duty to help against self-protection.
Too much help
A friend asks to read your essay 'for ideas'. You think they will copy it. Do you share it?
What it tests: Helping a friend against being complicit in cheating.
💼 Work & business
The safety shortcut
Your manager tells you to skip a safety check to meet a deadline. Skipping it is usually fine. Do you skip it?
What it tests: Following orders and keeping your job against preventing a rare but serious harm.
The whistleblower
You find out your company is hiding a product defect. Reporting it could cost you your career. Do you go public?
What it tests: Duty to the public against loyalty and self-interest.
Taking credit
Your boss praises you in a meeting for an idea that was really your colleague's. Do you correct them?
What it tests: Honesty and fairness against a career opportunity.
The layoff list
You must cut one person from your team. One is the best performer; another is a single parent who would struggle to find work. Who do you let go?
What it tests: Merit against need: two ideas of fairness.
Hiring a friend
Your close friend applies for a job on your team. Another candidate is slightly stronger. Who do you hire?
What it tests: Fair process against loyalty.
The client's question
A client asks if your product can do something. It can't yet, but it will in two months. Do you say yes?
What it tests: Honesty against keeping the deal and your target.
🩺 Medicine, tech & society
The self-driving car
A modern trolley problem; MIT Moral Machine, 2016
A self-driving car's brakes fail. It can hit five pedestrians or swerve into a wall, killing its passenger. How should the car be programmed?
What it tests: Whether a machine should be told to sacrifice its owner.
The last vaccine dose
A clinic has one dose left. A 30-year-old nurse and an 80-year-old patient both need it. Who gets it?
What it tests: Saving the most life-years against treating every life as equal.
Safety cameras
Your city can cut crime by 30% with face-recognition cameras on every street. Is it worth the loss of privacy?
What it tests: Security against privacy and freedom.
Designer babies
Parents can safely edit an embryo's genes to prevent disease, and also to make the child taller and smarter. Where should the line be?
What it tests: Preventing harm against 'enhancement' and fairness.
The doctor's dilemma
A patient's family begs the doctor not to tell their father he is dying, because it will crush him. Should the doctor tell him?
What it tests: A patient's right to know against protecting them from distress.
The climate trade-off
Closing a coal plant would cut emissions but leave a small town without its main employer. Should it close now?
What it tests: Future generations against people's livelihoods today.
Pet or stranger
A building is on fire. You can save your own dog or a stranger you have never met, but not both. Who do you save?
What it tests: Whether a human life always outweighs a loved animal.
The AI artwork
You win an art competition with an image you made using an AI tool. The rules don't mention AI. Should you keep the prize?
What it tests: Following the letter of the rules against their spirit.
Four ways to think about any moral dilemma
| Framework | Core idea | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Consequentialism (utilitarianism) | Choose the action with the best overall outcome. | Pull the lever: one death is better than five. |
| Deontology (duty ethics) | Some acts are wrong whatever the outcome, such as killing or lying. | Many say don't push the man on the footbridge: it uses him as a means. |
| Virtue ethics | Do what a good, wise person would do. | Asks what kind of person each choice makes you. |
| Care ethics | Protect relationships and the people who depend on you. | Weighs loyalty to a friend in the cheating-classmate case. |
Moral dilemma FAQ
What is a moral dilemma?
A situation where you must choose between two options and each one breaks a moral value you hold, so there is no choice without a cost. Lying to protect a friend, for example, sets honesty against loyalty.
What is the most famous moral dilemma?
The trolley problem, introduced by Philippa Foot in 1967 and named by Judith Jarvis Thomson: pull a lever to divert a runaway trolley so it kills one person instead of five. Surveys find most people say they would pull the lever.
What is an example of a moral dilemma in everyday life?
Finding a wallet with $300 and an ID when nobody saw you, being given $20 too much change at a small shop, or seeing a friend's partner on a date with someone else. Each sets honesty or loyalty against self-interest or kindness.
What is the Heinz dilemma?
Lawrence Kohlberg's 1958 story about a man who cannot afford an overpriced drug that could save his dying wife and considers stealing it. Kohlberg used it to study moral development: what matters is the reason a person gives, not whether they say steal or don't steal.
Moral dilemma vs ethical dilemma: what's the difference?
In everyday use they mean the same thing. Some writers use "moral" for personal values and "ethical" for professional rules, such as a doctor's or a lawyer's code.
How do you use moral dilemmas in class?
Give students the setup, ask for a first answer by show of hands, have them argue in pairs from one of the four frameworks on this page, then vote again. Changes between votes are the best discussion starter.
More ethics discussion
Try ethical dilemma questions, ethical dilemmas for students, dilemmas for adults and workplace ethical dilemmas, or go deeper with philosophical questions.