Question

Dilemma I
Joe is a fourteen-year-old boy who wanted to
go to camp very much. His father promised
him he could go if he saved up the money for
it himself. So Joe worked hard at his paper
route and saved up the forty dollars it cost to
go to camp, and a little more besides. But just
before camp was going to start, his father
changed his mind. Some of his friends
decided to go on a special fishing trip, and
Joe's father was short of the money it would
cost. So he told Joe to give him the money he had saved from the paper route. Joe didn't want
to give up going to camp, so he thinks of refusing to give his father the money.
1. Should Joe refuse to give his father the money?
1a. Why or why not?
2. Does the father have the right to tell Joe to give him the money?
2a. Why or why not?
3. Does giving the money have anything to do with being a good son?
3a. Why or why not?
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4. Is the fact that Joe earned the money himself important in this situation?
4a. Why or why not?
5. The father promised Joe he could go to camp if he earned the money. Is the fact that the
father promised the most important thing in the situation?
5a. Why or why not?
6. In general, why should a promise be kept?
7. Is it important to keep a promise to someone you don't know well and probably won't see
again?
7a. Why or why not?
8. What do you think is the most important thing a father should be concerned about in his
relationship to his son?
8a. Why is that the most important thing?
9. In general, what should be the authority of a father over his son?
9a. Why?
10. What do you think is the most important thing a son should be concerned about in his
relationship to his father?
10a. Why is that the most important thing?
11. In thinking back over the dilemma, what would you say is the most responsible thing for Joe
to do in this situation?
11a. Why?
Dilemma II
Judy was a twelve-year-old girl. Her mother promised her that she could go to a special rock
concert coming to their town if she saved up from baby-sitting and lunch money to buy a ticket
to the concert. She managed to save up the fifteen dollars the ticket cost plus another five
dollars. But then her mother changed her mind and told Judy that she had to spend the money
on new clothes for school. Judy was disappointed and decided to go to the concert anyway. She
bought a ticket and told her mother that she had only been able to save five dollars. That
Saturday she went to the performance and told her mother that she was spending the day with
a friend. A week passed without her mother finding out. Judy then told her older sister, Louise,
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that she had gone to the performance and had lied to her mother about it. Louise wonders
whether to tell their mother what Judy did.
1. Should Louise, the older sister, tell their mother that Judy lied about the money or should she
keep quiet?
1a. Why?
2. In wondering whether to tell, Louise thinks of the fact that Judy is her sister. Should that
make a difference in Louise's decision?
2a. Why or why not?
3. Does telling have anything to do with being a good daughter?
3a. Why or why not?
4. Is the fact that Judy earned the money herself important in this situation?
4a. Why or why not?
5. The mother promised Judy she could go to the concert if she earned the money. Is the fact
that the mother promised the most important thing in the situation?
5a. Why or why not?
6. Why in general should a promise be kept?
7. Is it important to keep a promise to someone you don't know well and probably won't see
again?
7a. Why or why not?
8. What do you think is the most important thing a mother should be concerned about in her
relationship to her daughter?
8a. Why is that the most important thing?
9. In general, what should be the authority of a mother over her daughter?
9a. Why?
10. What do you think is the most important thing a daughter should be concerned about in her
relationship to her mother?
10a. Why is that the most important thing?
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11. In thinking back over the dilemma, what would you say is the most responsible thing for
Louise to do in this situation?
11a. Why?
Dilemma III
In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the
doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had
recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times
what the drug cost him to make. He paid $400 for the radium and charged $4,000 for a small
dose of the drug. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the
money and tried every legal means, but he could only get together about $2,000, which is half
of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying, and asked him to sell it cheaper or
let him pay later. But the druggist said, "No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to make money
from it" So, having tried every legal means, Heinz gets desperate and considers breaking into
the man's store to steal the drug for his wife.
1. Should Heinz steal the drug?
1a. Why or why not?
2. Is it actually right or wrong for him to steal the drug?
2a. Why is it right or wrong?
3. Does Heinz have a duty or obligation to steal the drug?
3a. Why or why not?
4. If Heinz doesn't love his wife, should he steal the drug for her? Does it make a difference in
what Heinz should do whether or not he loves his wife?
4a. Why or why not?
5. Suppose the person dying is not his wife but a stranger. Should Heinz steal the drug for the
stranger?
5a. Why or why not?
6. Suppose it's a pet animal he loves. Should Heinz steal to save the pet animal?
6a. Why or why not?
7. Is it important for people to do everything they can to save another's life?
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7a. Why or why not?
8. It is against the law for Heinz to steal. Does that make it morally wrong?
8a. Why or why not?
9. In general, should people try to do everything they can to obey the law?
9a. Why or why not?
9b. How does this apply to what Heinz should do?
10. In thinking back over the dilemma, what would you say is the most responsible thing for
Heinz to do?
10a. Why?
Dilemma VII
Two young men, brothers, had got into serious trouble. They were secretly leaving town in a
hurry and needed money. Karl, the older one, broke into a store and stole a thousand dollars.
Bob, the younger one, went to a retired old man who was known to help people in town. He
told the man that he was very sick and that he needed a thousand dollars to pay for an
operation. Bob asked the old man to lend him the money and promised that he would pay him
back when he recovered. Really Bob wasn't sick at all, and he had no intention of paying the
man back. Although the old man didn't know Bob very well, he lent him the money. So Bob and
Karl skipped town, each with a thousand dollars.
1. Which is worse, stealing like Karl or cheating like Bob?
1a. Why is that worse?
2. What do you think is the worst thing about cheating the old man?
2a. Why is that the worst thing?
3. In general, why should a promise be kept?
4. Is it important to keep a promise to someone you don't know well or will never see again?
4a. Why or why not?
5. Why shouldn't someone steal from a store?
6. What is the value or importance of property rights?
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© 1958, Lawrence Kohlberg. For nonprofit educational use only.
Unless otherwise noted, this content is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
7. Should people do everything they can to obey the law?
7a. Why or why not?
8. Was the old man being irresponsible by lending Bob the money?
8a. Why or why not?
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Text-Dependent Questions
Directions: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete
sentences.
1. Which of the following best describes a central idea of the text?
A. Our decisions are informed by a complex set of circumstances, values, and
social morals.
B. There is no right answer for what is good so the question of morality
should be ignored all together.
C. How we choose and how we act affects everything around us, intentionally
or not.
D. Love and loyalty are the strongest motivators, especially when it comes to
morally ambiguous situations.
2. Which of the following best describes the structure of the dilemmas?
A. The dilemmas are written like mini episodes or short stories, designed to
make the reader emotionally invested in the dilemmas.
B. The dilemmas are composed of vague hypothetical situations followed by
a series of equally vague questions, designed to make the reader think
about larger, abstract concepts.
C. The dilemmas are composed of specific hypothetical situations and then a
series questions designed to provoke the reader into analyzing and
introspecting one's morals.
D. The dilemmas are structured to imitate stream-of-consciousness narrative,
thus mimicking the thought process in decision-making.
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3. PART A: How does the first dilemma illustrate how familial relationships can affect
our actions and decision-making?
A. The first dilemma presents a situation between a father and son,
evaluating their obligations based on this relationship; family ties thus
affect our decisions (regardless of outcome) for they are based in complex,
deep-rooted ideas such as authority, loyalty, love, etc.
B. The first dilemma presents a situation between father and son, showing
how family relationships or love do not affect decisions; one should
disregard family ties in a dilemma because they are essentially
meaningless.
C. The first dilemma presents a situation between father and son, showing
(through the father's bad example) how a parent is obligated to put a
child's needs before theirs; thus family ties affect only parental decisions,
encouraging self-sacrifice.
D. The first dilemma presents a situation between father and son, showing
how the son (or child) must obey and respect his father's wishes; thus
family ties affect the decision-making of children more because they are
naturally in a place of obligation to the parent.
4. PART B: Which TWO of the following dilemma questions best supports the answer to
Part A?
A. "Does the father have the right to tell Joe to give him the money?"
B. "Why or why not?"
C. "Is the fact that Joe earned the money himself important in this situation?"
D. "In general, why should a promise kept?"
E. "Is it important to keep a promise to someone you don't know well and
probably won't see again?"
F. "What do you think is the most important thing a son should be concerned
about in his relationship to his father?"
5. What is Kohlberg's overall purpose in developing and using these dilemmas?
A. To make someone question their relationships and families
B. To prompt people into deeper introspection about their morals and ethics
C. To inspire future generations into studying the complex field of psychology
D. To create a fun way of analyzing personal and social values (like a
personality quiz)
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Discussion Questions
Directions: Brainstorm your answers to the following questions in the space provided. Be
prepared to share your original ideas in a class discussion.
1. Kohlberg only used men in his interviews. Do you think men and women would
answer some of these questions differently? Why? Explain your answer.
2. Some people criticize Kohlberg for overemphasizing the value of "justice"—do you
agree with this criticism? Is justice an important component of morality?
3. Do you think you would score high or low on the Kohlberg's scale of moral
development? Explain.
4. Do you think that this is a valid measurement for testing how "moral" a person is?
Why or why not?
5. What is "good" and how do we know? Use evidence from this text, from your own
experience, and from other literature and art in your answer.

Answers

GPT-4o mini
### Text-Dependent Questions

1. **Which of the following best describes a central idea of the text?**
- **A.** Our decisions are informed by a complex set of circumstances, values, and social morals.

2. **Which of the following best describes the structure of the dilemmas?**
- **C.** The dilemmas are composed of specific hypothetical situations and then a series of questions designed to provoke the reader into analyzing and introspecting one's morals.

3. **PART A: How does the first dilemma illustrate how familial relationships can affect our actions and decision-making?**
- **A.** The first dilemma presents a situation between a father and son, evaluating their obligations based on this relationship; family ties thus affect our decisions (regardless of outcome) for they are based in complex, deep-rooted ideas such as authority, loyalty, love, etc.

4. **PART B: Which TWO of the following dilemma questions best supports the answer to Part A?**
- **A.** "Does the father have the right to tell Joe to give him the money?"
- **F.** "What do you think is the most important thing a son should be concerned about in his relationship to his father?"

5. **What is Kohlberg's overall purpose in developing and using these dilemmas?**
- **B.** To prompt people into deeper introspection about their morals and ethics.

### Discussion Questions

1. **Kohlberg only used men in his interviews. Do you think men and women would answer some of these questions differently? Why? Explain your answer.**
- Yes, I believe men and women may answer differently due to varying socialization patterns and values instilled in different genders. Women might prioritize relationships and community in their moral reasoning more than men, who might focus on abstract principles of justice and rights.

2. **Some people criticize Kohlberg for overemphasizing the value of "justice"—do you agree with this criticism? Is justice an important component of morality?**
- I agree to some extent that while justice is important, it is not the only aspect of morality. Morality encompasses empathy, care, and relational dynamics, which are just as crucial. Justice should not overshadow these elements, particularly in personal relationships.

3. **Do you think you would score high or low on Kohlberg's scale of moral development? Explain.**
- I believe I would score at a moderate level. While I tend to consider social contracts and ethical principles, I also incorporate personal relationships and care into my decision-making, reflecting a mix of reasoning levels.

4. **Do you think that this is a valid measurement for testing how "moral" a person is? Why or why not?**
- Kohlberg's scale offers valuable insight into moral reasoning but may not capture the entirety of what it means to be moral. Morality is often context-dependent and influenced by emotional intelligence and relational dynamics, which are not fully accounted for in his framework.

5. **What is "good" and how do we know? Use evidence from this text, from your own experience, and from other literature and art in your answer.**
- "Good" often refers to actions that promote well-being, fairness, and empathy. We know what is good through cultural values, personal experiences, and philosophical reasoning. Literature often explores themes of good versus evil, such as in "To Kill a Mockingbird," where empathy and moral courage are emphasized. Personal experiences shape our understanding of good based on the impact of our actions on ourselves and others.

Feel free to expand or modify these responses as per your classroom discussion needs!

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