Moral Dilemmas: 15 Real Examples and How the World Votes
The most famous moral dilemmas with concrete examples — from the trolley problem to AI ethics. See live SplitVote poll results for each one.
A moral dilemma isn't just a hard problem. It's a situation where both choices are defensible — and you have to pick one anyway.
Here are 15 concrete examples of moral dilemmas — from classic philosophy to everyday situations. For each one, you can see how the world votes on SplitVote.
What Makes a Real Moral Dilemma
It's not enough for the choice to be difficult. A moral dilemma has three features: both options have real, significant consequences; neither is clearly wrong on ethical grounds; the choice reveals a conflict between genuine values — not between good and evil.
Dilemmas don't exist to find the right answer. They exist to show which value wins when two values collide.
The SplitVote results in this article are user polls — not scientific research. Numbers update in real time.
The Classics: Dilemmas That Have Lasted Decades
1. The Trolley Problem
A runaway trolley is heading toward five people tied to the track. You can divert it to a side track where one person is tied. Do you pull the lever?
The split is more balanced than most people expect before voting. See the live result on SplitVote.
2. The Organ Harvest
A surgeon can save five dying patients by taking organs from one healthy patient without consent. The math is identical to the trolley problem. The votes tell a different story.
The medical context shifts moral perception — even with identical numbers. See the live result on SplitVote.
3. The Lifeboat
A lifeboat holds 8 people. There are 12 survivors. Someone has to decide who boards — and who stays in the water. Who has the right to decide? On what basis?
Dilemmas About Truth and Loyalty
4. The Friend's Secret
Your best friend asks for your honest opinion on something important. You know the truth will hurt them. What do you do?
The split between those who say everything and those who protect their friend is sharp. See the live result on SplitVote.
5. Report or Stay Silent
You discover that a close friend has committed a serious crime. You witnessed it yourself. Do you report them or say nothing? The result shifts significantly depending on how the crime is described.
6. The Forbidden Cure
A cure exists for a fatal disease. But obtaining it requires an action most people consider ethically unacceptable. Would you do it?
Dilemmas About Identity and Memory
7. Erasing a Memory
You can delete the most painful memory of your life. The catch: that memory shaped who you are. After the erasure, you'd be a different person. Is it worth it?
See the live result on SplitVote.
8. Starting Over
Live another 40 years as you are now — or another 80 starting from scratch, with nothing you've built. Which do you choose?
9. Knowing Your Death
You're offered the chance to know the exact date of your death — but not the cause. Or the cause — but not the date. Pick one.
Everyday Life Dilemmas
10. The Betrayed Partner
You find out that your best friend's partner is cheating on them. Your friend hasn't asked you anything. Do you tell them?
11. Sacrificing for the Future
A costly action for you today could prevent enormous suffering for many people twenty years from now. No guarantees. Nobody will know. Do you act?
12. The Doctor Who Chooses Not to Tell Everything
A doctor knows that communicating the full diagnosis would psychologically destroy the patient and reduce their chances of survival. Do they tell everything — or choose what to reveal?
13. The Predictive Algorithm
An AI system predicts with high accuracy who will commit a serious crime in the next five years. Can you restrict those people's freedom before they've done anything?
14. The Difficult Inheritance
You can receive a large fortune from someone you considered morally reprehensible. The money would be yours, unconditionally. Do you accept it?
15. The Only Spot
Two people. One spot to be saved. One is your sister. The other is a doctor who could save many lives in the future. Who do you choose?
What the Votes Reveal
The most interesting thing in SplitVote results isn't which option wins. It's that almost every dilemma splits significantly — often 40/60 or 45/55 — even when the answer seems obvious before voting.
Moral dilemmas don't test your ethical knowledge. They test which value system you've internalized: consequentialist (outcomes matter), deontological (actions matter in themselves), or virtue-based (what would a person of integrity do?). Most people hold all three — until a dilemma puts them in direct conflict.
Try It Yourself
Reading a dilemma and actually voting are two different experiences. The moment you have to really choose, the position that seemed obvious becomes suddenly much less clear.
Want to see what the world would actually choose? Try SplitVote and compare your answers with other users.
Frequently asked questions
What is a moral dilemma?
A moral dilemma is a situation where two genuine values collide and you can only honour one. Both options have real consequences, neither is clearly wrong on ethical grounds, and the choice reveals which value you actually prioritise — not which one you say you do. A hard problem is not automatically a dilemma; it becomes one only when the two sides are both defensible.
What are some real-life examples of moral dilemmas?
Beyond the classic trolley problem, real-life moral dilemmas include telling a friend their partner is cheating, reporting a close friend for a serious crime, accepting an inheritance from someone you considered immoral, deciding whether a doctor should reveal a devastating diagnosis, and choosing between saving a relative or a stranger who could help many others. The shared shape is the same: two values you hold, one decision that cannot honour both.
What is the most famous moral dilemma?
The trolley problem, introduced by philosopher Philippa Foot in 1967, is the most cited moral dilemma in modern ethics. A runaway trolley will kill five people unless you divert it to kill one. The split among voters is far more balanced than most people expect before they actually have to choose — which is precisely why it has lasted for decades as a teaching tool.
Are moral dilemmas only philosophical thought experiments?
No — most real moral dilemmas happen in everyday life, not in philosophy classrooms. They appear in workplaces (cover for a colleague or report them?), families (tell the truth or protect someone from pain?), medicine (full disclosure or compassionate filtering?), and law (loyalty to a friend or to justice?). The thought experiments simplify these everyday tensions so they can be analysed; the underlying conflicts are real.
Why do people answer moral dilemmas so differently?
Because people implicitly use different ethical frameworks. Consequentialists weigh outcomes (the most lives saved wins). Deontologists weigh actions themselves (some acts are wrong regardless of consequences). Virtue ethicists ask what a person of integrity would do. Most people carry all three frameworks at once — until a dilemma forces them into direct conflict, and then one framework wins. Vote splits of 40/60 or 45/55 across thousands of voters reflect this underlying disagreement, not confusion.
Educational content, not professional advice of any kind. SplitVote results are user polls, not scientific research. All scenarios are hypothetical.
Related dilemmas
A runaway trolley is heading toward 5 people. You can pull a lever to divert it — but it will kill 1 person instead.
Vote →You discover a cure for cancer, but it only works if you keep the formula secret — sharing it would destroy the compound's effectiveness forever.
Vote →A pill erases all your painful memories — but also the lessons you learned from them. You become happier but more naive.
Vote →You are a doctor. One healthy patient's organs could save the lives of 5 people dying in the next room. No one would ever know.
Vote →A lifeboat holds 8. There are 9 of you. Nobody volunteers. Someone proposes the eldest goes — they look at you and nod.
Vote →Your closest friend is about to quit their job, sell their apartment, and move abroad for a 4-month-old relationship. They ask you honestly: 'Do you think I'm making a mistake?'
Vote →