Extreme Moral Dilemmas — The Ones With No Clean Answer
Most everyday choices have a defensible way out. These do not. An extreme moral dilemma is one where every path causes grave, often irreversible harm — and you still have to pick. Sacrifice one stranger to save five. End a suffering parent's life because they begged you to. Decide who leaves the lifeboat. Philosophers call the harm you cannot undo a moral remainder, and these cases are nothing but remainder. They are uncomfortable on purpose: the discomfort is the data. Vote on the ones below and see whether the rest of the world flinches where you do.
Vote on this dilemma
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.
7 votes cast
Research background
Researchers distinguish ordinary trade-offs from tragic dilemmas, where both options cause serious harm that cannot be repaired afterward. The discomfort people report is itself studied as a signal of how the choice is being processed. SplitVote shows the live split on each one.
SplitVote is for entertainment and aggregate insight, not a scientific test.
Related dilemmas
A runaway trolley will kill five people tied to the tracks. You're on a bridge above them, standing next to a large stranger. Pushing them off would stop the trolley and save the five — they would die on impact. Jumping yourself would not stop it. There is no other option.
Your terminally ill parent is in unbearable pain and begs you to end their suffering. The doctors say weeks remain. No one will find out.
A lifeboat holds 8. There are 9 of you. Nobody volunteers. Someone proposes the eldest goes — they look at you and nod.
Your child is dying and needs medicine you cannot afford. You could steal it. The store owner is not evil — just running a business.
Related topics
No account required. Your vote is anonymous.