Assignment Instructions
Heinz's dilemma is a frequently used example in many ethics and morality classes. One well-known version of the dilemma, used in Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development, is stated as follows:
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 produce. He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about $1,000 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 Heinz got desperate and broke into the man's laboratory to steal the drug for his wife. Should Heinz have broken into the laboratory to steal the drug for his wife? Why or why not?
Heinz dilemma. (2015, February 12). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:23, February 25, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heinz_dilemma&oldid=646764520
Theresa, Jose, and Darnell all have different opinions about the best option in the Heinz dilemma.
Theresa agrees with option 1: Heinz should steal the drug and not go to prison, because this is unfair.
Jose agrees with option 2: Heinz should not steal the drug because he would be breaking the law.
Darnell agrees with option 3: Heinz should steal the drug and accept any prison sentence.
Write a justification for all 3 possibilities in the Heinz Dilemma. This will require you to take 3 different perspectives on the dilemma, including ones that you may not personally agree with. For each possibility, include these points:
Why would a person believe this is the right option?
What age do you think this person might be?
What kinds of problems and successes is a person with this point of view likely to encounter during their lives?
Requirements:
Present strong arguments for each point of view, using a minimum of 500 words total, and using at least 2 resources to support your arguments.