A Few Moral Dilemmas
| Author | Message |
LogicalRoger 
Posts: 2440
|
 Posted: 11:51PM Oct 4, 2012 |
|
Hi, guys. I need your help here. I need to write a paper on the way adolescents respond to moral problems. I probably should be asking people in person for verification, but I don't want to go to the school I usually do just to ask a few questions and then go back. As long as a few people are honest with their responses and grade levels and give me good feedback, it should be fine.
I need two adolescents to answer both of the following prompts and to explain what they would do in the situation and why they would do it. Really try to explain your reasoning if you can. Please tell me your grade and gender (if it isn't obvious) so that I can compare various variables.
Of course, besides my assignment, moral dilemmas can be fun to answer and the following two are open to everyone to answer. Heck, I don't know if it's worth anything, but I'll probably give my opinion after enough people answer.
Thanks for any help you can give, guys. :]
Prompt 1: Your best friend, Alex, has a crush on Tracy. But, Tracy doesn't feel the same way about Alex. Tracy asks you out, instead. To make things complicated, you really like Tracy. What will you do? Explain why you will do so.
Prompt 2: Your friend, Chris, is doing drugs. His grades have been slipping recently and he almost got into a big accident one day because he was high while driving. You know Chris would hate you if you told his parents about the drugs, but you're afraid Chris's life is being ruined because of them. What do you do? Explain why you will do that.
|
| Back to Top |
View Profile
Send PM
|
JQPublic
Posts: 1752
|
|
Posted: 07:12AM Oct 5, 2012 |
|
Prompt 2's about driving. Is the 'me' in the above situations assumed to be young adult rather than adolescent, i.e. are you asking what we'd do if we were in our twenties now?
'An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself.' - Charles Dickens |
| Back to Top |
View Profile
Send PM
Visit Wiki
|
LogicalRoger
Posts: 2440
|
|
Posted: 11:28AM Oct 5, 2012 |
|
The main problem about prompt 2 is that your friend is doing drugs, so just assume you have to make the decision today. Also, please tell me your grade so that I can see how age may or may not affect morals.
|
| Back to Top |
View Profile
Send PM
|
JamFish 
Posts: 28
|
|
Posted: 01:25PM Oct 5, 2012 |
|
Grade: 11
Gender: Two-spirited, so you could put me as either but I am biologically female.
Prompt 1: I would talk to Alex about how he'd feel if I did date Tracy. He was my friend first and most high school relationships don't last anyway. If Tracy is looking for something serious because she honestly likes me and we click AND Alex won't be too upset, I'd consider it.
Prompt 2: I'd talk to Chris first, point out how he's ruining his life and how it makes me feel and how it scares me. At the end of the conversation I'll give him three options. 1. Get clean with my help and stay clean. 2. Tell your parents on your own and get clean with their help, though I'm always here. 3. I will tell for you. I would refuse to watch a friend ruin his life, even if he dislikes me or hates me for it. I'd rather know a friend is safe and healthy and hating me than dead.
Lookey here, I've got a window sheet! |
| Back to Top |
View Profile
Send PM
Visit Wiki
|
LogicalRoger
Posts: 2440
|
|
Posted: 04:23PM Oct 5, 2012 |
|
Thanks for helping, Jam.  I hope you don't mind some follow ups.
For prompt 1 - What would you do if you clicked with Tracy but you think Alex would be really upset by it? If you then choose not to go out with Tracy, how do you think he would feel? Would that be the right thing to do as a friend? What if rejecting Tracy would break his heart? What would you do if either choice would make you seem a bad person to whoever you didn't choose?
For prompt 2 - If Chris refused help in giving up the drugs, saying he really liked it and that he felt it really helped him think about what was important to him, how would you respond to his argument? How would the situation change if Chris knew a dirty secret about you and threatened to tell your parents if you told on him? How would your reaction change if you and his parents were the only ones who saw a problem? Would you still try and stop him or would that somehow make the situation less problematic because, if anything, doing drugs only made him seem better to others?
Yeah, just playing devil's advocate. Hopefully it's not too troublesome. Thanks again. :]
|
| Back to Top |
View Profile
Send PM
|
LogicalRoger
Posts: 2440
|
|
Posted: 06:29PM Oct 7, 2012 |
|
Well, thanks for the initial response, at least. Looks like I'll have to find another way since the deadline's almost here. But if anyone cares to, feel free to continue to discuss it.
|
| Back to Top |
View Profile
Send PM
|
Smithy  
Posts: 961
|
|
Posted: 04:23AM Oct 9, 2012 |
|
I know I'm not within the demographic of usefulness, but I thought this was an interesting thing to consider nonetheless. 
Scenario 1, I'd like to think I'd decline, on the basis of putting my best friend's feelings first... no matter what he says, no guy in that situation would ever be happy seeing his best friend going out with the girl he likes, and the sheer awkwardness of the situation would probably ruin the friendship.
Deviating further from your initial goal (my apologies) I'd like to ask how people would want or expect their best friend to act if they were in Alex's situation?
Scenario 2, I'd talk to Chris about it first. I guess I'd go pretty much the same way as Jam, I wouldn't really want to tell his parents but would do so if he can't sort himself out without that. Even if it ruins the friendship it'd probably lead to a happier ending for all involved.
---This message was edited on 04:24AM Oct 9, 2012--- |
| Back to Top |
View Profile
Send PM
Visit Wiki
|
JQPublic
Posts: 1752
|
|
Posted: 08:24AM Oct 9, 2012 |
|
Sorry for replying late. I've been pretty busy this week. Still, here are my answers in case they will still prove useful.
Grade: About 10
Gender: Male
Prompt 1: Your best friend, Alex, has a crush on Tracy. But, Tracy doesn't feel the same way about Alex. Tracy asks you out, instead. To make things complicated, you really like Tracy. What will you do? Explain why you will do so.
Put simply, I wouldn't do anything. Since the cognitive development of teenagers is not yet completed, any 'feelings' at this stage almost have to be false, and will surely result in a painful separation in the future.
If this happened after I become an adult, I'd probably do the same. If I date Tracy, I lose a friend; if I don't, I keep two.
Prompt 2: Your friend, Chris, is doing drugs. His grades have been slipping recently and he almost got into a big accident one day because he was high while driving. You know Chris would hate you if you told his parents about the drugs, but you're afraid Chris's life is being ruined because of them. What do you do? Explain why you will do that.
First, I'll tell him not to drive until he's old enough to get a driving licence!  I'd actually tell his parents at once. His parents are responsible for him, so keeping them in the dark is certainly not an option. If something big happens later, I'd feel really guilty about not telling them, and their parents wouldn't be happy about it either. Also, I don't think it's possible for him to get out of drugs without the help of adults.
'An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself.' - Charles Dickens |
| Back to Top |
View Profile
Send PM
Visit Wiki
|
 | |
|
Access Restricted
