Ethics Case Study – 7_ Moral Dilemma _ INSIGHTS

8/10/2019 Ethics Case Study 7_ Moral Dilemma _ INSIGHTS

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Akan d SitraOctober 3, 201 3 at 3 :52 pm

Oh my god. This question is just beautiful. An d two ethics questions in one day ? Nice.

Dilemm a in a civil servant s life is very comm on. In this scenario, it is the dilemma between Sav ing a life and Achiev ing a

dream . By becoming a n IAS officer, he can sav e hundreds of lives ever y week. He can impact thousands of people with his

policies. But, if he l eav es the dy ing m an on th e road and goes on to become an IAS officer. He wil l repent it for the rest of his life.

But, if he stay s on the r oad, sav ing th is mans life and takes him to the hospital and takes care of him. He will be ruining his

wh ole li fe. He needs to act somew her e in th e m iddle .

Since, he has ten m ore minutes on his hand to reach the office. And all the formalit ies in the UPSC office might t ake upto an

hour. Also, his interv iew is in the afternoon, so he has more than t wo hours with him . He should utilize these two hours to the

maxim um. He should call an ambulance first. This might ta ke atleast half an hour. Then, stay w ith the dying m an till then, til

local bypassers make a group. Make sure he gets on to the am bulance, a nd then ru n to the UPSC office. After his interv iew is

done (Takes half an hour), he can go back to the hospital to check on the father and his daught er. So, this way , he would hav e

done both h imself and the man a favour.

Reply

DDOctober 3, 201 3 at 4 :10 pm

Its a dilemma between hum anity and Rajiv s long cherished dream. Morally th ey both are topmost priority and in the giv en

situation one cannot be done by aban doning th e other.

Rajivs first action should be to call ambu lance on th e accident site and police also. If the am bulance or police arriv es

immediately he may hand over th e responsibility to them as he cant do much afterwards and should rush for his interv iew. In

case the ambulance and police inform him a bout t heir delay in arriv al then instead of waiting he should try to take help from

nearby people and make the fath er-daug hter duo to reach the nearby hospital by an au torickshaw or someones four-wheeler.

Rajiv a fter arr anging there suita ble means for reaching to hospital should rush to UPSC. In case he reaches there la te he should

not be discouraged rath er explain the w hole circumstances which cau sed the delay. There is huge probability that they will

allow him for interview as they require those personnel who are a ctually public serva nt.

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2/27/2014 Ethics Case Study 7: Moral Dilemma | INSIGHTS

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ShantanOctober 3, 201 3 at 4 :20 pm

He must imm ediately call for an am bulance or a PCR va n citing the emergency a nd identifying th e exact location. He must

start going and on the way, on seeing the crowd, must scream for help, tell them briefly about the accident spot and the

situation and request them t o att end to them u ntil Am bulance or PCR v an tu rns up. He mu st be on his way and reach Dholpur

House on tim e.

He must try to maintain his calm and tr y to focus his mind on the interv iew and give his best. After his interview, he can

inquire about th e hospital they are admitted to and v isit them.

Reply

champakaliOctober 3, 2013 at 4:42 pm

Since the m an is injur ed and girl is unconscious, first thing to do is to get the ma n an d the girl to the side of the road aw ay from

danger. Rajeev should then inform police regarding th e accident. He should also check mobile phone of the v ictim and inform

the m entioned emergency contact in any . After tha t he should try to provide necessary first aid to those injured. This would not

take m ore than a few m inutes. If some other people stop by at the accident site during t his time to help the v ictims, Rajeev ca n

leav e for his interv iew and ma ke it to UPSC office in time.

However, if no one stops to help the v ictims, Rajeev faces a dilemma wher e on one ha nd is his dream of becoming an IAS officer

wh ich he ha s been wor kin g h ar d for, an d on the other h an d liv es of tw o acc iden t v ict im s lie on a t hr ead an d th ey need ur gen t

medical attention. The ethical t hing to do at the moment w ould be to try to arrange for urgent m edical care for the v ictims.

Rajeev should try t o stop passing aut o rickshaw and ask them to take the v ictims to nearest medical facility by offering to pay

the tr ansportation fee.

If nothing works, Rajeev should try to take them to nearest hospital on his vehicle in spite of knowing he migh t miss the exam . I

any accident, early medical care is at most times a critical factor in sav ing lives and as the girl is unconscious and the m an is

bleeding , t hey migh t n eed urg ent medica l ca re. Rajeev cann ot possibly lea v e th em helpless to th eir fat e. A ny IAS officer needs t

be com passiona te an d em pat hi es wi th publ ic, an d as a aspir ing candida te, ev en i f Rajeev misses his c ha nce to be on e, by doing

the right thing and taking them to hospital, he will know at least his conscience is clear.

Reply

neerajOctober 3, 2013 at 4:43 pm

Rajiv h as to choose between a carr er path he ha s chosen and is about to fullfil and helping people whom he doesnot know and

wou ld die if n ot helped.

He should call 1 02 first and ask for ambula nce services. Also, he should call 100 a nd inform t he police. Then he ca n go on his

wa y to appear for h is in ter v iew .

Reply


I think t his question is not a g ood question because..

1 ) A guy who has been preparing for 5 year s wont leav e only 30 m inutes before exam , Most guy s keep at least 1-2 hour spar

time, so that they reach 1 -2 hours in advance at the interv iew center. So, its basically guy s fault if he faces this problem.

2) No informa tion has been provided about th e time taken from accident site to the interv iew. 10 m in left for interv iew

means, even if he gets stuck in a traffic jam, he loses his interview.

3) I think if such an accident t akes place, it is natura l for people to gather a round the spot.

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I think, m ore than explain ing wh at he did to reach this spot,(like tal king to gf/parents/friends etc.) u should prov ide

more details. Anyw ay s its a moral dillema.

Reply
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raghusharmagOctober 3, 2013 a t 5:11 pm

pls insight sir review m y a nswer & suggest area of improvem ent it will be of great help

Reply

neerajOctober 3, 201 3 at 5:08 pm

Oh. I forgot to explain my decision.

I think, savin g thr ee life is importa nt. But If Rajiv becomes an IAS officer he can sav e man y more liv es, lives of people who

are star v ed, of elderly, of widows and from ma ny nat ura l calam ities like floods etc. Gita say s that good of the collective

overr ides the good of the indiv idual.

Also, th e m an bleed ing is cr y ing wi th pain , t ha t m ean s he h as n ot lost muc h b lood, and ca n surv iv e. The gir l c hi ld is

unconscious, tha t m eans she is not dead. So, she ha d much chan ce of recovery as well. Th e accident took place in front of

Rajiv so calling am bulan ce would be the best option as they hav e time. Also Police must be inform ed to take proper legal

action.

Reply

champakaliOctober 3, 2013 at 4:46 pm

*empath ize^^ instead of empat hies (damn a utospellcheck)

Reply

raghusharmagOctober 3, 201 3 at 5:08 pm

3.10.2013:

7.Rajiv:

The present situation tests beneficence, nonma leficence & need to satisfy self ambit ion. Rajiv , if leav es, will violate th e

ben eficence(doing good of others) a nd m al eficence . A s on depart ur e it wi ll au tom at ica lly led t o ha rm for a ccid ent v ict im s. A nd idecided against leaving than his self ambition will be shattered.

The situat ion deman ds the decision ma king skills & moral strength of Rajiv.

Rajiv should depart from place if he m anag es to do below action.

He should imm ediately call nea rest police station,nearest hospital or close relativ e of of vict im or his friend to make some

immediate arrangement. Also he can gather information about any hospital in path to his UPSC rout. And he should drop the

v ict im s to en route hospital , con sider ing one w as con scious & other wa s child, th rough hi s bike , if t he conn ect ion w ith police or

hospital or any other arrangement in v ain.

However if above act ion are not open to Rajiv , tha n he should immediat ely conta ct to UPSC office explaining situation & asking

for both help & permission for lat e. If failed to gath er approva l th an h e should not go considering moral obligation of two persons

life is mu ch more th an his IAS(jobs) am bition. He can pursue other civ il services related job or work th rough NGO in futu re to

meet am bition of serv ing people. As IAS is ultima tely dedicated for serv ing public.

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Aditya JhaOctober 3, 2013 a t 6:24 pm

Good answer Ragh u.

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SREEJESHOctober 3, 2013 a t 10:37 pm

Really a gud 1!!
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Reply

raghusharmagOctober 3, 2013 at 1 1:1 0 pm

thks adity a & sreejesh

Reply

INSIGHTSOctober 3, 2013 a t 10:57 pm

Balanced a pproach. Good answer. Bu t I feel you should giv e one solid course of action he should ta ke instead of giving so

ma ny possibilities.

Reply

raghusharmagOctober 3, 2013 a t 11 :09 pm

thks sir will keep that in mind

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ashokOctober 3, 201 3 at 5:31 pm

Many great seers and leaders hav e stood by such a ha nging-sword-on-conscience dilemma. Abrah im ev en sacrificed his only son

Issac on the comm and of God or in other w ords comma nd of his inner v oice or conscience. Rajiv w ill also do the same believ ing

his IAS interv iew as his only son. He has to firm ly believe th at no force or au thority will be able to punish him for such a noble

cause. But he w ill deploy all his intelligence before the culm ination of final either -or contingency . As we know even if he is the

first to be interviewed he gets enough time in document examination and wait for the final call. So he has got around an hour in

han d. In the next 50 m inutes,keeping 10 m inutes for journey , he will ma ke calls to health services,police,relat iv es of the

patients if he gets from t heir cellphone. He will ver y assertively ask some v ehicle or auto wala to stop their and find atleast one

v olun teer to accom pan y hi m. Si nce th e ar ea nea r Sha hj ah an road ha s good med ica l fa cil it ies the v ehi cle or aut o can ta ke t hem

there in 20 m inutes only. While being in th e veh icle and after in forming some responsible custodians of the inju red ones about

the accident, Rajiv w ill simulta neously call at UPSC and get connected to some senior level official and nar rat e the event . Even

such official m ay be requested and expected to help Rajiv out as UPSC stands for uh olding such v alues. He can ev en take a mobil

v ideo cl ippin g of t he ev ent for fu tu re ev iden ce pu rposes in case he ha s to m ove high er au th orit ies or c our ts. Rajiv ha s to keep ful

faith in his course of choice. He will not get punished for th is noble act. By the tim e he reports to UPSC he may be in tim e and in

case he is slightly late th en he can refer th rough th e offficer to whom h e spoke. It ma y be expected tha t UPSC will inter v iew

Rajiv may be a little late same evening but will not be denied.

Reply


wh y dont u t hi nk th at he w ill not be den ied in ter v iew ?? w ha t i f it get s too late t ak ing th em to h ospita l a nd c ar ing for t hem ??

suppose it takes 3-4 hours.. w hat t hen??

Reply


also what is the phone number t o contact the UPSC officials.. do they giv e u any phone number to contact in case of

emergency ?? Also it seems u know a lot about ar ea in Delhi.. lol.. just kdding

Reply

neerajOctober 3, 2013 a t 6:14 pm
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also is it ethical to ma ke a v ideo of a person wh o is in pain and m ay die for ur selfish gain of getting in an int erv iew??

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ashokOctober 4, 2013 at 1 0:32 am

hehe no i just guessed that good hospitals should be around tha t ar eamy basis for this extrem e stand is purely on ethica

source.ra jiv h as to act logically and with due diligence till end but he has to keep him self prepared for ev en such a

situation wher e if he has to make a choice between his ias interview and sav ing life then he should decide in first thought

itself that he will let the interview gofollowing the traditions of great sacrificei feel that is the real contingency in this

question bcoz not many facts are giv enhospitals auto ambu lance th ese all ar e our assumptions..furth er if rajiv does

someth ing hal f way and comes for interv iew then he m ay become IAS but he will continu e to love his job more than

any thing he may face same dilemm a 2m arow..a nd let people die for sav ing his job..he will still hold the fear of loosing

IAS and in situat ions like commun al riots sometimes the district adm inistration keeps mu m bcoz very v iolent and

powerful forces are in operation around u,which may threaten u to remain m um or u will be punished and may even

loose your jobi feel all those IAS IPS officers let comm unal v iolence happen just t o save t heir jobs and positions in the

powerful world which th ey found dearer th an any thing inclu ding the lives of innocent peopleand ya th at v ideo clippin

point should be excludedalth ough i mean t th at ra jiv shoud take pic of the hospital gate etc an d not victim s to show it to

upsc or court h e asked for but point ta ken it should be excluded as it is not th e demand of the quesion an d it is very easy

to talk to higher officials in UPSC thr ough landline nu mber i ha v e done it ma ny times..ev en upsc instru ctions so say ,one

can readlets sum upi think the r eal thing u nder scrutiny here is that if rajiv is ready to make the h ighest sacrifice lik

Abr ah am or n otr est Insig ht Sir may th row some l igh tbcoz it m ay be li kely th at ta kin g ex tr em e sta nd m ay sound n ot

good from exam ination point of viewelse in exam ination of life one ought t o be like that only and i wish i need becorrected here for exam purposessir please giv e your comm entsany way tha nks for responding adity a

Reply

prernaOctober 3, 201 3 at 5:53 pm

Rajiv should immediately call an ambulance. An meanwhile make a phone call to UPSC office and explain the situation and ask

for permission for coming late.

If am bulance does not come, Rajiv should call any of his friends or rela tiv es who could help th e v ictims.

If nothing works then Rajiv should take them t o the hospital adm it them and take some certificate of there admission and check

if there is any identity proof or any phone contacts with t he v ictims of the accident and should call them and inform them the

details.

He should ta ke tha t certificat e of admission as a proof to UPSC and should conv ince them about th e incident and his act ions. As

saving a life is more important than a ny thing, and this v alue is a must in each of the civil service aspirant.

Reply


Prerna.. is asking for certificate practical? ev en if u take th em to hospital a nd even if the doctors decide to help them w ill

they hav e time to give u a certificate???

Reply


Insights I hav e one question.. I know the m oral thin g to do was to help the kid and the ma n.. but is tha t practica l???

Wha t sh ould i wr ite.. my own opinion or w ha t t he exa miner w an t m e to w ri te. . i don t t hi nk a ny one pr ac ti ca l w ould lea v e

his/her interv iew esp when its his/her last attem pt..

Wha t do u th ink shoul d i w ri te. . it s not a mat ter of wh at i will do .. w e ar e bein g ju dged by wh at we wr ite an d not wh at we do ? s

most of them will write tha t they will help and let the exam go.. but that is not practical and every one knows that..
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Should I write that i should help the kid and the man and prove that i am morally superior to other people or write what is

practical?? What do u th ink the exam iner wants??

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Read my answer, i h ope it addresses your concerns.

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to some ext ent..

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dryogeshdOctober 3, 2013 at 6:25 pm

Think a bout the entire th ing Neeraj. Th is question is intended to make y ou think, if y ou write something an d do someth ing

else, isnt tha t double standard? doesnt that m ean y ou are an imm oral person? What would y ou rather be? an Immoral IAS

officer or a m oral hum an being? Th ese types of questions are intended to make y ou look deep inside you, y ou are not just

preparing for IAS exams, it is not just about writing an answer what the examiners want, it is about looking inside yourself

and realizing wh at y ou actuall y t hink and do in such circum stances. It is about wh at pract ical step you should take to be a

moral person than w hat y ou wish to write on a paper.

Reply

Aditya JhaOctober 3, 2013 at 6:19 pm

Case study 7 :

Rajiv should tread a bala nced path. Neith er should he compromise on his career nor th e vict ims of the accident.

He should first call the Delhi city am bulan ce or emergen cy h elpline to pick up the victim s, as he him self would not be able to

carry them on the bike. Meanwhile, he should call one of his friends, explain them the situation quickly, and ask them to be

there at the emergency spot.

If the a mbul ance ar riv es in time so that h e can rea ch UPSCs office, he should do so. Here, he must inform his friend to take care

of the victims. Otherwise, he should wait at the spot waiting for the ambulance. It is natural that he would get late for the

interview.

keeping this in min d, he should go to the hospital with the v ictims and r equest for a proof of the accident fr om the h ospital

authorities explaining his dilemma, so that he can a ttend the interview. Then, he should quickly leave for the interv iew, while

keeping his friend incharg e of the situa tion.

He should show th e letter/proof to the auth orities at UPSC inform ing them of his inability to make it on time an d a genuine

reason for th e same. UPSC respects honesty and duty , and this should help him at tend the interv iew.

If Ravi would hav e left the v ictims, there was every chance that they would have died. Thus, he should recognize his moral dut

as a responsible citizen. Victim s of any accident could hav e be any one, ev en family mem bers. He should keep in mind tha t

every life is valuable and m ust be respected.

Reply

Vijay PateriyaOctober 3, 2013 at 8:06 pm

I think its a case of crossing w ord limitif tha t wa s 200 words

Reply
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October 3, 2013 a t 9:19 pm

Except introduction, your a nswer is right in a ll respects. In the introduction you can n ot mention that he should tread a

balanc ed pat h. His u tm ost duty wi ll be to sav e the l iv es in front of him . He becom ing an IAS officer i s un cer ta in an d it s m ore

uncert ain if he would save m ore lives as an officer later. Here he should, with out second thought follow th e principle of

utilitarianism i.e, m aximizing happiness and reducing suffering. Sav ing he m an cry ing for help before him and a little girl

fighting betw een life and death should be the para mount concern at t hat m oment. If accident v ictims are tak en to hospital

wi th in t he golden hou r, th ere is a max im um ch an ce of sav ing th em .

He can think a bout giv ing interv iew once he is satisfied tha t he ha s done his moral best. My point is, mentioning about

treading a balanced path in the intr oduction giv es a false idea. To sav e lives, he should be ready to compromise his career

too. I am sure, as y ou are also, UPSC will give him a chance to give his interv iew if he proves them why he was late.

Reply


Sure Insights. I should not hav e introduced like that. Th ank y ou so much for y our consistent guidance.

Reply

Mohit

October 3, 2013 at 6:49 pm

The approach of Rajiv should be to balance both the issues of ensuring m edical help to the v ictims an d reaching UPSC office in 10

mins.

As Raj iv is h im self r idin g a bike, he c an not t ak e 2 more people to a hospit al on his bik e. A lso, sin ce t he r oad is em pty an d no ca r

has stopped till then, he ha s to call for help. So the first th ing Rajiv should do is call an a mbul ance to the a ccident spot. After

tha t, he should lift the man an d his daugh ter cau tiously to the side of the road so they are at lea st out of harm s way from

another vehicle on the middle of road. Then he should immediately tr y to wash away the man s wound with w ater (if he is

arr y ing a bottle) and try to tie a clean han dkerchief on the bleeding spot. Since the dau ghter is unconscious, it is best to wait for

ambulance to arriv e and take no adventur e on his own.

Hav ing ta ken all t hese steps, Rajiv should now decide if should wa it for ambu lance to arr iv e and th en leav e for UPSC office or

leave im mediately for interview. Ju st waiting for an am bulance would not serve any practical purpose as he cant lessen the

pain of the pain neither can h e do any thing about the u nconscious daught er. Also, this is his last chance of becoming a n IAS

officer and th ere is no guarant ee that UPSC panel will a ccept his reasons for coming late for the int erv iew. So, it would be best fo

him to leave th e spot being conv inced morally tha t he ha d done all he could do in his power to save t he accident v ictims.

Reply

DuskyOctober 3, 2013 a t 8:41 pm

Ver y Well Expr essed.. I li ked y our an swer ..

Reply

dr NAVEENOctober 3, 2013 at 7 :11 pm

Rajiv ought to help those victims.The question arises that what is the ultimate aim of this human life-attaining pleasure or self

actualization

Becoming an IAS officer is not th e end in itself,it is also the m ean to ach ieve t he end i.e.self realization

Hedonistic view h olds that if we dont help those victim s and go for th e interv iew,it w ould give us pleasure.Pleasure is only th e

grat ification of lowerself. Gita tells us that the supreme good which is the higherself could be achiev ed only thr ough perform ing

our duties without considering its results.The duty of human being is to help others who are in need.Humanity is the virtue.

Here our conscience guides us that t he best moral a ction would be helping those victim s.This conscience also develops when we

think t hat if I was there,th e other person ough t to help us.The agony a nd pain of the v ictims compel our conscience to help those

v ict im s

If we consider the consequences of this action,Rajiv could not rea ch in t ime for the int erv iew.He could not be selected but it is

possible that if he r eached in time,h e migh t not hav e been selected.
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(personal experience)

REview insights and friends

.

Reply

Aditya JhaOctober 3, 2013 at 8:42 pm

Hi Dr. Naveen,I respect y our point of view . I hold similar v iews on m any issues, especially those related to hedonism an d Gita.

But, your answer says that becoming IAS (going for the interview) is achieving pleasure. I strongly disagree with it

personally . It is mu ch higher v alue th an pleasure. What about those other lives he could hav e sav ed by designing better roa

safety policies? What about those hungry souls it could hav e fed? When Arjuna w as told by Krishna to fight the Kaura v as

and ev en to kill them, it w as based on this wider notion of duty and v irtu e. Howev er, th ere can be no doubt about savin g a

life, i hav e reserv ations on the argu ment s forwarded by y ou regarding the pleasure in IAS.

We ca n disc uss a t l eng th s on th is, i request y ou to confin e it her e it self. It is ju st m y persona l opin ion.

The answer is well written.

Reply

dr NAVEEN

October 3, 2013 a t 9:19 pm

thanx aditya for y our feedback

Reply

DuskyOctober 3, 2013 at 7 :21 pm

# FACTS

- For Rajiv , this is the last attem pt after dev oting 5 full y ears into prepara tion

- On the day of his interv iew, accident took place on an alm ost empty road

- Hardly 1 0mins ar e left for him to reach UPSC office

# ETHICAL DILEMMA

- Ethical Egoism v /s Consequentialism

The former a ims towar ds maxim ization of self benefits, the lat ter on the other h and works towards the consequence of the act ion

wh ich should t eleolog ica lly be g ood for al l.

# CHOICES

(1) Be a rat ional m an and leav e the v ictims there itself.

(2) Keep self interest at ba y considering the n eed of the hour a nd try best to help those vict ims.

# A PPROACH

This untowar d situa tion has placed Rajiv in a complex ethica l dilemma wher e in he has to choose between 2 compromising

alter nativ es. Here th e confusion is between th e consequence of the action and inner conscience. Considering my self in Rajiv s

shoes, my moral conscience would definitely not allow m e to to leave th ose bleeding souls to themselv es. Thus, I would elimina te

choice (1) considering it too empirical rather than emotional (humane and considerate). Being present there, it is my moral

duty to take care of the surv iv ors and at th e sam e time inform police about the m ishap. My im mediate step would be to dial

public utility nu mbers for reporting the incident to police and arranging a n am bulance as hardly any one was there to take

them to a nearby hospital (Bike does not serv e the purpose here). On confirmation of their arr iv al to that place, I would then

proceed towards my destinat ion.

Being punctu al should be a priority for an officer to set an exam ple for th e society . But considering the dema nd of the situation,

serving the needy should be the topmost consideration. I am sure the int erv iew conducting staff would take cognizance of the

same wit h the proofs of the num bers dialed by m e and allow me to giv e the personality test.

Reply

DuskyOctober 3, 2013 at 8:49 pm

Insights and friends, Kindly Review my answer..
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Reply

INSIGHTSOctober 3, 2013 at 8:53 pm

Your an swer is th e best one so far in t erm s of flow, ar gu ment an d logi c a ll conv inc ing an d good.

Instead of directly start ing with facts, give a sma ll introduction. It completes y our answers.

Reply

DuskyOctober 3, 2013 a t 10:21 pm

Than k y ou for such encouraging words!! It fills a sense of satisfaction..

Reply

Vijay PateriyaOctober 3, 2013 at 7 :59 pm

In this case dilemm a is whether he should wait and act t o sav e the lives of the tw o who met accident or to leave them to their

fate and move t owards his aim.For any huma n,the v alues and the duties he inherited for being a h uman must be prior to

personal aim and so perform ed.

No doubt the ma n has giv en his all wh ile preparing for the job,gathered all his energies till the la st moment a nd now he is just

inches away he is in this dilemma , wherea s he still has little tim e to reach t he office further its an empty road,seems he is the

only one there w ho could lend help;surely if he leav es the lives of the tw o is in han ging.no doubt the only option ava ilable is to

help them its the prime job assigned being a hum an if he leav es them like this it proves his selfishness atleast.First of all call

am bulan ce,inform police now h e could think of way s.To me one option m ight be to call his friend to whose room h e stay ed so tha

if possible he could come and t ake th e char ge,second if not possible for friend t hen h e should wait for police or a mbul ance a nd

himself pay his humanitar ian duties.

In the course if he gets late to reach then h e migh t nar rat e the wh ole incident before the officials attending him at th e office and

request th em to give him a chance to proove his merit.

Reply

swapnil vadnereOctober 3, 2013 at 1 1:26 pm

Many times, person come across ethica l dilemm a.person tr ap in th e confusion between the consequence of action and inner

conscience.Here rajiv is facing t he same situat ion.

Huma n life is the m ost precious and sav ing it is more important t han a ny other thin g. No one should make excuses in the

situation wh ere to sav e the hum an life is utmost importance. Rajivs utm ost duty is to sav e the m an cry ing for help and a little

girl fight ing between life and death. In this case, Rajiv should be ready to compromise with h is career too.

The first thing ra jiv should do is that to call police and ambul ance. Just by calling th e police and ambul ance, Rajiv should not

leave th at place.Rendering imm ediate help after accident is very important.It is the moral duty of the Rajiv to move both the

injured persons to the side of the road and stand there wit h th em. On confirma tion of arriv al of ambula nce or police, Rajiv can

then proceeds toward his destination.

Being punctua l should be a priority for an officer. But considering the dema nd of the situat ion, serv ing th e needy should be the

topmost priority .Upsc will give Rajiv a chance to give h is interv iew if he proves them why he was late.

Reply

NitishOctober 3, 2013 at 1 1:36 pm

Dilemma faced by Rajiv : wheth er to save the inju red or to save his last cha nce of becoming a n IAS officer for wh ich he ha d put

so mu ch effort.

Options inv olved:
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1. Ignore th e accident, a nd go to UPSC.

2. Ta ke the inju red to hospital, an d say goodby e to IAS

3. Persuade others to take the inju red to hospital.

First option and second one ar e not feasible. In first ca se, to ignore an un conscious 5 year child an d her inju red father would

display stone-heart edness and la ck of care for others.

Second option means sacrificing the m uch ch erished goal, for which Rajiv has put so much effort. After puttin g 5 long yea rs day

and night h ardwork, an d missing the opportu nity at th e last moment will cau se lot of pain. It migh t become difficult for him t o

lead a stable an d peaceful life for th en onwards.

Third one is the m ost optimal solution. He migh t giv e away his bike(he can go to UPSC by au to!), mobile, money et c. to any one

wh o take t he inj ur ed to hospita l. He ca n a lso pla ce h is bik e in th e m iddle of th e roa d an d block it, so atl east some one in car w ho

hear s and sees the pain of the injured mig ht be mov ed to help them .

Reply

Sayan GuptaOctober 4, 2013 at 1 2:13 pm

The question What should Rajiv do? actual ly implies What is the righ t decision Rajiv needs to take?. On a personal note, I

think there isnt any

right or wrong decision what rea lly ma tters is whether Rajiv is clear to himself about his decision. If he is ok with h elping the

man and missing

his interv iew, so be it. Or else if he decides to giv e priority to his interview the key to achiev ing his dream an d not help the

man even then thereis no problem. The thing t hat ma tters is not to let tha t decision haunt him in the futu re. Best of both w orlds approach would be

ideal for him , but it

totally depends on tha t particu lar situa tion he is in what a re the options ava ilable to him at th at m oment. I believe on paper i

isnt tha t difficult to ponder over t housand possibilities about w hat should or shouldnt be done, but a real situa tion like this

offers you very less time, and at that moment being clear to yourself and not to regret about that decision in future is what that

is really important.

Reply

vipu lOctober 4, 2013 at 8:31 pm

In this situation, wha t should Rajiv do? Justify y our answer

Rajiv h as been working hard for five y ears and it is his last chance to fulfill his dream s. He wan ts to appear for the interv iew an

at th e same time wa nts to help accident victims. But th e situation allows him to pursue only one activity . Rajiv is in dilemma

but di lem ma seem s to be sel f-imposed.

Rajiv h as no legal obligation to stop for th e v ictims. Rajiv migh t ev en be successful to fulfill his dream of becoming an IAS officer

But Rajiv a ct will be imm oral as sav ing two life is far m ore significant th an a job interview in a ny kind of society. He will be

acting out of self-interest tha t does not relat e to public serva nts qualities. Further ,If Rajiv h as moral v alues then h e will

definitely r egret his immoral a ct thr oughout h is life.

If Rajiv stay s back to help the v ictims then h e is doing his moral duty . Moral dut ies hav e nothing to do with our specific

situations. Good people should alw ay s involv e in moral a cts, no matter w hat t he consequences will be. Rajiv has kept his

motiv ation level hig h despite the prev ious failures which signifies his commitm ent to serv e for the society & nation. Even if he

miss the interv iew, he h as good education & previous experience to get a decent job if not th e IAS. IAS is not the only mean s to

serve th e society & there ar e numerous platforms av ailable to pursue such inter ests.

If Rajiv int ention is to help the society after becoming a n IAS, here is an opportunity for him to save th e life of two persons.

Reply

csOctober 4, 201 3 at 1 0:06 pm

rajiv has at stake h is career and his dream job for wh ich he ha s toiled for fiv e long year s.but on the other hand th e life of a ma n

and his young daughter han g in balance.

rajiv should at once call the am bulan ce and also inform his friends with whom h e was sharing t he room.if possible he should

intimate the near and dear ones of the casualties after finding the relevant numbers from their mobile.

if rajiv kn ows first aid he can deliver the same to the v ictims of the accident.
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therea fter he should proceed stra ight t o the interv iew center.a nd if he arriv es late he should expalin th e entire episode to the

concerned auth orities.

Reply

ssreekanthreddyOctober 5, 2013 at 1 0:00 am

The dilemm a in th e given qu estion is between saving t wo lives and fulfilling ones own dream . Howev er ther e is no need for

compromising on either of them. Sav ing the tw o v ictims would require finding an am bulance or proper tran sport m eans and

joini ng th em in a n h ospita l w hi ch wou ld n ot r equir e m uc h t im e gi v en t ha t t he ac ciden t t ook plac e in th e m iddle of ametropolitan city . However this can make h im a bit late for his interv iew and he m ight m iss his interview. But since he is

aspiring to become an administra tor and giv en his confidence lev els, he should be equipped enough to be able to convince th e

boar d m em ber s abou t h is gen ui ne r easons for get ti ng dela y ed to t he i nt erv iew .

Even if UPSC board does not get convin ced and he looses out on his dream, t here ar e mu ltiple other options through which he ca

serve th e people. As he has prepared extensiv ely for the t op lev el exam ination in th e country , there is no doubt he ca n succeed i

other govt serv ice related exam inations. But there is no second option in case of saving t hose liv es. The regret tha t he could hav

saved them h ad he put effort w ould haunt him through out his life.

So I would suggest Rajiv t o help the v ictims get t o hospital an d give h is contact num ber for future correspondence to hospital

staff. Before leaving for interv iew he can also inform h is friends if any av ailable to reach th e hospital.

Reply

jpOctober 7, 201 3 at 9:03 pm

Facts:

-this is final chance for his much awaited and well prepared interview

-he is a past IT employee an d very capable guy

-seriously injured man and girl need help, which might be life saving if provided in time

Possible ac tions:

-he just ignore scene and go to interv iew

-he get fully engrossed in helping and forget int erv iew

-he help them, while ensuring that he somehow appear a t interv iew

My ch oice:

Since needy needs help and giver w ants his life not to destroy ed, a third part y has to come into scene. Its true th at Rajiv has to

attend situation as a fellow human being, which brings in empathy and helpfulness. But its also true that if Rajiv ignores his

interv iew th an consequences for him a re going to be bad, rangin g from psych ological to social. He ha s to first find out location of

the place and inform ambulance service at earliest giving details of the situation, in the mean time he start first aid processes if

he knows them w ell. He can inform his friend too about the situa tion and request him t o come to site so that he ca n help him in

carrying out activities and can takeover his role. If his friend cant come to site he should keep with them until they are

admitted. Every activity is bound to take time and surely exceed his 10 m inute limit, th us he goes to appear but it is

interv iewers who has to decide his fate. Most probably they will consider him but in case he is rejected he can ta ke consolation in

the fact t hat h e has saved two life, one of them is child.Although r isk involv ed is high bu t he wa s IT professional who is more

capable in l ife than helpless injured someone.

Reply
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Ethics Case Study – 7_ Moral Dilemma _ INSIGHTS

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