Peer Discussion Responds:

1st peer-

Moral Dilemma- The Dark Knight (2008). I chose this movie because there are quite a few moral dilemmas. In the movie two dilemmas really stand out to me and thats the dilemma batman faces with his identity and telling people and the dilemma during the boat scene when each of the two boats are carrying explosives and have to decide who to take out, the prisoners boat or the civilian boat. I believe that these two dilemmas are crucial in the movie because of how the story is set up, the "hero" remains anonymous and the people have to find it within themselves whether to take the lives of the others on a boat or let their lives be taken.

1. The morals in The Dark Knight can be interpreted using Piagets stages. The passengers of the boats has such a complex decision to make because their decision would result in the passengers of the other boat to die. This decision lines up with the formal operations stage because within theis stage you are able to reason with complex tasks and problems involving multiple variables.

2. The morals in The Dark Knight can be interpreted using Kohlbergs stages. The passengers of the civilian boat line up with the pre-conventional stage 1, I say this because their reasoning is that they shouldn't do it because they would be taking a life but then they also say that they should because they aren't prisoners and deserve to live. On the other hand the passengers of the prisoner boat I think line up with Post-conventional, I say this because the prisoners want to save themselves.

3. From the perspective of the passengers I would say that their decision making lines up with the Worldviews approach through a mix of autonomy and community ethics. The civilian passenger boat were thinking about all of the individuals on their boat which is where i saw the community side but they also wanted to play judge jury and executioner because the prisoners "had their chance", thats why i believe that the passengers show both autonomy nad community.

4. I would also have to say that the passengers exhibit justice orientation, I say this because with justice orientation the passengers were saying it was "fair' if they lived because they didnt commit any crimes and that the prisoners deserved to go because they had their chance and ended up in jail. I feel that the civilian boat was more "morally righteous" in a way and felt that they were in teh right because they didnt commit any crimes.

2nd peer-

Moral Dilemma: I chose the movieMySister's Keeper.In this movie there are many moral dilemmas that are portrayed. In the movie there are two sisters, Kate and Anna. Kate is very sick and has been since she was born. Her mom and dad decided to have another child (Anna) to use as a donor for Kate. Throughout the movie, Kate becomes really sick and needs another transplant. She is tired and doesn't want to fight anymore. She tells Anna to say no and that she is tired of damaging her body for her sister. They keep this between them without their parents knowing. When their parents are preparing to schedule Anna's surgery, she tells them she's not doing it. This causes a major fight between them and causes Anna to get a lawyer to fight against her parents for her sister. The moral dilemma in this is Anna having to do the wrong thing for her parents and lie about it while doing what her sister asked her to do.

Piaget's Stages: Piaget would define this moral dilemma as autonomous mortality. This is reached around the ages of 10-12 which is around the ages that Anna and Kate are. In this scenario, both Kate and Anna express their own morals and beliefs instead of taking them from their parents. They are becoming more independent with their words and their actions. This stage also expresses the importance of mutual decisions allowing the 'rules' to be changed if there is a mutual agreement. Relating this to the movie, Kate and Anna had the mutual decision. Towards the end, both their mom and dad accepted what was happening and wanted to give Kate the best last few days she had. Once they fully understood how Kate was feeling they came to the best decision for her as well.

Kohlberg's Stages: This moral dilemma would fall under Kohlberg's post-conventional level of moral development. In this stage one does what they think is right even if the majority thinks it is wrong and that it shouldn't be done. Sometimes the ending even ends in harm to yourself or another. In the movie, Anna does just that. She goes above her parents to 'fight for herself' when she is really fighting for her sister. She is told multiple times that she should not be doing what she is doing, but she continued. In the end, you could say that 'harm' happened. Kate passed away as she did not receive the vital things she needed. Although it is considered harmful, Kate was so tired of fighting, and it is what she wanted.

Worldviews Approach: In the Worldviews Approach, I feel that community is the basis that is used. Community is defined as "Responsibilities of roles in family, community are basis for moral judgment" (video lecture, pg.42). Anna had a huge responsibility in her family. She was originally conceived just so Kate could live. She couldn't even live as a kid. She had to use so many safety precautions just to stay well. The community part doesn't relate as much to this dilemma, but the part about responsibilities to the family is a huge factor. In relation to ethics, moral judgement was made throughout the movie. Many people were disappointed and angry at Anna because of her decision. Once the truth of the whole situation came out, she did the right thing. Doing the right thing is a huge part of ethics, and she did just that. It may not have been right in everyone's eyes, but in the ones that it affected most, it was.

Care Orientation: In this moral dilemma, care orientation is demonstrated. This is because it directly relates to a family member and the care and love she had for her. Anna exhibited this whole thing for Kate despite the feeling she may have had inside knowing that she was going to lose her by the actions she was committing. She had an obligation to do for her sister and she followed through despite the hardships that it caused.